What history is silent about: the shocking truth about violence against women in the Gulag (11 photos)

The Soviet period cannot be called easy: there are truly dark pages in history. We survived famine, war, and repression - such was the time then. A lot of books have been written, there is a lot of evidence. Some of this is fiction, and some is the harsh and cruel truth.

Not only men who were enemies of the people were sent to the camps, but also women: the wives, mothers and daughters of these enemies. In fact, their only fault was that they were close relatives of unreliable elements, which means they were expected to undergo re-education through labor. But besides this, they had to endure pain and humiliation.

The system “broke” its citizens - they had to be obedient and silent, and therefore difficulties began immediately upon arrival at the forced labor camp. The women were stripped naked and sent to the bathhouse, where they were subjected to a thorough inspection: they were assessed as goods for cohabitation.

Forcing women into cohabitation was common. In particular, on Solovki, female prisoners not only prepared food for the guards and cleaned their boots, but also indulged them on demand. Women were divided into three categories: “ruble,” “half-ruble,” and “penny.” It is clear that healthy and beautiful were included in the first category and were in particular demand.

Rumor has it that there, on Solovki, each security officer had up to five concubines, and some organized entire harems. It is known that several dozen women were constantly selected from among the prisoners to “serve” the soldiers guarding the camps. And they became insolent to such an extent that each time they demanded new concubines.

Not all women were obedient; some tried to resist. The camp guards did not stand on ceremony with them: under various pretexts they were sent to a punishment cell, deprived of rations and warm clothes. If these simple methods did not produce the desired results, prisoners could simply be starved or raped. Not everyone could stand it.

A girl, a Polish girl of about seventeen, came to Solovki and had the misfortune of attracting the attention of Toropov. She had the courage to refuse his advances. One day, several drunken guards led by Toropov entered the women’s barracks. He dragged the girl out of bed, and each person who entered in turn raped her...”

They “broke” women in other ways.

Pointless work. The prisoners poured water from one ice hole to another or dragged heavy logs from place to place. It was difficult to withstand not only physically, but also mentally...

Punishment cell. 400 grams of bread and two mugs of hot water - that’s the entire daily ration. The room has no windows and is not heated. It took several days for the convicts to “come to their senses.” Usually, after the punishment cell, people ended up in hospitals: not everyone was saved...

Cold torture. There is a known case when one of the camp commanders, as punishment, left more than thirty prisoners, including women, on ice in 30-degree frost. As a result, all of them, without exception, had their frostbitten legs amputated, after which most of the prisoners died in the infirmary...

Torture by children.

Only a psychopath could come up with this punishment. It is known that women are more resilient than men, and therefore better tolerate hard life and bullying. Their children were subjected to violence, and in front of their mothers. Some were shocked to the point that they went crazy. It is worth saying that sometimes the guards themselves could not stand it...

Execution. Women were sentenced to capital punishment in the same way as men - enemies of the people. “You order her to follow ahead, and you yourself, with a revolver in your hand, follow her. When necessary, you command: right, left. Until you get to the place where sawdust or sand is stored. There was a blow to the back of her head and...”

It’s not customary to talk about this, but it happened. Now many are exploiting the facts to their own advantage, inventing new myths, and pointing fingers at those involved. We only hope that the system will not fail again and people will not suffer from the mistakes of those who control the state machine.