Mkrtchan's pencil drawing reveals the stark reality of a prisoner whose daily labor included carrying back a prisoner who did not survive the day in Ivdellag.

Black and white photograph of a large propaganda display designed on the side of a building at the 2nd camp point of the White Sea Canal camp. The main slogan reads, "Fulfill before the due date." Others shown in the photograph include: "This is the one who removes the dust" and "Be sharp-sighted about quality."

Photograph of female prisoners shoveling dirt into railroad flatcars taken at BAMlag, the Gulag site engaged in construction of the Baikal-Amur railway.

Photograph of female prisoners working with shovels and wheelbarrows on an excavation site at the construction works at Belomorkanal.

Male and female prisoners using treadle sewing machines in the sewing workshop at Belmorkanal Camp.

Color sketch from Evfrosiniia Kernovskaia's self-illustrated memoir of a lone figure in the forest sawing logs. In the accompanying text, Kersnovskaia describes the difficulty of the work.

Black and white photograph of horse cart (grabarka) carrying firewood along wooden tracks. The cart has metal wheels that run on rough wooden rails.

Black and white photograph of a large group of prisoners using iron rods, chisels, and sledge hammers to break boulders in the construction basin at the Belomorkanal labor camp during spring 1932. The 141-mile canal was built almost exclusively with manual labor and tools like those in this photograph.

Black and white photograph of prisoners breaking rocks and clearing rubble after an explosion on the mountain at the construction of a canal lock at Belomorkanal. The 141-mile canal was built almost exclusively with manual labor and tools like those in this photograph.

Black and white photograph of men working in the snow at drilling operations in the basin of canal lock# 12 at the White Sea - Baltic Sea Canal. The 141-mile canal was built almost exclusively with manual labor and tools like those in this photograph.