Watch HDToday. Kresty is one of the oldest and largest prisons in Russia, located in the center of Saint Petersburg. The history of Kresty reflects the history of Russia. Throughout 130-year existence of the prison, thousands of people have passed through these walls: revolutionaries, engineers, generals, writers, poets, scientists, thieves, serial killers. The Kresty prison is society in a nutshell, where human vices as well as fortitude, freedom and dignity reveal themselves to the fullest.