Norilsk uprising
Encyclopedia
The Norilsk uprising was a major uprising of the GULAG
labor camp
inmates in [Gorlag](special camp for political prisoners) and later in two camps of Norillag
[ITL], Norilsk
, URSS
, now Russia
, in the summer of 1953, shortly after Joseph Stalin
's death. It was the first major revolt within the Gulag system in 1953-1954, although earlier numerous cases of unrest in Gulag camps are known.
In May-August 1953, the inmates of the Gorlag-Main camp went on strike
, which lasted 69 days. It was not exactly an uprising, since the inmates did not have any weapons, although initially during the inquest it was suggested by MVD to classify it as "an anti-Soviet armed counter-revolutionary uprising". (Eventually the Soviet court used the term "mass insubordination of the inmates to the camp administration".) Neither was it simply a strike: the actions included a wide spectrum of nonviolent forms of protest within the Soviet law
: meetings, letters to government, hunger strike
s. For this reason, the term "Uprising of the Spirit" was suggested, as a form of nonviolent protest against the Gulag
system.
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...
labor camp
Labor camp
A labor camp is a simplified detention facility where inmates are forced to engage in penal labor. Labor camps have many common aspects with slavery and with prisons...
inmates in [Gorlag](special camp for political prisoners) and later in two camps of 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....
[ITL], 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...
, URSS
URSS
URSS is an alternative spelling of USSR, e.g. reads as Union des républiques socialistes soviétiques in French, Unión de Repúblicas Socialistas Soviéticas in Spanish, Unione delle Repubbliche Socialiste Sovietiche in Italian, União das Repúblicas Socialistas Soviéticas in Portuguese, and Uniunea...
, now 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...
, in the summer of 1953, shortly after Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
's death. It was the first major revolt within the Gulag system in 1953-1954, although earlier numerous cases of unrest in Gulag camps are known.
In May-August 1953, the inmates of the Gorlag-Main camp went on strike
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
, which lasted 69 days. It was not exactly an uprising, since the inmates did not have any weapons, although initially during the inquest it was suggested by MVD to classify it as "an anti-Soviet armed counter-revolutionary uprising". (Eventually the Soviet court used the term "mass insubordination of the inmates to the camp administration".) Neither was it simply a strike: the actions included a wide spectrum of nonviolent forms of protest within the Soviet law
Soviet law
The Law of the Soviet Union—also known as Socialist Law—was the law developed in the Soviet Union following the October Revolution of 1917...
: meetings, letters to government, hunger strike
Hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance or pressure in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke feelings of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most hunger strikers will take liquids but not...
s. For this reason, the term "Uprising of the Spirit" was suggested, as a form of nonviolent protest against 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...
system.