Katorga
Katorga was a system of penal servitude in Imperial Russia. Prisoners were sent to extremely remote camps in vast uninhabited areas of Siberia and forced to perform hard labor. Katorga began in the 17th century, and was taken over by the Bolsheviks after the Russian Revolution, eventually transforming into the Gulag.Unlike concentration camps, "katorga" was within the normal judicial system of (Imperial) Russia, but both share the same main features: confinement, simplified facilities (as opposed to prisons), and forced labor, usually on hard, unskilled or semi-skilled work.
Katorgas were established in underpopulated areas of Siberia and the Russian Far East that had few towns or food sources. Nonetheless, a few prisoners successfully escaped back to populated areas. Since these times, Siberia gained its fearful connotation of punishment, which was further enhanced by the Soviet Gulag system that developed from the Katorga camps.
Though life in a katorga camp was by no means pleasant, conditions were relatively mild compared to those of the later Gulags.
Peter Kropotkin, while being aide de camp to the governor of Transbaikalia, was appointed to inspect the state of the prison system in the area, and later descibed the findings in his book, In Russian and French Prisons.
| Table of contents |
|
2 References 3 External links |
Famous katorga captives
Please add to this list.References
External links