Stalin’s Camp Guards Throw Anniversary Party To Celebrate Gulag Pride
jonathanturley
This may be the most bizarre party of all time. The former local officials and prison wardens at the notorious Usolsky prison camp in the Urals held a 75th anniversary celebration of their gulag and the “traditions in the camp that still hold value today.” We have previously seen efforts to rehabilitate Josef Stalin but the reunion of gulag guards is a bit much to take.
Millions of course died in Stalin’s gulag system and Usolsky stood out for its cruelty. The camp was founded in 1938 at the height of the NKVD campaign of summary executions and arrests. One Russian official proclaimed “What bravery its directors displayed over that time, so that the institution could stand tall and successfully complete its production and social tasks.”
That bravery included watching almost one out of five workers die from malnutrition and overwork.
