The Gulags

What were the gulags?

The Gulag was the government organisation established by Lenin to run forced labour camps. The camps themselves were also called gulags, after the name of the agency that set them up.

When were the gulags started?

The Gulag system was set up under Lenin in 1919.

What was the gulags' purpose?

There were 3 key reasons why the gulags were created:

• ❖ As a form of severe punishment.
• ❖ A way in which to get free labour from the inmates.
• ❖ As a deterrent to other people.

How did the Gulag system grow?

The Gulag system grew over time in 4 main stages:

• ❖ In 1919, the first gulags were opened under Lenin.
• ❖ In 1921, there were 84 camps.
• ❖ In 1929, there were approximately 179,000 prisoners.
• ❖ By 1950, there were approximately 2.5 million prisoners.

Who was put in the gulags?

The gulags were set up to accommodate 7 main groups of prisoners accused of a wide range of crimes:

• ❖ Political prisoners, such as those accused of plotting to overthrow the government and foreign communists accused of spying.
• ❖ Peasants, especially Kulaks, accused of sabotaging collectivisation.
• ❖ Workers and factory managers convicted of disrupting factory work and production.
• ❖ Leaders of different ethnic groups who wanted independence from the USSR.
• ❖ Ordinary criminals.
• ❖ Members of the armed forces.
• ❖ Any artists, writers or educators who were considered a threat.

Where were the gulags?

The gulags were particularly prevalent in the east of the Soviet Union, especially in Siberia.

How did the Soviet Union profit from the gulags?

The gulags provided a huge amount of slave labour, with prisoners forced to work in industry, on the massive industrial projects such as Moscow's metro and the White Sea Canal, and on the railways.

What were the conditions of the gulags?

Conditions in the gulags were terrible in 5 main ways:

• ❖ Food was rationed and tied to how much work prisoners completed.
• ❖ Rations were cut if prisoners did not meet their targets and so many prisoners died of starvation. Extra rations could be earned by working harder.
• ❖ The work was hard labour and tied to the targets of the Five Year Plans.
• ❖ Many prisoners died due to the work as it was so dangerous and difficult.
• ❖ The living conditions were awful; over crowded, with little sanitation and no heating. Many died of the cold.