Did you know that Kyiv-Pechersk Monastery served as the prison for detainees at times. The arrestees were sent to Kyiv by the Russian Imperial Secret Chancery.

One of the most interesting stories is the story about the retired lieutenant Ivan Shyshkin, who was sent to the Monastery from St. Petersburg. According to the legend, he was sent to Ukraine by the personal order of Empress Elizabeth, and the reason it was done - to treat him from insanity. Ivan Shyshkin arrived at Lavra in 1753 and lived in the Monastery for 16 years, until his death. Shyshkin was kept under guard in the Far Caves. Later he was transferred to the Near Caves, and then - to the Monastery Hospital of the Trinity. Throughout his stay in Lavra, the Archimandrites demanded monthly reports on the life of the arrestee. The members of the Brotherhood believed that Ivan Shyshkin got cured of insanity while living in the Caves. This information was conveyed to Count Oleksandr Shuvalov by Archimandrite Luke (in the world Bilousovych). However, Shyshkin was never released. He lived “in a closet” in the Monastery Hospital and had no right to go unaccompanied. In general, the detainee's behavior was exemplary, though sometimes crises occurred. Thus, the Superior of the Monastery Hospital once wrote that Shyshkin was found drunk several times. In such condition, he walked around the Monastery unaccompanied by the guard soldier and did not listen to the Brotherhood members. Besides, as they say, he could allegedly fell into apathy and melancholy. Being “in such an astonishment of mind”, he refused to go to work and receive communion. After his death in 1769, a printed plan of the Near and Far Caves as well as the Russian-Greek-French-Latin dictionary were found among his belongings. Shyshkin was buried somewhere on the territory of the Monastery, and his belongings were distributed to the poor.

Caption to the illustration:

1. Chained to a wheelbarrow. Painted by M. Verkhoturova. 1906