Inside Tartu Prison: A Look at Sweden’s Newest Facility

Prison inspector Konstantin Nikiforov opens the door to one of the cells in the large E-building in Tartu Prison. He wants to show life as it can be for 600 Swedish prisoners who from mid-2026 may be serving their sentences in Estonia.

A metal bunk bed, with thin foam rubber mattress. Double grilles for the narrow window. Two stools, a small desk and a small cupboard each. The room is about ten square meters including a combined shower and toilet room where the unused pipes cough out dark brown water.

Each prisoner receives a washcloth, a shower towel, a tin mug and tin plate.

Food is served three times a day, in the morning it is porridge, for lunch meat and vegetables, and dinner usually consists of a soup. In between, activities are held such as jobs in the carpentry workshop, or painting in the hobby room. Or courses in anger management.

Nikiforov is the one responsible for the rental prison solution to work, in the agreement that Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer (M) signed with his Estonian counterpart this summer, and which the Riksdag will vote on this spring.

It looks like it will be like that, S has joined the Tidö parties’ yes and it is leaning towards a yes in the Estonian parliament as well.

Empty prison cells are something unique in Europe and Estonia does not want to demolish prisons the country may one day need.

The price tag for Sweden

Then this becomes a perfect solution for both parties. And for Estonia, the agreement with Sweden is lucrative.

During a five-year period, Sweden undertakes to pay at least SEK 335 million annually. For that, up to 300 prisoners can be kept in Tartu. For each prisoner in addition to that, the Swedish state pays 8,500 euros a month, translated into kroner, it is an annual cost to the taxpayer of 1,114,000 kroner.

It sounds like a lot, but is nevertheless less than what the cost is in Sweden. The Estonian system saves 300,000 kroner per prisoner and year.

But the Estonians have negotiated skilfully, on the other hand they make a substantial profit. Their annual cost for an Estonian prisoner is currently SEK 460,000, which means that each Swedish prisoner means a profit of SEK 650,000 per year.

Tartu Prison was built 23 years ago, making it Estonia’s oldest, after the large prisons of the Soviet era were demolished. The prison area is just over a square kilometer in size, and has room for 933 prisoners. But only 293 places are occupied today, the largest building E is empty. The Swedish prisoners are to be kept there.

It is freshly painted in places, in better condition than Täby, the Swedish class 2 institution I visited the week before for comparison.

Here and there the gray cement has been splashed with colour. Purple and yellow, doors in orange. But the color doesn’t do much for the joy, this is a real prison, you can see.

There are double bars in front of the windows, and at regular intervals screams are heard from one of the buildings. In there is the detoxification, it turns out – and it is heard. The high stone wall around the prison has been sprinkled with snaking barbed wire, in front of the wall there is another obstacle, a fence also covered in sharp barbed wire.

At this prison, the guards can carry weapons. They are trained to deal with riots, which has happened a few times, and drug dogs make daily rounds looking for drugs.

The Swedish prisoners will mostly share a cell, although there will also be single cells. The inmates receive tablets for contacts with relatives and to communicate with the prison.

– If they want to complain about something, or maybe praise us, what do I know – then they can use this plate, says Konstantin Nikiforov.

He assures that the cell we will see is the same as the Estonian ones – the Swedes will not get a better, more luxurious solution. The only difference is that Wi-Fi is connected so you can have video calls. The calls are monitored by the guards who see the image, but do not hear the sound.

Difficult to control

With the plates, the prisoners can buy goods in the e-shop, or use the translation tool. They can only communicate with approved contacts, close relatives who must identify themselves. In theory it is possible to cheat, no one checks that it is not an unapproved person who also participates in the call from Sweden.

– Everything is a matter of balance. Is the risk that someone who should not participate in the conversation outweighs the possibility that the prisoner will have contact with his loved ones? Anyone can find ways to circumvent or abuse the system, but whoever does so risks so much more that it is unlikely to happen, says Tiina Unuks, who is responsible for security at Tartu.

– There is no limit to the video calls, if we have the opportunity to monitor, it is possible to call more often. It is important for the inmates to be able to have contact.

The difference to Sweden

The improvement potential for coziness is great in Tartu. When I visit Täbyanstalten, yoga is the most popular activity, and on Thursdays dessert is served, something everyone looks forward to. There is nothing that will be offered in Tartu, at least not in the current plan, but there is one thing to look forward to:

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The double grids for the cell windows may eventually be reduced to a single grid.

– We do not see that there is a great need for them. The view is a little better without it, says Nikiforov.

The view? It shows gray buildings with mud puddles and asphalt all around, lit in what Lars Winnerbäck described as “dentist weather”.

Nikiforov has visited Swedish prisons, and says that there is not much difference. But pressed on the question, he admits that there is still a cultural difference:

– The way we talk to the inmates. The Swedish is a little more “dynamic”, we have a much more strict approach. So maybe we have something to learn from you, he says.

Around 250 new prison guards need to be recruited, thanks to Sweden, the prison in Tartu can become one of the city’s biggest employers. The new prison guards won’t need to be fluent in English, and exactly how that will work feels a bit shaky. Both translation tools in the tablet and language courses for the employees can be considered.

30 hours of activities must be offered each week, divided into work, education and talk therapy. The supply will not be as large as in Sweden, so the Correctional Service will be forced to prioritize.

A small group from Swedish correctional services will be on-site consultants for the Estonians, but have no decision-making rights. Estonian law applies, although most things are detailed in the agreement.

– Our constitution does not allow anyone else to control parts of our territory or exercise power, says Rait Kuuse, director general of the prisons, which are directly under the Ministry of Justice.

Just don’t forget to take them home!

He has made study visits to his Nordic colleagues.

– Sweden has smaller prisons. We have greater authority than the Swedish prison guards. We can carry weapons, assist the police in riots, and are equipped to investigate crimes committed inside prison walls, he says.

Tartu is an institution with a high level of security, even if screwdrivers, scissors and files hang freely in the hobby workshop.

– During the 23 years that Tartu Prison has existed, no one has escaped from here, says Konstantin Nikiforov.

In central Tartu, the Swedish prison customers are nothing to cause a stir. Tartu residents Helle Bunder and Enrico Talvisto think the issue is uncontroversial.

– When the prison opened here in 2003, people were upset and scared. But nothing happened, says Enrico Talvisto.

– Now it’s just an empty building we can’t use for anything, then the Ministry of Justice can make money instead, and there will be jobs, it’s good for Tartu.

But Enrico Talvisto at least has a sympathy for Sweden:

– Just don’t forget to take them home afterwards!