Gulag

Also known as Main Directorate of Correctional Labour Camps, Correctional Labour Camps

thumb|A punishment cell block in one of the subcamps of Vorkutlag, 1945 The Gulag was a system of forced labor camps in the Soviet Union. The word Gulag originally referred only to the division of the Soviet secret police that was in charge of running the forced labor camps from the 1930s to the early 1950s during Joseph Stalin's rule, but in English literature the term is popularly used for the system of forced labor throughout the Soviet era. The abbreviation GULAG (ГУЛАГ) stands for "Glávnoye upravléniye ispravítel'no-trudovýkh lageréy " (Гла́вное управле́ние исправи́тельно-трудовы́х лагере

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The Gulag was a system of forced labor camps operated by the Soviet Union, originally under Stalin's rule in the 1930s through early 1950s. It represents a significant historical example of state-controlled imprisonment and forced labor that affected millions during the Soviet era.

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Commons category: Gulag
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Article

35 sections

Contents

Etymology
Overview
History
Background
Formation and expansion during Stalin's rule
During World War II
Political role
Economic role
After World War II
Death toll
Mortality rate
Administrators
Conditions
1932–33 famine
Social conditions
Geography
Personnel
Special institutions
Historiography
Origins and functions of the Gulag
Archival documents
Population estimates
Impact
Colonization
Economics
Life after a term was served
Memorials
See also
Notes
References
Further reading
Articles
Memoirs
Fiction
External links

The Gulag is recognized as a major instrument of political repression in the Soviet Union. The camps housed both ordinary criminals and political prisoners, a large number of whom were convicted in accordance with simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas or other instruments of extrajudicial punishment. The agency was established in 1930 and initially was administered by the OGPU (1923–1934), later known as the NKVD (1934–1946) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) in the final years.