When you walk westwards from Borodino Park down Gogolya street, you’ll discover the location of an old settlement (“sloboda”) for those were involved in crime.
Current maps show how large the area of the settlement was. Today, it is divided by the streets of Storozhevaya, Svobodnaya, Lobanovka, Stepan Razin, a part of Gogol, and Khalturin. The history behind this settlement was based on the criminal justice system in Russia. Also, the name of the settlement, Lobanovka, originated from Lobnoe Мesto, which was derived from the Russian words lob (forehead) and mesto (place). It was primarily used for announcing the ruler's ukazy (decree) and for religious ceremonies. Also, such a name was given for the places where execution was performed. When Kursk became a provincial city centre, the necessity of strengthening the security forces was evident, and the opening of new prison establishments began.
In 1785, an Ostrog (prison or fortress) of stone was built in Kursk. The prison was divided into six barracks that were used to hold prisoners. An infirmary, a bathhouse, and a space for the guards and vigilantes were built around it.
By the decree of Empress Catherine the Second in 1775, the provinces of the Russian Empire were obliged to establish workhouses and halfway houses. These institutions didn't have any prisoners. Their purpose was to accommodate a group of people who were deemed “worthless and intemperate”. Today, this type of person is classified into risk groups such as the homeless, loiters, hooligans, etc. These houses appeared in Kursk on streets named Smiritelnaya (since such houses were coined as smiritelnyy dom, in English the equivalent would be “house of correction”), which today is renamed Svobodnaya (freedom). The stay there was like an administrative detention. People were deprived of a number of rights and privileges, such as titles, honours, and other rights (for example, the right to own a house). One of the sentenced people was a landowner, Bobrovskaya, who gave an order to beat her serf to death. Her punishment was to clean the streets.
The ostrog ceased to exist during the reign of Nicholas I (1825-1855). It was turned into a settelment; the walls were dismantled. The prisoners were moved to another place… sloboda Glinishe (the area which is well-known for the hospital БСМП). Why? It is another story.
References:
1. Инфо-справка о слободе Лобановка
2. В.Б. Степанов. “ПЕШКОМ ПО ГОРОДУ” Путеводители по историческому центру г. Курска. / Курск,— ОАО «ИПП “Курск”, — 2006. 368 с.