The abbreviation GULAG (ГУЛАГ) stands for " Г ла́вное У правле́ние исправи́тельно-трудовы́х ЛАГ ере́й" (Main Directorate of Correctional Labour Camps), but the full official name of the agency changed several times. The Gulag is recognized as a major instrument of political repression in the Soviet Union.

Apr 14, 2025 · Gulag, (Russian: “Chief Administration of Corrective Labour Camps”), system of Soviet labour camps and accompanying detention and transit camps and prisons that from the 1920s to the mid-1950s housed the political prisoners and criminals of the Soviet Union.

Mar 23, 2018 · What Is a Gulag? The Gulag was a system of forced labor camps established during Joseph Stalin’s reign as dictator of the Soviet Union. The notorious prisons, which incarcerated about 18...

6 days ago · You could be the next one unlawfully imprisoned in Trump’s Salvadoran gulag by Max Burns, opinion contributor - 04/16/25 7:30 AM ET

Mar 18, 2025 · The Gulag was a system of Soviet labour camps and accompanying detention and transit camps and prisons. From the 1920s to the mid-1950s it housed political prisoners and criminals of the Soviet Union. At its height, the Gulag imprisoned millions of people.

From the 1920s through to the 1950s, under the iron-clad rule of Joseph Stalin, a system of labor camps known as 'gulags' carved a harsh scar on the psyche of the Soviet Union.

While the Gulag was radically reduced in size following Stalin’s death in 1953, forced labor camps and political prisoners continued to exist in the Soviet Union right up to the Gorbachev era.

Jul 18, 2022 · Started by Vladimir Lenin, and expanded by Joseph Stalin, gulags made up a defining part of life in the Soviet Union. As many as 30,000 camps operated across the USSR, …

Creation of the Main Camp Administration (Glavnoye upravleniye lagerey, GULAG – an acronym that has appeared sporadically since 1930) under the USSR’s People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs, which takes over the management of practically all Soviet prison facilities.

‘GULag’ is the correct spelling of the acronym for Главное управление лагерей (Glavnoye Upravleniye Lagerei; “Main Directorate of Camps”). But this abbreviation became a frequently used...