Gulag
Forced labor camps in the former Soviet Union (USSR), created after the Communist Revolution of 1917 to house criminals and “enemies” of the state. Gulag was an acronym, in Russian, for “Central Administration of Camps”, which were spread throughout the country. The largest gulags were located in nearly inaccessible geographic regions with extreme weather conditions. The combination of isolation, intense cold, hard work, minimal food and almost non-existent sanitary conditions raised the death rates among prisoners. To protect themselves from violence, some groups of prisoners created internal codes and laws that gave rise to the Vory v Zakone – the Russian mafia. The number of camps was reduced from 1953, shortly after the death of Stalin – the dictator who expanded the gulag system in the 30s. However, forced labor camps for political prisoners lasted until the 90s.
– What was a death camp like?
– What is the difference between communism and socialism?
SPEAKS SERIOUSLY!In Stalin’s day, telling jokes about the Communist Party or its members was punishable by 25 years in a gulag. Being late for work four times was three-year-old cane
icy hell
The Gulag of Kolyma, Siberia, was the toughest in the former USSR
WARM RECEPTION
Prisoners arrived by train. Then, they were undressed and placed in cubicles – 0.3 m2 for four people – inside a housing without a roof. Meanwhile, documents and belongings were checked. Good clothes, valuables and shoes were confiscated by the guards.
• In addition to being squeezed in, new arrivals did not have access to a bathroom. Therefore, they stepped on frozen feces that were never removed!
DAILY RATION
Food was distributed according to productivity. This accelerated the death of the weakest and kept the strong working harder. Those who met the goal for the day received about 1 kg of food, consisting of bread, potatoes and pasta. Of protein, only about 20 g of meat, and look there!
LIVING IN M…
Prisoners were responsible for removing their own accumulated feces in the bathrooms – which were located outside the barracks. In addition to poor sanitary conditions, the guys were infested with lice. To make matters worse, there was very little investment in medical facilities.
WEAK SEX
It was common for guards and inmates to rape and abuse female prisoners. The situation forced women to seek protection, often joining a man – the so-called “field husbands”. Pregnant prey went into separate housing and cared for each other.
• Children born in the gulags went to orphanages outside the camp. Most of the time, the mother never saw her child again.
ON THE NAIL
The working day was 14 hours a day. In Kolyma, the main job was coal mining. Despite having pickaxes and precarious carts for exploring the frozen ground, most prisoners were forced to extract the ores by hand.
IN FRONT OF CRIME
Guards were trained not to feel empathy for prisoners, viewing them as subhuman. Violence was rewarded, and attempts to escape were unacceptable. Therefore, any murder could be justified with the phrase “he was trying to escape”…
DYING
Inmates on the verge of death – almost always from hunger – recalled the fate of those who did not fulfill their daily work quota
HEAVY BARS
Common criminals, such as murderers and muggers, were wanted to help guards and intimidate colleagues.
POLITICAL PRISONERS
Most of the prisoners were innocent, considered opponents of the regime by the Soviet secret police.