Today I will write an application to have a meeting with the chief. I have to talk about medical issues. It's better to do any tests and to get some treatment now, to improve what got slightly worse, than to try and do it in a prison colony.

I specifically want to lose weight here to reach 85 kg (I used to weigh 96). The food is OK here, sometimes it can even be tasty. You can even come across some meat and generally it's alright. Once a month you get your own set of toiletries: a roll of toilet paper, a toothbrush,  toothpaste, soap).

Considering the fact that the majority of those kept here don't get anything from the outside (some families don't give a damn about jailbirds, many of them are not from here; only local first-timers receive their parcels on a regular basis), this level of nutrition and other services (including crockery, bed, washing bedclothes once a week) - these are even quite acceptable conditions.

And considering that the jail is a family home to repeated offenders, they are comfortable enough in here. I'm specifically talking about this jail - the Aktau central remand prison. Because as for the DNKB Almaty remand prison, the same repeat offenders tried to get out of there as soon as possible, and it didn't even matter to them where they would be sent, as the conditions there were primitive and hard: complete isolation, lack of water and toilet in the cell.

An NKVD reality.

I have already distributed over 50 books in this jail; sometimes I see both prisoners and guards read them. That's cool, books have never once done any harm to anyone, naturally as long as they aren't used to beat someone over the head with.

I wake up about five in the morning, just as I used to do when I was free. I had a routine there: I woke up, washed myself, made myself some good coffee, went out, did something in my "park" outside, jogged with my dogs. Then I'd get back home, take a shower, have breakfast and - agla! (in Tartar: forward!).

Here, I wake up, wash myself, drink instant coffee with powdered milk and start reading or writing. At 6 am I take my garbage out to the hall, after 7 - I refuse to have breakfast (grits, butter, sometimes an egg) - and get back to reading and writing...

I listen to the radio here - it's disgusting. On all stations, whenever there is news reported, it's Elbasy, Elbasy, Elbasy (Kazakh: "Leader of the Nation", Nazarbayev's title)... and the rest is repeated like a mantra: everything will be alright. By the way, why it will be alright? Who has done something to make sure it will? - there's no mention of that.

That's a real zombification of society - always the same carrot in front of the donkey's face for the sake of which it will duly step till the end of its life, without noticing that someone has been riding (on) it. When you see it, you realize that it should all be changed. Not suddenly, but soon.