In the inaugural Episode in Gulag History, Lynne Viola related the brutal and harrowing tales of the so-called “kulaks”–peasants grabbed up by the Soviet state in the early 1930s and exiled to horrific conditions in the geographic extremes of the Soviet Union.

Did the conversation leave unanswered questions? Join us in the comments section to this post, where Lynne Viola will answer your questions about her research and her book. She will respond to your questions from June 10-June 20.

UPDATE: Lynne Viola has kindly agreed to postpone her visit here until the fall. Check back for a schedule of her visit to answer your questions along with future Episodes in Gulag History.

Welcome to “Episodes in Gulag History,” a series of conversations with scholars about the history and legacy of the Soviet Gulag system led by Steve Barnes, George Mason University professor and Lead Historian for Gulag: Many Days, Many Lives. “Episodes” is made possible with the support of the Kennan Institute and Title VIII of the U.S. Department of State.

This inaugural Episode features Lynne Viola, Professor of History at the University of Toronto, discussing her recent book, The Unknown Gulag: The Lost World of Stalin’s Special Settlements, that explores the life and fate of millions of peasants sent into exile in Siberia, the Soviet Far North and Central Asia in the early 1930s during collectivization and the campaign to liquidate the kulaks as a class.

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