Marfa Rabkova on serving 15 years in a Belarusian prison colony

Marfa Rabkova describes her experience of being sentenced to 15 years in a Belarusian penal colony. The hardest moment came when her sentence jumped from 3 to 12 years — once it crossed into double digits, she says the difference between 12 and 15 no longer seemed significant. Her greatest sorrow was for her mother, whom she tried to prepare for a harsh verdict, though she admits no preparation is truly possible.

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