INONEOFTHETELLINGEPISODESofhishistoryoftheGulag,

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1 INTRODUCTION INONEOFTHETELLINGEPISODESofhishistoryoftheGulag, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn relates the tale of a prisoner ship convoy headed for the Dalstroi goldfields of the notorious Kolyma.As the convoyapproachedmagadan,theshipsgotstuckintheicywatersofthe KolymaRiver.Theprisonerswereforcedtodisembarkandwalkacross thefrozenrivertotheshore.solzhenitsyncontinues: Nonetheless, continuing to play out the farce of correction, in other words, pretendingtheyhadbroughtnotsimplyboneswithwhichtopavethegoldbearing Kolyma but temporarily isolated Soviet citizens who would yet returntocreativelife,theyweregreetedbythedalstroiorchestra.theorchestra playedmarchesandwaltzes. 1 WhatcouldpossiblyseemmoreoutofplacethananorchestratrumpetingthearrivalofaprisonerconvoyintothedepthsoftheGulag? In1950,theAmericanAlexanderDolgunsatoutsidethegatesofthe SteplaglaborcampintheKaragandaregionofKazakhstan.Hiswelcome tothecampwasalmostsurreal. IbegantofeelasthoughIwashallucinatingagainbecauseIcouldhearmusic, aband,playingsomekindofbravuramarch.itsoundedweakandtheinstruments were not well tuned, but the rhythm was fast and I was sure it was comingfrominsidethegate.ihadasenseofdeepcosmichorrorthatmademe dizzy.inthedistanceicouldseethesilhouetteofthecorpsesonthewagon.the bandseemedtobeplayingsomekindofgrotesquefarewell.thenitgotworse. Outofthegatecame,inlinesoffiveabreast,acolumnofwalkingcorpsesin blackcottonjacketswithwhitenumberpatches...themusic...camefrom apitifullittlebandofprisonerslinedupnearthe...guardhouse...facesof deathplayingalivelymarch. 2 TheGulagwasamassivephenomenon.UnderstoodhereinitsbroadestsenseastheentireSovietforcedlabordetentionsystem,theGulagdestroyedthelivesofalargeportionoftheSovietpopulation. 3 Theoverall detained population in the camps, colonies, prisons, and internal exile reachedamaximumintheearly1950swellinexcessof5millionpeople. Throughout the Stalin era, some 18 million people passed through the prisonsandcampsofthegulag,andanother6or7millionweresubject to internal exile. From 1921 to 1953, according to official figures, some800,000peopleweresentencedtodeathbythesovietsecretpolice organs alone. Furthermore, no fewer than 1.6 million died in the appallingconditionsofthegulagcamps.wewillneverknowforcertain

2 2 INTRODUCTION howmanydiedduringtheprocessofexile,butthatnumberalsolikely exceeds1millionpeople.whilethesenumbersaresmallerthanweonce thought,theystillbespeakanenormousinstitutionthattouchedthelives ofatremendousportionofthesovietpopulation,whetherasprisoners themselves,orastheirrelatives,coworkers,orfriends.eventhosewho survivedhadtheirlivesdestroyedbythisbrutalinstitution. 4 YetconceptualizingtheroleplayedbytheGulagintheSovietpolity is fraught with apparent contradictions. Exploitation, oppression, and mass death coexisted with reeducation, redemption, and mass release. Solzhenitsyncopeswiththecontradictionbyrelegatingcorrectiontothe categoryoffarceðone moresadistic,crueljokeperpetratedbyanunjust, immoral, and atheistic regime. Nevertheless, one cannot avoid asking whythesovietauthoritieswenttosuchlengthstomaintaintheªfar ce ofcorrection.ºwhywerethesenewarrivalstotheª Arcticdeathcampsº ofkolymaorthoseinthekazakhsteppegreetednotbyashowofforce butratherbyanorchestraplayingmarchesandwaltzes? 5 WhydidSoviet authoritiesexpendsuchtremendousenergytoreplicatethesovietsocial andculturalsystemwithinthegulagviaanextensiveindoctrinationnetworkða continuousprocessextendingfromtheprisoner'sarrivaluntil their departure (dead or alive)? Soviet authorities had the know how, experience,facilities,andwilltoviolencetoexterminateeveryoneofthe millionswhopassedthroughthegulag,buttheychosenottocreatea trulygenocidalinstitution. ThisbookwillexploretheGulagthroughthesecontradictions.ItprovidesaclosestudyofthecampsandexilesintheKaragandaregionof Kazakhstanalongwithageneralreconsiderationofthescope,meaning, andfunctionofthegulaginjosephstalin'ssovietunion.focusingon Karagandaoffersanumberofbenefitstoanexaminationofthehistory ofthegulag.first,aconcentratedlookatasinglelocalityallowsfora study of the massive phenomenon of the Gulag without giving up the chronologicalbreadththatisimportanttounderstandingshiftsinitsoperationsthroughtheperiod(approximately1930±57)whenitwasatits height.second,exploringthegulagatthelocallevelrevealstheoperationofthesystemattheverypointofcontactbetweensovietauthority anditsdetainedsubjects.ifonelimitedtheirstudyofthegulagtothe directivesemanatingfrommoscow,akeypartofthestorywouldbelost, as these directives were frequently altered, ignored, or undermined at thelocallevel.moscow'sdirectiveswereoftencontradictoryoratleast competitive with one another.the Gulag served many different functionsðe conomic and penalð and the demands of one function usually interferedwithanother.atthelocallevel,campauthoritieswereforced toworkthroughthesecontradictorydemandstodecidewhatheldpriority.third,karagandaisaparticularlyadvantageouslocationtocarry

3 INTRODUCTION 3 outalocalstudy.ithousedoneofthelargestandlongestlastingofthe Gulag'scorrectivelaborcampsÐthe agriculturalcampkarlag.simultaneously,thekaragandaregionwasadestinationforsignificantpopulationsofinternallyexiledpeoplesðthe specialsettlersðallowing forthe studyoftherelationshipbetweenexileandcampsinthegulaguniverse. Furthermore,Karagandaincludedfourofthelimitednumberofspecial camps(osobye lageri)createdafter1948,andoneofthose,steplag,was thesightofoneofthethreemajorprisoneruprisingsintheimmediate post Stalinera.Karagandawasoneoffewlocalestoexperiencemostof themajorinstitutionsandeventsofthegulag'shistory.assuch,itisnot necessarilyrepresentativeofallothergulaginstitutions.onlytwoother locales also experienced every one of these phenomena (Vorkuta and Noril'sk).Still,itdoesallowforacloseexaminationofawidearrayof theeventsandinstitutionsinthegulag,andfacilitatesanoverallevaluationofthesystem'soperation. Itisnotwise,however,tolimitone'sconsiderationtoaparticularlocalewhenexploringtheGulag'sroleintheSovietUnion.Whileafixed localitygivesacertainmanageabilityandentrypointtoastudyofthe Gulag, and each Gulag camp had certain particularities, an important generalstorymustbetoldinordertoconceptualizethefullrolethatthe systemplayedinthesovietunion.thegulagconsistedofallitsinstitutions operating together. Different types of institutions and different institutionsofthesametypeoperatedtogetherinasystematichierarchy that allowed for the placement of prisoners in accord with their perceivedlevelofdanger.moreover,thecirculationthroughoutthesystem of prisoners, central directives, and reports on major events in specific campscreatedacertainamountofuniformityandsharedcultureacross thegulag.theentireinstitutionmustbeunderstoodwithreferenceto itsmyriadparts.consequently,thisstudyattemptstounderstandboth theparticularitiesofonelocalgulagexperience,whilealsoexploringthe generalstoryofthegulagsystem.assuch,whennecessarytothismore generalstory,iwilldrawonmaterialsfromothergulagcamps. Thisbookisbasedonanumberofimportantsources.First,thecentralGulagadministrationarchivesalongwithothermaterialsfromthe centralsecretpoliceapparatusprovideaglobalviewofthesystemalong withitsrulesandpriorities.second,localadministrativedocumentsand individual prisoner files from the Karlag and Steplag archives in Karaganda reveal the interaction between Karaganda and Moscow as well astheattemptoflocalauthoritiestowadethroughcompetingdemands frommoscow.whiletheseadministrativedocumentsarecrucialtounderstandingthepurposeandstructureofthegulagsystem,theyarenot sufficientinthemselvestorevealhowgulaginmatessubjectivelyexperiencedthecamps. 6 Individualprisonermemoirsshowtherealityofthe

4 4 INTRODUCTION Gulagexperienceandallowanextensiveconsiderationofsocialidentity inthegulag. Given the veritable mountain of source material now available, it is criticalthatthescholarmakedifficultchoicestokeepthetopicmanageablewhilenotgivingupthebreadthofsourcetypesthatprovideafuller pictureoflifeinthegulag. 7 Unfortunately,somescholarshaveargued fortheeliminationofmemoirsourcesfromourrepertoireduetotheir problematicnature. 8 Memoirsources,ofcourse,mustbesubjecttothe samelevelofcriticalanalysisasanyothertypeofsource.theyarenot withouttheirproblems,thoughaswewillseethroughoutthisstudy,officialdocumentscanalsogiveaskewedpictureofrealityontheground. Gulag memoirs, rarely written contemporaneous with the events that theydescribe,raisethedifficultquestionoftheaccuracyofmemory.the necessarilyselectivenatureofthememoriesthattheirauthorschooseto revealcanoftenreflecttheauthor'spolitical,philosophical,orreligious concernsalongwithaconcerntoªte stify,º therebypreservingthememoryoftheirexperience. 9 Furthermore,memoirsarefrequentlyimpacted by other entries into the genre, as their authors are usually influenced consciouslyorunconsciouslybythethingstheyhaveread. 10 Bytheirvery existenceasgulagmemoirists,authorswereªvic timsº ofthesovietregime and hence prone to an especially negative outlook on the Soviet system,yetaswewillsee,notallofthemwereorbecameopponentsof thatregime.thus,memoirscanseemaninextricablemixofpartial,unreliable,individualand/orcollectivememorycombinedwiththecurrent concernsofauthorsatthetimetheywrite. 11 This,however,focusesonlyontheproblemswithmemoirs.Theyrevealthesubjectiveexperienceofthecampsasunderstoodatagivenmomentintime.Theymustbeusedtosupplementtheunderstandingofthe campsthatonegetsfromofficialdocuments.thingsfromaboveoften lookquitedifferentthanthingsontheground.thesubjectiveexperience ofmemoirsisalsocriticaltogettingsomesenseofhowgulagprisoners livedin(andinthecaseofmemoirists,survived)thecamps.theirpoint ofviewcertainlymustbescrutinized,asidoespeciallyinchapters3±6 whendiscussinggulagªide ntities.º Still,nomemoirisaprioriunusable. Infact,aswewillsee,historianslikeSolzhenitsynaccomplishedagreat dealwiththeuseofmemoirandoraltestimonyalone. 12 Thefirstthreechaptersofthebookfocusonthe1930s'Gulag,lookingattheinstitutions,practices,andidentitiesthatemergedintheSoviet penalsystem.thefollowingthreechaptersexploretheevolutionofthose institutions, practices, and identities through the cataclysmic events of totalwar,postwarreconstruction,andtheemergenceofnewleadership after the death of Stalin. Chapter 1 offers a general reconsideration of thegulag'soriginsandtheroleitplayedinstalin'ssovietunion,andan

5 INTRODUCTION 5 extended look at the variety of institutions that together made up this penaluniverse.thegulagmustbeunderstoodthroughaconsideration ofallitsmajorinstitutions,showinghowtheyworkedtogetherasanentirepenalsystemandhowtheyevolvedovertime.chapter2looksatthe GulagandtheKaragandacampsinthefoundationaleraÐthe 1930sÐ andthepracticesofthecampsystemastheywereshapedinthatimportantdecade.onlybyexploringthewidearrayofgulagpracticescanwe understandthevarietyoffunctionsofthegulagandhowthelocalcamp authoritieswadedthroughtheoften competingdemandsfromthecenter. Chapter3offersaconceptualizationoftheidentitiesofGulaginmatesas foistedonthembysovietauthoritiesandasunderstoodbytheprisoners themselves.thechapterrevealshowtheseidentitiessignificantlyshaped themeansandcapacityforsurvivalinthegulagsystem,asacomplex matrixofidentitiesemergedthatorderedprisonershierarchicallyfrom themosttotheleastredeemable. Going beyond the late 1930s, which is too often treated as an end point in the history of Stalinism, chapter 4 concentrates on the Gulag during the Armageddon of the Great Patriotic War. It shows how the institutions,practices,andidentitiesofthegulagshiftedinaccordwith the demands of total war.the war was an era of mass release on an unprecedentedscalesidebysidewiththehighestmortalityratesinthe historyofthegulagsystem.chapter5takesthegulagintothepostwar era when authorities used the institution in an attempt to reassert socialcontrol.atthesametime,arrivalsfromthenewlyannexedwestern territoriesandformerredarmysoldiersdramaticallyalteredthesocial worldofthegulagprisoner.withthecreationofthespecialcampsfor anexclusiveportionofthepoliticalprisonerpopulation,gulagauthoritiesunwittinglysetthestageforviolentresistancefromtheirprisoners inthepost Stalinera.Finally,chapter6looksattheexplosiveuprisings inthegulagafterstalin'sdeathwithaparticularfocusontheforty day revoltatthekengirdivisionofsteplag.italsoexaminesthenewleadership'spolicythatlargelyemptiedthecampandexilesystemsofallthose chargedwitheitherpettyorpoliticaloffenses,dramaticallyalteringthe Sovietpenalsystemforgood. The Gulag had its roots in the immediate aftermath of the October Revolution.The growth and development of the Gulag can be tied directlytothebroadereventsinsoviethistory. 13 TheGulaggavebirthto asocietythatmirroredinsomanywayssovietsocietyatlarge:hierarchies of class and nationality, sharp distinctions between political and nonpoliticalinmates,veteranprestigeafterthewar,andreconstruction ofgenderidentities.so,too,thegulagexperiencedandparticipatedin the campaigns of Stalin's revolution, including such things as cultural transformation, political education, industrialization, shock work, and

6 6 INTRODUCTION Stakhanovism.Prisonerssufferedfromfoodshortages,usuallyatamore severelevel,whenthesameoccurredinsovietsocietyatlarge.thegreat PatrioticWarrockedandreshapedtheGulag,whilesurveillancepermeated its spaces much as in Soviet society itself. No less was the Gulag shakenbythedeathofstalin.themasscampstrikesafterstalin'sdeath paraded a strikingly Sovietized population. On the one hand, Stalin's deathwascauseforjoyouscelebrationamongtheprisoners.ontheother hand,prisonuprisingswereformulatedasworkers'strikes.whatwere thedemandsoftheseprisoners?unconditionalrelease?no,theywanted toreceivetreatmentequaltootherworkers.theysoughttobeincluded inthesovietworkingclassandsovietsociety. Thesearetheoutlinesofthestorytobetold,thecontradictionstobe explored,toreconceptualizetheoperationofthegulagðone ofthemost brutalinstitutionsofalethaltwentiethcentury.