Vorkuta Gulag
Encyclopedia
The Vorkuta Gulag was a Soviet era prison camp located in the Pechora River
Basin, in the Komi Republic
, part of the Siberian
region of Russia
, located 1,200 miles from Moscow
and 100 miles above the Arctic Circle
. Vorkuta Gulag was established in 1932 to exploit the resources of the Pechora Coal
Basin, the second largest coal basin in the former U.S.S.R.. The city of Vorkuta
was established to support the camp. There were approximately 132 sub-camps in the Vorkuta Gulag system during the height of its use in the Soviet prison system. The camp was used to hold German P.O.W.s captured on the Eastern Front
in World War II as well as Soviet citizens and those from Soviet occupied countries deemed to be dissidents and enemies of the state during the Soviet era.
Although the camp was closed in 1962 there are still large numbers of Soviet citizens who were former prisoners still living in Vorkuta, originally due to their former status as enemies of the state, then as a result of their poor financial situation. Memorial
, a Russian human rights organization that focuses on recording and publicising the human rights violations of the Soviet Union
's totalitarian era,estimates that of the 40,000 people collecting state pensions in the Vorkuta area 32,000 are trapped former gulag inmates, or their descendants
In the Vorkuta uprising
July of 1953 inmates at Vorkuta who were forced to work in the region's coal mines went on strike. The mostly passive strike which lasted approximately two weeks was put down on August 1, when camp chief Derevyanko ordered troops to fire at the strikers resulting in the deaths of at least 53 workers, although estimates vary.
, others were kidnapped from the streets of East Berlin
during the Cold War
.
Homer Harold Cox, was an American Military Policeman assigned to the 759th Military Police Service Battalion in West Berlin
. On September 6th, 1949 he was drugged and arrested while off duty, in the Soviet Sector of East Berlin
. He was imprisoned at various Soviet prison camps including Vorkuta Mine No. Four and Vorkuta Mine No. Seven.
On December 29th, 1953, he was returned to U.S. custody in Berlin along with fellow prisoner U. S. Merchant Marine Leland Towers. Cox would die of pneumonia
less than a year later on September 27th, 1954 in Lawton, Oklahoma.
Two other illegally detained Americans were Private William Marchuk, of Norristown, Pennsylvania, kidnapped in East Berlin in 1949 and John H. Noble
, 31, of Detroit, Michigan who was arrested by the Red Army
in Dresden
, Germany in 1945. Many Americans were never repatriated.
Pechora River
The Pechora River is a river in northwest Russia which flows north into the Arctic Ocean on the west side of the Ural Mountains. It lies mostly in the Komi Republic but the northernmost part crosses the Nenets Autonomous Okrug. It is 1,809 km long and its basin is 322,000 square kilometers...
Basin, in the Komi Republic
Komi Republic
The Komi Republic is a federal subject of Russia .-Geography:The republic is situated to the west of the Ural mountains, in the north-east of the East European Plain...
, part of the Siberian
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...
region of 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...
, located 1,200 miles from Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
and 100 miles above the Arctic Circle
Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. For Epoch 2011, it is the parallel of latitude that runs north of the Equator....
. Vorkuta Gulag was established in 1932 to exploit the resources of the Pechora Coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
Basin, the second largest coal basin in the former U.S.S.R.. The city of Vorkuta
Vorkuta
Vorkuta is a coal-mining town in the Komi Republic, Russia, situated just north of the Arctic Circle in the Pechora coal basin at the Usa River. Population: - Labor camp origins :...
was established to support the camp. There were approximately 132 sub-camps in the Vorkuta Gulag system during the height of its use in the Soviet prison system. The camp was used to hold German P.O.W.s captured on the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
in World War II as well as Soviet citizens and those from Soviet occupied countries deemed to be dissidents and enemies of the state during the Soviet era.
Although the camp was closed in 1962 there are still large numbers of Soviet citizens who were former prisoners still living in Vorkuta, originally due to their former status as enemies of the state, then as a result of their poor financial situation. Memorial
Memorial (society)
Memorial is an international historical and civil rights society that operates in a number of post-Soviet states. It focuses on recording and publicising the Soviet Union's totalitarian past, but also monitors human rights in post-Soviet states....
, a Russian human rights organization that focuses on recording and publicising the human rights violations of 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....
's totalitarian era,estimates that of the 40,000 people collecting state pensions in the Vorkuta area 32,000 are trapped former gulag inmates, or their descendants
In the Vorkuta uprising
Vorkuta Uprising
The Vorkuta Uprising was a major uprising of the concentration camp inmates at the Vorkuta Gulag in Vorkuta, Russia in July–August 1953, shortly after the arrest of Lavrentiy Beria. The uprising was violently stopped by the camp administration after two weeks of bloodless standoff.Vorkuta Rechlag ...
July of 1953 inmates at Vorkuta who were forced to work in the region's coal mines went on strike. The mostly passive strike which lasted approximately two weeks was put down on August 1, when camp chief Derevyanko ordered troops to fire at the strikers resulting in the deaths of at least 53 workers, although estimates vary.
American Prisoners
There were American servicemembers from various eras who were illegally detained in the Soviet gulag system including Vorkuta. Some fell into the hands of the Soviets during the end of World War II and during the Korean WarKorean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, others were kidnapped from the streets of East Berlin
East Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
.
Homer Harold Cox, was an American Military Policeman assigned to the 759th Military Police Service Battalion in West Berlin
West Berlin
West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...
. On September 6th, 1949 he was drugged and arrested while off duty, in the Soviet Sector of East Berlin
East Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
. He was imprisoned at various Soviet prison camps including Vorkuta Mine No. Four and Vorkuta Mine No. Seven.
On December 29th, 1953, he was returned to U.S. custody in Berlin along with fellow prisoner U. S. Merchant Marine Leland Towers. Cox would die of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
less than a year later on September 27th, 1954 in Lawton, Oklahoma.
Two other illegally detained Americans were Private William Marchuk, of Norristown, Pennsylvania, kidnapped in East Berlin in 1949 and John H. Noble
John H. Noble
John H. Noble was an American survivor of the Soviet Gulag system, who wrote two books relating to his experiences after being permitted to leave the Soviet Union and return to his native United States....
, 31, of Detroit, Michigan who was arrested by the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
, Germany in 1945. Many Americans were never repatriated.
Notable inmates
- Raul Wallenberg: Swedish humanitarian
- Anton KaindlAnton KaindlAnton Kaindl was an SS-Standartenführer and commandant of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp from 1942-1945....
: commandant, Sachsenhausen concentration campSachsenhausen concentration campSachsenhausen or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used primarily for political prisoners from 1936 to the end of the Third Reich in May, 1945. After World War II, when Oranienburg was in the Soviet Occupation Zone, the structure was used as an NKVD...
(1942-1945), died at Vorkuta, 1948.
In popular culture
- In the 2010 video game Call of Duty: Black OpsCall of Duty: Black OpsCall of Duty: Black Ops is a first-person shooter video game developed by Treyarch, published by Activision and released worldwide on November 9, for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii consoles, with a separate version for Nintendo DS developed by n-Space. Announced on April 30, 2010,...
, the player, an American named Alex Mason, is imprisoned at Vorkuta and partakes in a prisoner uprising.