The Gulag
A Very Short Introduction
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 23524474 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Alan Barenberg (Texas Tech University) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Publication date | 2024-02-22 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | BOOK |
| Venue | Gulag (SOURCE_BOOK) |
| Publisher | Oxford University PressNew York (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1093/actrade/9780197548226.001.0001 |
| OpenAlex | W4392287792 |
| ISBN | 9780197548226 |
| Open Library | OL48198475M |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
A vast system of prisons, camps, and exile settlements, the Gulag was one of the defining institutions of the Stalinist Soviet Union and one of the most heinous examples of mass incarceration in the twentieth century. Combining the functions of a standard prison system with the goal of isolating and punishing alleged enemies of the Soviet regime, it stretched throughout the Soviet Union, from central Moscow to the farthest reaches of Siberia. From its creation in 1930 to its partial dismantling in the mid-1950s, approximately 25 million people passed through the Gulag. Prisoners and exiles were forced to work in brutal conditions, and millions perished. Although the majority of prisoners and exiles were released after Stalin’s death, this was not an end to their struggles. Survivors attempted to reintegrate themselves into a Soviet political, social, and economic system that was hardly welcoming. Although some former prisoners wrote or spoke about their experiences in the years and decades after release, it was not until after the collapse of the Soviet Union that a full reckoning became possible. The Gulag: A Very Short Introduction examines the Gulag and its legacies based on prisoner testimony, archival sources, and the very latest scholarship. It follows three themes: the close connections between the world of the Gulag and the Soviet Union at large; the diverse identities of prisoners and exiles and how this affected their experiences; and the long-term legacies of the Gulag.
Economic history · Gulag · Political science · Politics · Prison · Soviet union · Communism, Protests, Social Movements · European history and politics · History · Law
| Citations per year | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |