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The Soviet Gulag

The Soviet Gulag. Cris Martin Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies Harvard University. Soviet GULAG. G lavnoye U pravleniye Lag erey —Main Camp Administration . Gulag Statistics. Existed 1918—1987, most active during Stalin’s reign, 1929-1953

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The Soviet Gulag

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  1. The Soviet Gulag Cris Martin Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies Harvard University

  2. Soviet GULAG GlavnoyeUpravleniyeLagerey—Main Camp Administration

  3. Gulag Statistics • Existed 1918—1987, most active during Stalin’s reign, 1929-1953 • 476 camp systems, hundreds, thousands of individual camps • Estimated 18 million imprisoned, 6 million exiled (15% of the population) “A single round number of dead victims would be extremely satisfying, particularly since it would allow us to compare Stalin directly with Hitler or with Mao. Yet, even if we could find one, I’m not sure it would really tell the whole story of suffering either. No official figures, for example, can possibly reflect the mortality of the wives and children and aging parents left behind…” ~Anne Appelbaum

  4. 1921: USSR established under Lenin 1922: Stalin named General Secretary of Communist Party 1924: Lenin dies 1929: Stalin overcomes rivals to become head of USSR Early Soviet History

  5. Communism • Political and economic doctrine that aims to replace private property and a profit-based economy with public ownership and communal control of at least the major means of production (e.g., mines, mills, and factories) and the natural resources of a society. • In theory, communism would create a classless society of abundance and freedom, in which all people enjoy equal social and economic status.

  6. Industrialization Collectivization of Agriculture Dekulakization 5 Year Plan Stalin’s Goals

  7. Rationale behind Gulag • Remove criminal elements from Soviet society • Rehabilitation and construction of supreme Soviet utopia • Stalin’s psyche and need for power • Economy

  8. Soviet economy • Free labor would benefit Soviet industrialization • Prisoners were too ill, weak, underfed, untrained to be productive • System became to large and far-reaching • Gulag became financial burden despite attempts to make it more productive in the early 1940s

  9. 141 miles long, only 6-12 feet deep Basically useless for large vessels, barges, passenger ships Stalin considered it a great success Over 100,000 prisoners died during its construction Today, only 10-40 boats per day use canal Belomor Canal

  10. Types of prisoners • Criminals • Political Prisoners • Article 58 • Other

  11. “Nobody knew what tomorrow would bring. People were afraid to talk to one another or meet, especially families in which the father or mother had already been ‘isolated.’” ~Yelena Sidorkina, arrested 1937 Propaganda and a culture of fear

  12. I won the Nobel Prize for Literature, what did you do?

  13. The Great Terror • 1937-38 • 700,000 shot • Kirov’s assassination led to new decrees and greater power for NKVD • Claimed life of Yagoda, and Yezhov (pictured).

  14. A prisoner’s journey • Arrest/interrogation/prison • Trial? • Transport

  15. Life in the Camps: Work • Work varied by camp location • Survival often depended on your job • Fulfilling the norm • Tufta, or cheating • Avoiding work

  16. Dictated camp life What you ate depended on how much of the norm was fulfilled Victim of the “big ration” Daily rations Cauldron I: 300 g. bread, 1 liter thin soup, spoonful of groats, 1 liter soup Cauldron II: 500 g. bread, 1 liter soup, 2 spoonfuls groats, 1 piece spoiled fish Cauldron III: 700 g. bread, 1/2liter soup, 2 liters soup, 2 spoonfuls groats, 1 piece spoiled fish Life in the Camps: Food

  17. Life in the camps: Weather, Violence • Russian winters • Barracks • Threats from criminals

  18. Aftermath • 1953: Stalin died • Within 3 weeks, mass amnesty declared • 1956: Khrushchev’s secret speech • Destalinization • 1951: A Day in the Life published • Restalinization under Brezhnev

  19. 1988: Last camp closed Today still little discussion of Gulag in Russia No national monument to victims and survivors In 2003, Russian citizens were asked, “What role did Stalin play in the history of our country?” Positive 53% Surely Negative 33% Difficult to say 14% The end of the Gulag

  20. Themes • Identity • Power • Reconciliation

  21. Why should we care? “I wrote my book about the Gulag not ‘so that it will not happen again,’ as the cliche has it, but because it probably will happen again. We need to know why--and each story, each memoir, each document is a piece of the puzzle. Without them, we will wake up one day and realize that we do not know who we are.” ~Anne Applebaum

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