Online Exhibit → Stalin’s Gulag

Perm-36 Gulag Camp

Perm-36

The Soviets established Perm 36, called ITK-6 camp, in 1946 as a logging camp in the forested region of the Ural Mountains near the Siberian border. Here, prisoners cut down trees throughout the year and sent the lumber down river during the spring thaw to help rebuild Soviet cities damaged in the war. This camp was typical of thousands throughout the country.

Map indicating the location of the Perm region. Courtesy of the Gulag Museum at Perm-36.

Perm Region Camps, 1948-1953

About 150,000 inmates were imprisoned in more than 150 camps in the Perm region during the late 1940s. This made up about one-third of the total working population of the region.

Courtesy of the Gulag Museum at Perm-36.
Perm region camps 1948-1953. To the east of Perm region lies the vast Siberian hinterland. Courtesy of the Gulag Museum at Perm-36.

Siberian Hinterland

To the east of the Perm region lies the vast Siberian hinterland.

Courtesy of the Gulag Museum at Perm-36.
A typical frame-saw used by the timber camp prisoners. Courtesy of the Gulag Museum at Perm-36.Close-up of a typical frame-saw used by the timber camp prisoners. Courtesy of the Gulag Museum at Perm-36.

Saw

A typical frame-saw used by the timber camp prisoners.

Courtesy of the Gulag Museum at Perm-36.

Typical Day at the Camp

Daily Schedule of a Gulag Prisoner
Time Activity
6:00 AM Wake up call
6:30 AM Breakfast
7:00 AM Roll-call
7:30 AM 1 1/2 hour to march to forests, under guarded escort
6:00 PM 1 1/2 hour return march to camp
7:30 PM Dinner
8:00 PM After-dinner camp work duties (chop firewood, shovel snow, gardening, road repair, etc.)
11:00 PM Lights out
ITK-6 Camp (Perm-36) in 1946. Courtesy of the Gulag Museum at Perm-36.

ITK-6 Camp (Perm-36)

ITK-6 Camp (Perm-36) in 1946. The camp had four barracks for 250 prisoners each, a punishment block (for prisoners who disobeyed the harsh camp rules), a hospital, outhouses, and a headquarters building. Drawing by Oleg Petrov.

Courtesy of the Gulag Museum at Perm-36.
Prison Plan of Perm-36. Courtesy of the Gulag Museum at Perm-36.

Prison Plan of Perm-36

Plan of Perm-36 made by Lett Gunar Astra (in Latvian).

Courtesy of the Gulag Museum at Perm-36.