A report released Thursday put Russia first place among Council of Europe member states in terms of the number of prisoners per capita, with 475 inmates for every 100,000 people — four times higher than the Council of Europe median.
The report, published by the Council of Europe for the year of 2013, revealed that the overall number of inmates had fallen from 2012 by five percent.
Russia's total number of inmates nationwide was 681,622, of whom 114,441 were in pretrial detention centers. Another 1,478 people were under house arrest.
In terms of overcrowding, Russia did well, with prisons found to be 94 percent full in 2013 compared to an average 96 percent.
Russia was also singled out as having the highest number of female inmates: 8.3 percent.
The report was compiled before Russia found itself in hot water with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe over its annexation of Crimea. Last April, Russia's voting rights in the organization were suspended over the move, which PACE said "constituted, beyond any doubt, a grave violation of international law."
Russia's voting rights were suspended a second time in late January, at which point the Russian delegation said it was considering cutting ties to the organization altogether.
