The Gulag and the Non-Gulag as One Interrelated Whole

Question 1

Who is Oleg Khlevniuk?

Answer 1

A distinguished Russian historian and authority on Stalinism and the Soviet political system

Known for precise, data-driven research and works like The History of the Gulag and Stalin: New Biography of a Dictator

Question 2

How should the Gulag be viewed according to Khlevniuk?

Answer 2

As an integral and interconnected part of the Soviet state and society

Emphasizes fluid boundaries between the Gulag and ‘free’ Soviet world

Question 3

What does Khlevniuk mean by ‘zone of half-freedom’?

Answer 3

A condition where people faced lesser punishments, surveillance, or discrimination without formal imprisonment

Millions lived in these conditions, nearly indistinguishable from camps

Question 4

What was the Gulag’s role in the Soviet economy?

Answer 4

Contributed massively to infrastructure, resource extraction, and heavy industry

At its peak, MVD controlled 10% of capital investment

Question 5

What were the conditions for forced labor outside the camps?

Answer 5

Peasants bound to kolkhozes, workers unable to leave jobs freely, youth in ‘labor reserves’

These conditions replicated Gulag coercion

Question 6

What does Khlevniuk state about the Gulag as a systemic institution?

Answer 6

It was a cornerstone of the Stalinist state linked to economic planning, political control, and social engineering

Encompassed labor camps, special settlements, prisons, and internal exile

Question 7

What were ‘zazonniki’?

Answer 7

Prisoners allowed to live outside camps

Symbolized the integration between Gulag and non-Gulag populations

Question 8

What long-term effects did the Gulag have on Soviet society?

Answer 8

Created a stratified society where proximity to state violence determined status

Resulted in fear, obedience, and trauma persisting after Stalin’s death

Question 9

What is a significant social interaction between Gulag and non-Gulag populations?

Answer 9

Constant exchanges where former prisoners settled near camp zones or worked alongside free citizens

Blurred social boundaries

Question 10

What is the significance of memory and denial in the post-Stalin period?

Answer 10

Survivors often remained silent due to trauma; some testimonies shaped critiques of Stalinism

Revival of Stalinist nostalgia and Gulag denial in modern Russia conflicts with victims’ legacies

Question 11

True or False: The Gulag was an isolated institution within the Soviet system.

Answer 11

False

It was deeply interconnected with various aspects of Soviet state and society