Gulag: A History

De-Stalinization refers to the political process initiated after Stalin’s death aimed at dismantling the most repressive mechanisms of the Stalin era, including the mass release of prisoners from the Gulag. The term indicates a pivotal shift in Soviet policy that led to a reduction in the use of forced labor and a reassessment of Stalin’s legacy, albeit with varying degrees of success and resistance within the Soviet Union.

“Dissidents” refers to individuals—often intellectuals, writers, or activists—who openly challenged the Soviet regime’s policies and ideology, especially from the 1960s onward. Applebaum discusses the dissidents not only to highlight Resilience in the Face of Adversity but also to show the evolution of political repression in the Soviet Union. The dissidents’ role underscores a changing landscape of resistance, marking a shift from internal repression to a battle fought in the realm of public opinion and international diplomacy against the regime.

“Gulag” is an acronym for Glavnoe Upravlenie Lagerei (Main Camp Administration) but is broadly used to describe the entire Soviet labor camp system under Stalin. The Gulag serves as the central subject of Applebaum’s book, representing both a physical network of camps and a symbol of Soviet repression. The term encapsulates the forced labor, punishment, and political control mechanisms that defined the Soviet penal system from the early 1920s until the mid-1950s.

Katorga is a term with historical roots in Tsarist Russia and refers to severe penal labor camps. Under the Soviet regime, katorga camps were reintroduced for the most “dangerous” political prisoners, signifying the harshest level of punishment within the Gulag system. Applebaum uses the term to demonstrate the Soviet Union’s continuity and escalation of Tsarist penal practices, highlighting the extreme brutality and isolation imposed on inmates.

The NKDV (People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs) was the Soviet state security organization from the mid-1930s to 1946 and was responsible for the police, secret police, internal security, and administration of the Gulag. The NKVD’s role in Applebaum’s narrative is multifaceted, illustrating not only the execution of mass repression and surveillance but also the internal dynamics and purges that plagued the Soviet security apparatus itself.

Perestroika refers to a policy initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev in the mid-1980s aimed at restructuring the Soviet political and economic system. While not directly related to the Gulag, perestroika was significant for creating an environment where open discussion about the Soviet past, including the Gulag, became possible. The term signals a broader context of reform and openness that facilitated a reassessment of the Gulag’s legacy.

Refuseniks were Soviet Jews who were denied permission to emigrate, primarily to Israel. They became a prominent group of dissidents by the 1970s. Applebaum’s discussion of refuseniks illustrates the intersection of human rights activism and geopolitical tensions, showcasing how individual and collective acts of defiance against the Soviet regime drew international attention to the repressive nature of the state.