Gulag
Sign in to savethumb|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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35 sectionsContents
- 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
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 лагере́й or "Main Directorate of Correctional Labour Camps"), but the full official name of the agency changed several times.
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.