The book explores the vast and deadly network of the Soviet Gulag, examining its complex system of labor camps and prisons that housed a diverse array of inmates from different ethnicities, professions, and social classes. It seeks to uncover the lessons learned from this historical atrocity, highlighting the intricate dynamics and human experiences within these institutions that spanned large geographic areas.
A vast system of prisons, camps, and exile settlements, the Gulag was one of the defining attributes of the Stalinist Soviet Union and one of the most heinous examples of mass incarceration in the twentieth century. It combined a standard prison system with the goal of isolating and punishing alleged enemies of the Soviet regime. More than 25 million people passed through the Gulag from its creation in 1930 to its dismantling in the 1950s. By presenting both the everyday experiences of ordinary prisoners and the overall political and economic background of the system, The Gulag: A Very Short Introduction offers a succinct and comprehensive study of the Gulag and its legacy in the former USSR.