Stalin's forced labor camps in Kuzbass: a review of regional historiography

• Published in: Исторический журнал: научные исследования no. 2; pp. 164 - 174
• Main Author: Ryabova, Yuliya Vladimirovna
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.02.2025
• ISSN: 2454-0609; 2454-0609
• DOI: 10.7256/2454-0609.2025.2.73451

The subject of this article is the regional historiography of the post-Soviet period, which reveals the genesis of the GULAG system in the Kemerovo region (Kuzbass) in the 1920-1950s. The article provides an overview of the literature on the functioning of the Stalinist correctional labor camps in the region, the labor activity and conditions of detention of various categories of special personnel, the economic activities of penitentiary institutions, and the history of the regional penal system. The object of study is correctional labor institutions that operated in the Kemerovo Region during the Stalin era. The purpose of the work is to identify the main thematic areas in the study of this issue by Russian researchers, mainly Kuzbass historians, to give a brief description of their scientific research, to identify chronological periods in the study of the topic, to identify a range of issues and prospects for further development of the topic. The author used traditional methods for historical science as the main research methods: historical-genetic, comparative-historical, problematic-chronological, descriptive. Their application allowed for the most complete analysis of the studied processes and phenomena. The author's main contribution to the study is the analysis and synthesis of research material presented in the scientific and historical literature of the 1990-2020s and revealing the essence of Stalin's forced labor camps, their role in the industrial development of the Kemerovo region. The novelty of the research lies in the definition of problem-thematic areas and chronological stages of the study of this topic. In conclusion, the author emphasizes that over the past four decades, Kuzbass scientists have managed to do a lot of work on the search, collection and analysis of materials, mainly archival, reflecting the activities of penitentiary institutions in the territory of Kuzbass, but research in this area cannot be considered completed due to the presence of a number of issues not currently covered in the historical science.