Eufrosinia Kersnovskaya
Encyclopedia
Eufrosinia Antonovna Kersnovskaya was a Russia
n woman who spent 12 years in Gulag
camps and wrote her memoirs in 12 notebooks, 2,200,000 characters, accompanied with 680 pictures.
She wrote three copies of the work. In 1968, friends typed samizdat
copies, repeating the pictures on the back sides of the sheets. Excerpts from the work were first published in Ogonyok
and Znamya
magazines in 1990, as well as in The Observer
(June 1990). After that, German
and French
publications followed. In 2001 the complete text, in six volumes, was published in Russia
.
to a family of Russian gentry
. During the Russian Civil War
the family moved to their estate in Bessarabia
to become farmers. Bessarabia was soon united with Romania
.
In 1940, Bessarabia was annexed by the Soviet Union
, and the Kersnovskaya family (Eufrosinia and her mother) were oppressed as former landowners. In 1941 she was exiled to Siberia
as an exile settler
(ссыльнопоселенец) to work as a logger
.
In 1942 she attempted to escape, but was recaptured and sentenced to death. She refused to ask for clemency and wrote on a sheet of paper provided to her for this purpose: "I cannot demand justice, I do not want to ask for mercy". Kernovskaya's death sentence was nevertheless commuted to 10 years of labor camps, which she spent in the Norillag
(Норильлаг, Norilsk
labor camp) at mining
works.
After the discharge in 1953 she lived in Yessentuki and wrote her memoirs during 1964–1968, which were published only in 1990.
Her memoirs are illustrated by hundreds of drawings of life in the Gulag
. They are also remarkable for the quality of the drawings.
All drawings on this page are available courtesy to Kersnovkaya foundation. See image description pages for the details
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n woman who spent 12 years in Gulag
Gulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
camps and wrote her memoirs in 12 notebooks, 2,200,000 characters, accompanied with 680 pictures.
She wrote three copies of the work. In 1968, friends typed samizdat
Samizdat
Samizdat was a key form of dissident activity across the Soviet bloc in which individuals reproduced censored publications by hand and passed the documents from reader to reader...
copies, repeating the pictures on the back sides of the sheets. Excerpts from the work were first published in Ogonyok
Ogonyok
Ogoniok is one of the oldest weekly illustrated magazines in Russia, issued since . It was re-established in the Soviet Union in 1923 by Mikhail Koltsov....
and Znamya
Znamya
Znamya is a Russian monthly magazine, which was established in Moscow in 1931. In 1931-1932, the magazine was published under the name of Lokaf...
magazines in 1990, as well as in The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
(June 1990). After that, German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
publications followed. In 2001 the complete text, in six volumes, was published in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.
Biography
Eufrosinia Kersnovskaya was born in OdessaOdessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
to a family of Russian gentry
Russian nobility
The Russian nobility arose in the 14th century and essentially governed Russia until the October Revolution of 1917.The Russian word for nobility, Dvoryanstvo , derives from the Russian word dvor , meaning the Court of a prince or duke and later, of the tsar. A nobleman is called dvoryanin...
. During the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
the family moved to their estate in Bessarabia
Bessarabia
Bessarabia is a historical term for the geographic region in Eastern Europe bounded by the Dniester River on the east and the Prut River on the west....
to become farmers. Bessarabia was soon united with Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
.
In 1940, Bessarabia was annexed by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, and the Kersnovskaya family (Eufrosinia and her mother) were oppressed as former landowners. In 1941 she was exiled to Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
as an exile settler
Involuntary settlements in the Soviet Union
Forced settlements in the Soviet Union took several forms. Though the most notorious was the Gulag labor camp system of penal labor, resettling of entire categories of population was another method of political repression implemented by the Soviet Union. At the same time, involuntary settlement...
(ссыльнопоселенец) to work as a logger
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
.
In 1942 she attempted to escape, but was recaptured and sentenced to death. She refused to ask for clemency and wrote on a sheet of paper provided to her for this purpose: "I cannot demand justice, I do not want to ask for mercy". Kernovskaya's death sentence was nevertheless commuted to 10 years of labor camps, which she spent in the Norillag
Norillag
Norillag, Norilsk Corrective Labor Camp was a gulag labor camp set by Norilsk, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia and headquartered there. It existed from June 25, 1935 to August 22, 1956....
(Норильлаг, Norilsk
Norilsk
Norilsk is an industrial city in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located between the Yenisei River and the Taymyr Peninsula. Population: It was granted city status in 1953. It is the northernmost city in Siberia and the world's second largest city north of the Arctic Circle...
labor camp) at mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
works.
After the discharge in 1953 she lived in Yessentuki and wrote her memoirs during 1964–1968, which were published only in 1990.
Her memoirs are illustrated by hundreds of drawings of life in the Gulag
Gulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
. They are also remarkable for the quality of the drawings.
Some drawings
See commons:Category:Eufrosinia Kersnovskaya for more.All drawings on this page are available courtesy to Kersnovkaya foundation. See image description pages for the details
External links
- "How Much Is a Person Worth? in English" How Much Is a Person Worth? English translation How Much Is a Person Worth?