Gulag

File:Gulag montage.jpg

Gulag

ГУЛАГ
Agency overview
Formed	1930
Dissolved	1960
Jurisdiction	Soviet Union
Parent department	NKVD

The Gulag (Russian: ГУЛАГ, acronym for Glavnoe Upravlenie Lagerei, or "Main Camp Administration") was the government agency in charge of the Soviet forced labor camp system during the period of Stalin's rule from the 1930s to the 1950s. The term is also used to refer to the camps themselves.

History

The Gulag was officially established in 1930 as a government agency to administer the system of forced labor camps. It was part of the NKVD, the Soviet secret police. The camps were used to detain a wide range of prisoners, including political prisoners, common criminals, and those accused of being "enemies of the state."

Structure and Function

The Gulag system was a major instrument of political repression in the Soviet Union. It consisted of a network of labor camps spread across the country, from Siberia to the Arctic Circle. Prisoners were forced to work in harsh conditions, often in remote and inhospitable regions. The labor performed by prisoners included mining, logging, and construction.

Conditions

Conditions in the Gulag camps were notoriously brutal. Prisoners faced extreme cold, inadequate food, and grueling labor. Many prisoners died from exhaustion, disease, or malnutrition. The mortality rate in the camps was high, particularly during the early years of the system.

Notable Prisoners

Several notable figures were imprisoned in the Gulag, including:

• Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, author of The Gulag Archipelago
• Nadezhda Mandelstam, wife of poet Osip Mandelstam
• Varlam Shalamov, author of Kolyma Tales

Dissolution

The Gulag system began to be dismantled after Stalin's death in 1953. The process of de-Stalinization, initiated by Nikita Khrushchev, led to the release of many prisoners and the closure of many camps. The Gulag was officially dissolved in 1960.

Legacy

The legacy of the Gulag remains a significant part of Soviet history. The system has been the subject of extensive historical research and literary works. The term "Gulag" has come to symbolize the broader system of political repression and human rights abuses in the Soviet Union.

See also

• NKVD
• Soviet Union
• Joseph Stalin
• The Gulag Archipelago
• Kolyma Tales
• Political repression in the Soviet Union

Further reading

• The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
• Kolyma Tales by Varlam Shalamov