The Kolyma Tales
Encyclopedia
Kolyma Tales is a collection of short stories by Russian author Varlam Shalamov
, about labour camp life in the Soviet Union
. He began working on this book in 1954 and continued until 1973.
Shalamov was born in 1907 and was arrested in 1929 while he was a student at Moscow University for attempting to publish Lenin's Testament
. He was sentenced to 3 years in Vishera, a satellite of the extensive labour camp system centered on a former monastery on Solovki
. He was arrested again in 1937 and sentenced to 5 years in Kolyma
, north-eastern Siberia
. His sentence was extended in 1942 until the end of the war and then in 1943 he was sentenced to another 10 years for describing Ivan Bunin as a great Russian writer. In total, Shalamov spent around 17 years in the camps.
He began to write Kolyma Tales after he was released but it was not to be published in the Soviet Union
until after his death in 1982. He was able to publish five collections of poetry during his lifetime, and was well known as a poet before "Kolyma Tales" established his reputation as a Gulag
writer.
's, in which a story is told objectively and leaves the readers to make their own interpretations. Often brutal and shocking, the matter-of-fact style makes them appear more hard-hitting than using a sensationalist style.
The stories are based around the life of the prisoners (political or professional) in the camp and their relations with the officials. We find accounts of prisoners who have become totally dispassionate, insane under the barbaric conditions, unemotionally murderous and suicidal.
Despite being written about imprisonment under the Stalinist regime, Shalamov didn't make a single mention of Stalin in the book except for a brief mentioning of a large portrait of the man in an administrator's office.
had Kolyma Tales published from his own translations, which featured a selection of the stories. The follow-up book, Graphite, comprises the other stories by Shalamov.
The book first appeared in the Soviet Union in 1989 and it was bought in bulk by queues of Soviet people.
Varlam Shalamov
Varlam Tikhonovich Shalamov , baptized as Varlaam, was a Russian writer, journalist, poet and Gulag survivor.-Early life:Varlam Shalamov was born in Vologda, Vologda Governorate, a Russian city with a rich culture famous for its wooden architecture, to a family of a hereditary Russian Orthodox...
, about labour camp life in 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....
. He began working on this book in 1954 and continued until 1973.
Background
Lenin's Testament
Lenin's Testament is the name given to a document written by Vladimir Lenin in the last weeks of 1922 and the first week of 1923. In the testament, Lenin proposed changes to the structure of the Soviet governing bodies...
. He was sentenced to 3 years in Vishera, a satellite of the extensive labour camp system centered on a former monastery on Solovki
Solovetsky Islands
The Solovetsky Islands , or Solovki , are an archipelago located in the Onega Bay of the White Sea, Russia. The islands are served by the Solovki Airport. Area: ....
. He was arrested again in 1937 and sentenced to 5 years in Kolyma
Kolyma
The Kolyma region is located in the far north-eastern area of Russia in what is commonly known as Siberia but is actually part of the Russian Far East. It is bounded by the East Siberian Sea and the Arctic Ocean in the north and the Sea of Okhotsk to the south...
, north-eastern 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...
. His sentence was extended in 1942 until the end of the war and then in 1943 he was sentenced to another 10 years for describing Ivan Bunin as a great Russian writer. In total, Shalamov spent around 17 years in the camps.
He began to write Kolyma Tales after he was released but it was not to be published in 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....
until after his death in 1982. He was able to publish five collections of poetry during his lifetime, and was well known as a poet before "Kolyma Tales" established his reputation as a 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...
writer.
The stories
The complete set of Kolyma Tales is based on two areas: personal experiences and fictional accounts of stories heard. He attempted to mix fact and fiction, which leads to the book being something of a historical novel. The style used is similar to ChekhovAnton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
's, in which a story is told objectively and leaves the readers to make their own interpretations. Often brutal and shocking, the matter-of-fact style makes them appear more hard-hitting than using a sensationalist style.
The stories are based around the life of the prisoners (political or professional) in the camp and their relations with the officials. We find accounts of prisoners who have become totally dispassionate, insane under the barbaric conditions, unemotionally murderous and suicidal.
Despite being written about imprisonment under the Stalinist regime, Shalamov didn't make a single mention of Stalin in the book except for a brief mentioning of a large portrait of the man in an administrator's office.
Publication
The original manuscript of Kolyma Tales was taken to the United States in 1966. Individual tales were published in the New Review between 1970 and 1976. The Russian version appeared in print only in 1978 by Overseas Publications Interchange Ltd in London. They could only be printed with a note claiming that they were being published without the author's consent in order to protect Shalamov. In 1980, John GladJohn Glad
John Glad is an American academic who specializes in the literature and politics of exile, especially Russian literature. Glad has written about Nazi Germany, World War II and the Holocaust. He received his Ph.D...
had Kolyma Tales published from his own translations, which featured a selection of the stories. The follow-up book, Graphite, comprises the other stories by Shalamov.
The book first appeared in the Soviet Union in 1989 and it was bought in bulk by queues of Soviet people.