Gulag: definition

DEFINITION

The gulag is a term for the Soviet regime's labor and detention camps. It is a concentration camp system characterized by extremely difficult living conditions and strong repression. Prisoners there were subjected to forced labor in extreme climates and a regime of terror. Many died there.

The gulag is a system of slavery under Stalin

The gulag is the term for the forced labor camps set up by the Soviet Union to mass deport political opponents of Stalin's regime. These camps were places of detention, torture and killing, where prisoners were subjected to a regime of unimaginable terror and brutality. Some of these camps were located in isolated, desert locations, where escape was virtually impossible. Living conditions there were extremely harsh and prisoners often died of hunger, cold or disease. Gulag survivors have told horrific stories of what they experienced and what they were forced to do to survive.

Gulag is a Russian word meaning “labor camp”. This term also refers to the system of concentration and forced labor camps set up by the Soviet Union in order to massively deport political opponents of Stalin's regime. Concentration camps were places of detention, torture and killing, where prisoners were subjected to a regime of unimaginable terror and brutality. Some of these camps were located in isolated, desert locations, where escape was virtually impossible. Living conditions there were extremely harsh and prisoners often died of hunger, cold or disease. Gulag survivors have told horrific stories of what they experienced and what they were forced to do to survive.

Today, the word “gulag” is often used to refer to any concentration or forced labor camp, regardless of its political regime.

The gulag, a concentration camp system in the USSR

The gulag is a concentration camp system set up in the Soviet Union from 1929. It included forced labor camps, where prisoners were assigned to difficult and dangerous tasks, particularly in mines, factories and farms. Living conditions there were very difficult and prisoners were often poorly fed and beaten.

The gulag was created to suppress any form of political dissent and rebellion against the Soviet regime. Many prisoners were sent there for political reasons, but also for minor crimes, such as theft or alcoholism. Around 18 million people were held in gulags between 1929 and 1953.

Today, the word “gulag” is often used to designate any place of arbitrary and brutal detention, where human rights are violated.

The gulag was a system of slavery under Stalin that caused many people to suffer. It was a concentration camp system in the USSR that was abolished after Stalin's death.