65 years ago, the Gulag structure was officially abolished in the USSR

January 09, 2025 | Virtual museum | Blog

In the Soviet Union, the Gulag structure was officially abolished on 13 January 1960. Unofficially, however, it continues to this day. Russian archives still hide much unknown information, including unique photographs showing the slave labour of the prisoners for which the whole system was set up. We have recently managed to obtain some previously unpublished photos, notwithstanding the current situation, and thanks to the cooperation of our loyal colleagues remaining in Russia, you can now see some of these photos.

Today's colonies often stand on the same sites as the Gulag camps. Alexei Navalny was tortured to death in one such gulag a year ago, and once again, political prisoners are being held there, of whom more than 850 have been confirmed by Memorial (February 2025). In reality, however, the number is probably several times higher. In this sense, the gulag survives in Russia to this day.

Unique photos can be found in a new article on our blog.