Russian Gulag System Before 1930

Russian Gulag System Before 1930

It is quite evident that most countries have their systems of dealing with people who have been convicted of certain crimes. Russia is no different; according to them, the best way of dealing with the prisoners was by isolating them from society and denying them the freedom that they were enjoying before. This was one reason why the Gulag system came into existence. ¹It was established in 1919, and eighty-four camps had been put in place by 1924. Gulag is a Russian short form of the central corrective camp administration. This particular camp was put in place during the reign of Stalin, and its main aim was to use forced labor as a corrective measure. The main objective of this paper is to dig out in the history of the gulag system, whatever transpired in the camps, and the result of this system in particular.

The Bolsheviks decided to put up such camps during the civil war, in that those who were opposing the government could be placed in those concentration camps. ²The Russian Emergency Commission, after that, took control and organized all the fields in the state after the proposal of Felix Dzerzhinsky, the founder, had been accepted. Initially, the camps were of different varieties such as manufacturing camps, general type camps, prisoners of war, particular purpose, and forced labor camps. However, these divisions were in existence in the early 1920s, and later on, things changed; there was an introduction of counterrevolutionary crime camps, where those who had been arrested due to such offenses could be locked there.

The solovky special purpose camp was the first camp to be structured and was built for political prisoners who had been arrested by the collective bodies of the government’s security. Each field had at least two thousand to ten thousand prisoners, although the exact number of Gulag prisoners remained a state secret. It was then realized that these camps were not meant for correcting the criminal acts but rather for gaining control over the society, and later on, riots could be witnessed. The majority of the prisoners were innocent citizens who were being used in the mines and arid regions without their basic needs being catered for. They worked tirelessly without food, clothing, and shelter; this was presumed to be the main reason why the majority of the prisoners died.

The Gulag system worked until when Stalin passed away. Since the system was initiated during his reign, he used to expand the camps and used them as a way of boosting industrialization. He mainly took advantage of his power and eliminated everyone who could oppose his dictatorship leadership, including military leaders and government officials. It was quite unfortunate for women since they could not escape from rape and harsh treatment while in these camps. Life at the Gulag camps was not easy, and the prisoners were forced to work in industrial projects, although this was dependent on the location of the fields. Those working in the mines were given simple tools, and there were no safety measures that were put in order. For those who missed the crude tools, they were forced to use bare hands to dig and remove dirt.

Despite working for long hours, the issue of food rationing was critical. ³The amount of food given to the prisoners depended on how far they had tackled their work quotas. Those who had completed their tasks could receive more food as compared to those who didn’t. Given that the camps were overcrowded, the theme of bullying and theft could not be overlooked. The prisoners stole food and other supplies from one another; hence, violence was widespread. On the other hand, the camp guards could shoot the prisoners to death, whereas others could die of exhaustion; however, the death rate was estimated to be ten percent of the population annually.

In as much as life was difficult in the camps, the prisoners could be released if, in any case, they had survived until the end of their jail term. However, some had been issued for being hard-working and finishing their work quotas on time. Besides, the camps contained at least three types of prisoners, the political, petty criminals, and professional criminals. Those criminals, who had been charged with bad offenses such as rape, were given the power to look after the rest in prison. This was one way through which the guards could suppress the political prisoners. The intimidation used by the professional criminals imposed fear to the other prisoners since they lacked morals, and they were always after violence in case of any signs of rebellion.

¹History.com Editors, (2019). Gulag. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/topics/russia/gulag

²The Transit Prison, “Territory of terror” (2013). Retrieved fromhttp://territoryterror.org.ua/en/history/1945-1953/gulag/

³Paul R. Gregory and Valery Lazarev, eds., The Economics of Forced Labor: The Soviet Gulag (Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press, 2003). On the “Gulagization” of the Soviet economy.