Support The Moscow Times!

Prison Colony in Russia’s North Celebrates Gulag Foundation

Russia’s Federal Prison Service

A prison colony in Russia’s Komi Republic has celebrated the anniversary of its foundation as a Stalinist Gulag in 1937.

Colony number 31 in the village of Mikun held a Prison Day, Russia’s Federal Prison Service reported on its website. The prison celebrated its 79th anniversary, when Stalin’s NKVD opened it as a forestry labour camp. Today, the prison settlement (a penal colony in a remote area where prisoners are free to roam the village but under the guards’ watch) holds female inmates.

As part of the celebrations, prison authorities unveiled a plaque “in respect and gratitude to the founders of the colony.” 

As part of the celebrations, they organized a beauty pageant “Miss Colony Number 13, 2016,” in which six female inmates took part.

Over a thousand political prisoners passed through the prison camp between 1937 and 1954. Russian writer and human rights defender Lev Razgon was among them.  

… we have a small favor to ask.

As you may have heard, The Moscow Times, an independent news source for over 30 years, has been unjustly branded as a "foreign agent" by the Russian government. This blatant attempt to silence our voice is a direct assault on the integrity of journalism and the values we hold dear.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. Our commitment to providing accurate and unbiased reporting on Russia remains unshaken. But we need your help to continue our critical mission.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just 2. It's quick to set up, and you can be confident that you're making a significant impact every month by supporting open, independent journalism. Thank you.

Continue

Read more