Page 22 - All About History - Issue 52-17

Prisons

Day in the life

A KATORGA CAMP

THE SHOCKING TREATMENT OF
PRISONERS IN EXILE FROM RUSSIA

Siberia, 1754-1917

Under Tsarist rule, the Russian government sentenced more than
one million criminals and political opponents to exile in Siberia,
forcing them to work in remote labour camps under incredibly harsh
conditions. As well as putting these undesirable citizens out of sight
and mind, this system of penal labour called katorga was also seen
as a way of populating and developing new Russian territory.
The prisoners provided free labour, building infrastructure and
mining resources, with many losing their lives in the process.
Following the Russian Revolution, the camps were
transformed into Gulag labour camps, where conditions
were even worse under Soviet rule.

TRAVEL TO CAMP

After being sentenced to exile in a katorga camp,
convicts were required to walk there themselves,
a journey that could take Even travelling to the camp
between one and three years. It is was a torturous experience for
estimated that about half did not the convicts
survive the gruelling journey.
However, from 1876, convicts
were transported by boat,
increasing the percentage
that reached
their destination.
GET SHACKLED

Upon arrival at the camps,
convicts had shackles secured
to their ankles, chaining their legs
together to stop them from running away.
These chains were only removed once their
sentence had been completed, but they were
usually still forced to continue living and working
in Siberia for the remainder of their lives.
START WORK

Prisoners worked for up to 11 hours a day
constructing roads and railways, such as the Trans-
Siberian Railway, or mining silver, lead and gold.
The latter was the most dreaded task of all, as no
safety equipment was provided and there was no
medical care for those who contracted respiratory
problems in the dark and dusty mines.
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