1. FORCED LABOR CAMPS IN THE USSR 2. TRANSFER OF PRISONERS BETWEEN CAMPS 3. DECREES ON RELEASE FROM FORCED LABOR 4. ATTITUDE OF SOVIET PRISON OFFICIALS TOWARD SUSPECTS 1945 TO THE END OF 1955

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80T00246A032000400001-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 16
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 22, 2010
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: February 11, 1957
• Content Type: REPORT

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3IR
OManA&U0 001 HIPOQ4 O MOO G3A&UPOa HP(M4
rz
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
This material contains information affecting the National Defense of the United States within the meaning of the Espionage Laws, Title
18, U.S.C. Secs. 793 and 794, the transmission or revelation of which in any manner to an unauthorized person is prohibited by law.
S-E-C-R-E-T
COUNTRY USSR (.'
SUBJECT 1.
Forced Labor Camps in the USSR DATE DISTR.
2.
Transfer of Prisoners between
3.
Camps NO. PAGES
Decrees on Release from Forced REQUIREMENT
4.
Labor NO.
Attitude of Soviet Prison
INFO.
PLACE &
DATE ACQ.
11 February 1957
RD
four reports covering various aspects
of forced labor in the USSR from 1945 to 1955.
2. The titles and contents of the reports are as follows:
a. Forced Labor Camps in the USSR: This six-page report provides detailed
information on the organization of labor camps and on working and living
conditions in camps in the area of Bratsk (N 56-02, E 101-40) and Tayshet
(N 55-57, E 98-02) in Irkutsk Oblast. The bulk of this information concerns
Ozerlag, Other camps described
in the report are Kraslag near Tayshet, Minlag in the Vorkuta area, and
Vyatlag near Verkhne-Kamsk in Kirov Oblast.
b. Transfer of Prisoners between Camps: This four-page report is a detailed
account of the transfer
c Decrees on Release from Forced Labor Camps and Improvement of Conditions:
This three-page report provides information on decrees issued from 1953
through the fall of 1955 which affected inmates of forced labor camps.
d. Attitude of Soviet Prison Officials toward Suspects and Sentencing: This
one-page report cites examples of the cynicism evidenced by prison officials
regarding suspects and prison sentences.
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I
STATE IARMY I X NAVY X IAIR
x FBI AEC
Note: Washington distribution indicated by "X"; Field distribution by
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rJzerlac, ]_q51-
1. The directorate of the camp is located in Tayshet. The carp is ccmnosed of sip: subsectic
which include 53 settlements or columns. The labor camp settlements are scattered along
the route between Tayehet and Bratsk,
2,- The camp is headed by the chief of the camp directorate who has the rank of lieutenant
colonel, colonel, or general in the F.W. In Ozerlag the chiefs of the camp directorate
are periodically changed; in 1955 the chief was a colonel.
3,, The directorate of the camp is subcrdir.;ate to GUL!G in Moscow. It consists of the follol
ing sections: the planning-production' section (FPO); the secticn for ccmm:isssary supplies
the cultural-education section, renames: the political section in 1954; the medical secti
(SANO); the operational section.
4. Each subsection contains "units" which correspond to tie sections of the camp directoratc
such as the cultural-educational unit of the subsection (r1C,h), which was renamed the po::.
itical unit in 1954, tre medical unit, etc. The subsection has a chief disciplinary',
officer (nachal ?nik re: hima ).
5. The chief of each labor camp settlement is subordinate to the chief of t}e correspondin?;
subsection. As a rule, he has a deputy. The chief disciplinary officer of t labor camp
settlement Is subordinate to the cl-ief disciplinary officer of the subsection. The chie_~
of the production-planning unit of the settlement often is a prisoner. The chief of the
nedical unit, as well as all the other unit chiefs, are civilians. The work superinten-
dent, a civilian, is the deputy to the chief of production iif a labor carp settlement am
is called "prorab", an abbreviation of his full title "prcizvodi.tell robot". The chief
accountant of a labor camp settlement --a a civilian.
6, The staff of all the units of a labor camp settlement, with the exception of their hears,
is chosen from the prisoners. An excepticn is the planning-production unit, the head of
which is often a prisoner, since apparently V ere were not enough civilian econcrrists.
7o The chief of a labor camp settlement appoints the prisoners to fill the posts in these
units, with the approval of the operational representative necessary,
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t The number of prisoners in each labor carp setiier,ont was different, an0 in Czerlag
rangedtrorr ECC to 2,000. The size of settler, tints in other labor c&7-ps wss cifferert;
for exe`rple, in Vyatlag in 1946-47 there were 1,500 to 3,500 prisoners per settlement,
and in V-4nlag in 1948-49 there were 5,0CC to f,C00 prisoners per settlerr--ent.
9. In. 1955 there were 50,000 -- 55,000 prisoners in Ozerlag. The majority, up tc FC1. were
Soviet citizens, and the remainder were foreiCners. The rajority of fl e Soviet citize!
were kestern Ulrzinisns, Estonians, lotiians, I,itFuan ans, Azerbsidzl.tnis, .Tac`$hiks, e-
There were no more than 10% of 'ussfan nationality. This is generally true of special.
labor camps, which contsin political prisoners. In ordine:r% labor ('Errs the :'-ussian
predominate. a erlag belonged to the category of special labor carps
10. The 1953 amnesty was for ordinary cririnels. Approxi.rately one-half per cent of the
prisoners in Ozerlag were released. Up to 70% of the prisoners in 6nferlag ,here re-
leased. They were released in one grand sweep, in approx;rrate]y one week. '.ithin the
next three months the majority of them were rearrested for crimes wf icb- t1-ey had newly
corm itted and returned to Angarlag. 25X1
in Ozerlag, there was no change in t!e number of prisoners in the car
tlthcurh prisoners were transferred fro one labor camp sett3errent to another, the gen.
oral number of prisoners re- ainod about the ssTre. A:n exception was Va turning over o:
the 2nd subsection to tn_garlag in November 1954. a~.pi roxfrettel' 4,000 invalids, settle
rents C37, 033, 031, and 04(, were transferred to Aingarlag.
12. The Ixieoners were employed In timber exploitation (lesopcval), at the sevril.l, and in
motor vehicle repair work slops, etc. T ier prig cipell"" worked at timber exploitation
and work connected with it. All the sawrflls worhhed around the clock in two ten-hour
shifts. There was a night brigade and a day }rigade. 11:cae whose serte'co as 75 yea
we, a not permitted to work on the night shift during the summer sirce the authorities
feared escapes.
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13. Two hundred of the 60C men in 043, we-'e Invalids. n ere were a tota1
of 13 non working invalids. The remainder were working irvelids, who wcr'red without
norms and were paid according to output. In addition, there were i val3ra who worked
on camp raiintenance. Approximately 4CO persons worrlped according to norms. They were
divided into brigades, the largest of which were the sawmill },ri?ades, the 12th and
13th, which contained 100 persons each. The production norms were in acccrdcnee with
the All-Union scale and were the some as for free workers. T' :e free workers, norms
were calculated for eight working hours. The daily norms for the .prisoners, who worker
ten hours, were raised proportionately. In 1954 an eight hour working de was intro-
duced for the prisoners also.
14. There were about 50 persons in the timber exploitation brigade, about 3C persons in th
timber haulinf (trelevochnays) briiiade, 20 in the stacking (sltabelevochnaya) brigade,
etc.
15. Ordinarily the norms were overfulfilled, but rrainly on paper. Each bri?ade leader
would record for his brigade more output than End actually been produced. All, from
the authorities to the rrisoners, were anxious to overfulfill the plan, and consequent-
the authorities paid little heed to the accuracy of output records.
16. There were four towers at settlement C43. During the dal' there were sentries on only
two of the towers, diagonally opposite each othcx, and at night there yore sentries on
all of the towers. In addition, there was a watchrran (Yontroler) on viand at the gate:
who controlled edrTittar_ce through the gates, and the chief of tie guard (yaravla). Thr
sentries on the towers changed every two hours, but were on duty (neaut raryad) 24 Fore.
the rest of the time they were in the guard installation. At night chained dogs rein
around the barbed wire.
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17. The guard force O'orvcy) both guarded the carp and escorted the ,-'riscners to work,
There were 100 persons on the guard force of settlement 043. A large brirado was
escorted to work by six persons and one man with a dog.
18. The uniform of the guards (l-onvoiry) was the military uniform of the VGB troopss a
blue cap, with a red band, and red shoulder boards and buttonholes. TLe color of the
uniform was khaki. The guards were armed either with submachine guns or rifles.
19. The columns were escorted in the following mhnner: two guards in front, two bei ind,
one cf whoa was tie head of the guard, And one on each side. The guard with the dog
followed the column.
20. Before t1le coluan'of prisoners left, tie heed of the guard woulc' meet them at the gate
of the camp and warn them: "Le sure to go by fives, go arm in arm, carry out all law-
ful orders.of tie guard, do not leave the formation. A step to the right or a step to
the left will be considered an escape attempt and weapons will be used without warning
The word "without" wu: emphstlcally shouted.
21, Until 1953 the guards' treatment of the prisoners was invariably rude sknd hostile. AC
Berriya?s exaoution the attitude of the guards altered sharply. The guards escorting V
prisoners often would strike up a conversation and chat with the prisonners, and tried
to maintain an almost friendly relationship. From that time on the prisoners often
vent as far as to be rude to the guards: "0h, you Beriya'a dogs! " The criminals vou)
shout: "Wait until the Americans coke - we'll bang you al?.' "
22, Until 1952 if a guard prevented a -riscner's escape, 1-e received a r^onth's leave and
300 rubles. As a result it frequently hapr.?ened that a guard vould kill a prisoner for
taking one step beyond the boundary of the zapretnaya sons, at work, for example, and
then receive 3CC rubles and leave. In 1952 this policy of giving ieave and money was
abolished, and immediately "escape ette!pts" 'eased.
23. The following were civilian members of the adreinistrat;or of the settlement: the chic:,
of the settlement, the deputy chief, the work superintendent, the senior accountant,
the chief of the medical unit, who was a doctor or a doctor's assistant, the chief of
the unit for commissary supplies, the chief disciplinary officer, ti-e operational rep-
resentative, the chief of the special unit, sometimes the chief of the planning-produe.
tion unit, the instructor of the political section, forrerly inspector of the cultural--
education unit, and the foreman (naryadchik) in ciarge of the storehouse, a total of
12-13 persons. The position of foreman was a fictitious one, for which someore reeei'k?(.
money. In actuality the foreman was one of the prisoners s.ho was corrected with the
chief of the special unit end with the operational representative. le was, in effect,
the meat influential prisoner in the camp.
24. About 100 persons from settlement O/3 worked within tie camp as tailors, shoemakers,
blacksmiths, joiners, cooks, laundresses, orderlies, etc.
25. The barracks in settlement C43, as was customary in the other settlenerts of Czerlag,
were made of loge plastered on the inside and sometires on the outside. The barracks
were one story high, about five or six m wide, and about 40 m long. Usually each bar-
rack was divided into two sections, each inaccessible to the other and each with one
entrance. Each section had a washroom and usually a drying room (eushilka). TI-ere
were two brick stoves in each section. J section was b'.ilt to acccmodate 5C persons,
but in actuality often contained up to "O persons. The prisoners slept on what were
called "vagonki", double-decker vooden structures; two prisoners slept on top anc' two
on bottom.
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26. Until 1952 the "guaranteed ration" uss distributed to eeeb prisoner, rof rdles: of
whether or not he hrid fulfilled the norm:. It consisted cf 122 grams of grouts, 10
(rams of flour, 20 grans of sugar, 75 grams of fish, 10 frets of mcmothing made of
flour, such as maceroni, 5Ct' grans of potatoes and vet etables, 15 Prat-s of fats, 1
grams of a coffee substitute, 11.3 Iran's of tomato sauce, 45 frairs of '-eat, and 650
grams of bread. From this the following meals were derived: breatrfast -- 700 grams
of soup and 200 cc of kasha; dinner -- 700 cc of scup and 2CC frciii i of bread; supper
700 cc of soup and 200 cc of kasha. In the evening a portion of f' a}h, and 2C0 prams
of broad were handed out. All t) ese food products were of extrerre?,-?, low quality. In
addition, It was permitted to substitute scree products for others for example , fish
could be substituted for Peat, caggege for potatoes, etc.
27. Those rrisoners who fulfilled over 100% of the norm were given a supplementary ration.
`There were several grades,, Bach including 100 grans of breac', 200 cc of 1/es)--9, and 5
,raus of sugar more than the next lowest one.
2t?. Beginning with March 1952 the camp was put on a bisia of econo?-ic accountability
(khozrashet), i.e. the prisoners vere paid for their work on the basis of a reduced
rate of output (po vyralootke po ponizEennoy tarifnoy setke). The quantity of food
was increased: everyone was given dally an additional 8CC grsiTs of 13C prawns
of groats, 10 grams of flour products, 3C grams of fat, 21 grars of -311ger, 3 (rams of
tomato puree, 350 grams of potatoes, 500 grams of vegetables, 15 tra;rs of 'heat, and
up to 90 grams of fish. The food iaproved, but the practise of sui titutinf sere pro-
ducts for others re-rained. ) reover, ti-ere always was en inadequate ancunt of preen
vegetables and the prisoners all suffered from scurvy.
29. Stores (lar'ki) whero food anti tobacco could be bcug}-t more opened at 41c, settlements.
One could always buy bread at these stores, but the supply of ootor -roducts as poor..
There were expensive products' too eirensive for the prisoners to buy, but rarely
cheap oduets.
30. In the summer of 1955 the nora's for food rations were egtin changed. The old name
were retained only for those who worked at baz:ie enterprises such as forest exploit-
ation, the sawmill, the motor vehicle repair work shops, etc. All. invali(s an c'
engaged in subsidiary work began to receive less: (5C grams of breed, 13.5
grams of sugar, 12 grans of fat.
31. At settlement C43, as in all other settlements, there was one storehouse both for the
prisoners and the garriso-. The storehouse bui.ding was 15 x 20 m large. It usually
contained a week's supply of food products. The food products were brought frorr the
central warehouses of the Directorate or the subsection.. In 195:? the products were
brought to the storehouse by motor vehicles. Fcrmorly ttey had been brought by horses
and still earlier, prior to 1950, the carts bearing ti.e products '.ere drawn by men.
Supplies for approximately 7 - 1C days were brought at ore tie. In er'rition, there
was a vegetable storehouse at the settlement 'which was filled with potatoes and other
vegetables in the fall after harvest. Usually the vegetables did not last until the
next harvest.
320 The storehouse and also the vegetable storo+rouse were located in the working zone,
where tla shoe repair shops, carpenter work shops and smithies were. This zone was
separate from the living quarters zone. The storehouse and the vegetable storehouse
were not guarded other than by the general guard force from the tcuera.
33. The vegetables and the potatoes care from a sovkhos Oicb belonged to the cclr.p direct..-
or The labor in this sovkhos was also supplied by prisoners, usually women. The
sovkhos's harvest was usually gathered late, and the produce reached the storeb-ocsea
partially frozen, and quickly spoiled.
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m edition, the settlerrents ti errselves would often plant small vet etable plots.
Subse4uently the settlerrents maintained their own pigsties, but the melt from t1-eir
was included in the norms. Tere were often interruptions in the supply rrcduce.
In such cases the following was donee if tYeee was millet in the storehouses, the
prisoners were given porridge made out of it for ti-ree months. If a- supply of peas
was brought its, they ate peas for tir?e months.
The earnings of the prisoners were calculated on the basis of a reduced USSR scale
of norms (po ponizhennym tarifnym normam SSSR).
Each enterprise whore the prisoners worked paid the money earned by the prisoners to
the camp. The carp deducted 60% of each prisoneraa earnings for the upkeep of the
camp. More was deducted from the remaining 40% as the upkeep of tY_e prisoner himself,
i.e. for lodging, food, clothing, end services such as light, heating, bath, barber,
etc. The remaining money was given to the prisoner. For example: a loc~srrith (slesa
in a motor vehicle repair shop earned 1,000 rubles a month. Tie camp (educted (00
rubles for the upkeep cf the carp. About 100 rubles of the remaining 100 rubles was
deducted fctr food, 75 rubles for clothing, about 5C rubles for everything else, such
as lodging, bath, barber, ate. He was given the remaining money. This was typical of
a worker who was a specialist. The other workers received an average of 30-40 rubles
a month.
37.
Those who were employed in economic services, such as shoemakers, barbers, etco, and
also prisoners who worked in the administration were given a salary of 35 to 100 r bl:
a month.
38.
Invalids who did production work were paid according to their output.
50% was deducted from their earnings.
However, only
39. The amount of earnings depended on the profession and on the degree of fulfillment of
the norms, if there ware norms for that patticular type of work.
4C. In addition, for overfulfillvent of the norm there were the so-called "zacboty" (pay-
ments). For overfulf illing the norm by 105j~z', one day of the sentence was counted as 25X1
ose, such as cooks, tailors, etc., who performed
work for which there were no norms, were given this type of cemrensatior, in accordance
with the evaluation of their work: if the evaluation was good, one day of their sen-
tence counted for two; if the evaluation was excellent, one day counted for 2?. or 3,
depending on their duties.
ll. Once a month, at a meeting, the chief of the special unit announced to the -risoners
how many "zachety" each had. The prisoners were not allowed to leave the camp un-
guarded only within the work area and to work and back. If a prisoner comarunicated
with a free man, both were punished.
42.
In the neighboring villages there were many former prisoners wFo after their release,
did not have the right to go to other areas of the country.
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hh
he population was hostile
toward the guar o ranniis en t e co un r.wo as through a populated point,
as at a station, the inhabitants woulc try to slip cigarettes and other items to the
prisoners. They would reply to the guards' protests by saying "Shut up, dogs of Beriy..
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1. /,Xsua11y, several weeks oefcee a -11:r insfar of pr ! oner3 free one c imp to nnotlis-z
took place, rumors would start to run through the c.p tit a trap vi
`:.no conpilat'ion of lists would begin i n t ho spociel se:ctior'w, snd tl) h t;calld not be
kept secret. 25X1
J were to
be transferred ~ n;;"tbu eol"t3.ii . On aipDr ~ i_r-__te (dr 4 7.f: .;it;, 7i. f)~i tl;o o Included
to ~ r ~~_ ~yui?t s~t;
in the transport Echo posted, end it iris sec n that, of the appro-zirr. t "CSC invalids
on the column, about 70 were to tia t_r ansies?rc.;:? to er_;cn of the ollc::1 ._ t; column, all
uov~~r
located near 033 9 c37, 04,6-
. risoners who had to loave ;,,,ere released from work and turned -.,a l the erti cles
The
in their possession which belonged to the eenp, such c:c their ma tx?_ s:ss~, pillows,
blankets, sheets, quilted jackets. ^,t the cemo tire thtio accountirr. o~ff'l-co settled
the accounts of the prisoners, who had to sign a -t&t-c 1,,!nt that ihc; r i .d ro financier.
or other claims on the camp.
The departure did not take piece Until 19 S ptembe- si;lca at was not ul.V1 then that
railroad cars u;; re supplied, and frum thc turned. In their I-:. ?.c=ngings until
that date, approximately month, time p_r3oonpva slept on hard `c]o-v-';.
G On 19 September, all those who were to leave on. the tr_-ne-,crt tore ordered to go to
the working area, where a fairly superficial search was trade of both their persons
end their belongings. Nothing was taken away from, anyo ae
74 `1e naryadchik (officer in charge of work assignrr,ents), reeding from x!is list, ordered
the prisoners to go to the gates. Five persons vier e let through the Li:c-.tes at a time,
and after going through they fell into format`_on, with five persons to a raw. Then
the guards who were to be their escort took cksrgo. They conduuciec.l: .:r cft'r.er search of
the priscners and their belongings, making sure that the prisoners ^ad no krnives, r-ctz-ai
spoons, or other metal objects w}ich eculd be made into weapons. L,'I n ite prisoners
were transferred from one subcamp to another these searches vere usually superficial,
and were mainly regarded as a necessary formality.
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8. After the prisoners had been taken out of the camp, open trucks vere a pp]fed and 25
persons were put on each truck. Between the driver's cabin and the rest of tie truck
was placed a vocden, breast-high shield. There was a space of 75 cm betwee, the cabin
and the shield. In this space were two or three guards with submacuana guns or car-
bines. The prisoners had to sit an the floor of the truck with their backs to the
guards. In this manner the prisoners were taken to the place where tiaay were to en--
trein, the att-tion where the new cityof Radishchev was being constructed, about three
km from column AN There the prisoners were put in three railroad cars, with about
70 persons in each car. These were two-axle freight cars, equipped for the prisoners'
transportation. They had triple decker wooden plank beds, a barrel of water, and a
stove made out of sheet-iron which was not needed in this case because it was warm out-
side. Between the cars were platforms made of boards for the guards. Three small wood
on boards were piaoed over the small window in the car-in such a manner that it was,
possible to see out of the ear, but neither one's head nor one's arm could be stuck
through. At the and of the roof of each car wore two searchlights for 5llumi.natfng
the car at night from outside.
9. At 1000 or 1100 hogs the prisoners tiers put oz the cars. At about 1900 hourv the
cars set out, having been attached to a freight train. Until that tire they had had
no engine.
10. Before leaving the camp the prisoners were given their solid food rations for 24 hours
2,100. grams of bread, 30 grate of sugar, and 150 grave of salted herring, which the
prisoners ordinarily would not take.
11. In addition to the guards on the platform, there were other guards in a special car,
which was also a freight ear, There were two guards on each of the platforms between
the cars. There were a total of 2C guards. The chief of the escort guards.was an MVP
lieutenant.
12. After traveling approximately 130 km, the train arrived at Sosnovirs Steticn at about
0'700 hours. There the prisoners were put off, and were met by the officials of the
now subeamps. They were counted, their belonliaggs were loaded onto carts, and, with
a guard escort, they set off in formation on foot in the direction of the suboampe.
Very old and very'sick ren were put on cart together with the prisoners' belongings.
13. a column of about 70 men. The new guard force which escorted them,
which was not the same as the one that accompanied the transport, consisted of 12 men
with a shepherd dog. The distance from the station to subcsrp 037 was one-half kilo-
meter,
14. Upon arrival at the new eubeampt the prisoners were taken to t}:e both house, where
the subeamp guards (nedzireteli 1 conducted a seurch of their belongings. Pen tf e
prisoners were asked to turn in at the store room all their belongings which they did
not need every day. At the store room they were given a receipt for the articles they
turned in,' on which the valuable articles such as high boots, suits, etc., were spec-
ially mentioned with reference to quality: leather shoes, p e jacket, etc.
15. Idle they were at the'bath house t}-e "sanitary processing" took place, including in-
spection for lice, boiling of underwear to disinfect it, and shaving of body hair.
Beginning in 1953, the hair on the prisoner's head was net shaved if he did not went
it to be, After the both, ti-e local physicians subjected the prisoners to a medical
examination to determine their work capacity. Then the neryedchik?essigned the pri-
soners to brigades in accordance with their work capacity, bedclothes were distributed,
and the prisoners were assigned to barracks.
SEC R F T
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29. "Stolypin" cars are usually attached to passenger-a?ail tra'ns. They are routed on
the main Trans-Siberian roil lines as follows; Yrasnoyarask - Novosibirsk on(' bank;
Novosibirsk Sverdlovsk; Sverdlovsk - Chelyabinsk; Sverdlovsk - Moscow; Sverdlovsk
Kirov; Kirov - Lepingrad; Kirov - h:oseow. They are routed furti-er on other ra.']road
roes as follows: Moscow - Khar'kev; 1 ar'kov - Rostov; Khar'kov -- Kiev; Kiev -
L'vov; Moscow - Minsk; Minsk -- Lvov; l'oseo, - Leningrad; Moscow - Kuybyshev; Kuyby-
shev - Chelyabinsk, ate. Usually a "Stolypin" car travels in one direction about
three cat's .
30. Before leaving the transit prison,, a rrisoner is given solid food rations for t} ree
days. If the transfer iras effected in large transrorts over a long distance, there
was a kitchen on every train (eshelon) and the prisoners were fed an route.
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In the spring of 1954 the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet issued decrees on release be-
fore the appoiy.ted.time, on the release of invalids, on the reducing of the sentences
of prisoners who had performed ve!l at York and who had not violated the camp regula-
tions, and on the release of minors.
& These decrees were not published in the Soviet press. The representatives of the polit-
ical section of the camp directorate who came to the camp did not read these decrees to
the prisoners, but explained them to them. They arranged for meetings of the prisoners
at the subcamps and announced that the policy of the party and the Covernment in ro-
lation to the prisoners had been recognized as incorrect and changeds the bars were
removed from the barracks windows, the barracks were not locked at night, the numbers
were removed from the prisoners' clothes, easier work conditions were established for
invalids, and penalty rations for failure to go to work were abolished. It was also
announced that in accordance with the new decrees the prisoners would be We to reduce
their sentence in the camp. in spite of the explanations, no one, including the authori..,-
ties, know how these new decrees would be put into practice. The prisoners learned the
exact contents of the decrees at approximately the end of 1954 or the beginning of 1955,
Until than each chief interpreted them in his own way.
3 At the end of 1953 the prisoners were informed that the Special Council, the so-called
"troyka" (three) which sentenced the accused in their absence and without a trial, had
been dissolved. It had been acknowledged unconstitutional., and all cases upon which it
had acted would be reviewed.
LAWN ,lease
4. According to a decree, those prisoners who had a record of high work productivity and
who had not broken the camp regulations would be ,legible for early release after com-
pletion of two-thirds of their sentence. Their cases would be examined by a visiting
court, and in accordance with the court's decision, a given prisoner could be ;ranted
an early release, If. subsequent to his release, during what would have been the re-
mainder of the sentence, he commits another crime, the unnerved portion of the sentence
would be added to the new sentence. Prisoners released in this manner were sent to
settlements (na poseleniye) where they were required to appear at the END special korrend
ature for registration.
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SECRET
2
TRa~ arelea~go of disabled rarisoneir
3. According to decree, the camp authorities cools consider disabled prisoners for helebse
after a medical commission had established their total inability to vok. Their eases
were then ermined by a visiting court, according to whose decision they might be re-
leased.
W do agn alye-
6. Q recarmmniation of the camp authorities, a prisoner's sentence could ho reduced by a
court decision, as a rerfard for good work and good conduct.
Release of minors
io A m.nor is a person who, at the time he committed a crime, was not yet 18 years old.
They were to be released by courts.
iatttt re ca MR
S. In accordance with the decree, three types of camps were created: strict regime camps
where those priaoaers who did not show any sign of correction were sent, normal regime
carps which employed the same dirtcipline as the camps existing in 1954-55, and light
regime camps to which were sent those prisoners considered eligible an a result of their
work and conduct. There were no guard towers in light regime camps, and tie prisoners
went to work and worked unguarded. A nedairatell (snpervieor type guard) ves.responsible;
for keeping order in the camp.
9. All the explanations cf the authorities were of no avail, since no one knew how these
decrees were to be put into effect. At long last it was explained that the court decreer
were not enough for those who had been convicted under article 5g, and that the approval
of 2Rescow was needed se well.
10. IM August and September 1955 two more decries were issued. In the August decree it was
stated that all persons convicted under article 58 who were disabled or had reached their,
sixtieth year were to be immediately released, without any court action, with the excep-
tion of those convicted under the: following paragraphs of that article: I - treason, 2 --
armed uprising, 4 . aiding the irternationel bourgeoisie, 6 - espionage, and 8 - terror-
ism. In actuality it meant that all disabled Irlsoners and 60-yea;-obis who had been
convicted under article 58-14-anti-Soviet propaganda, were released.
11. In the September 1955 decree it was said that with the exception of those who had direct
ly participated in punitive detachments and expeditions, all those persons who had been
convicted for collaboration with the occupation forces W who had served in German unite
and in military formations were subject to release. They were to be released without
court action. 25X1
in November 1954 We aut'. orities recommended
one person for pre--term release, and four persons for reduction of sentence. A rep-
resentative of the political section of Ozerlag who came to a suboaarp meeting, criticized
the camp authorities for recommending too few persons, and stated that other subcamps
bad recommended many more for release. He further stated that they were to release or
reduce the sentences of as many prisoners as possible. The carp authorities replied
that the majority of the E.irisoners at the surcamp were disabled and that there were no
prisoners who had excellent work records since the nia=n work performed consisted of
maintenance work within ghe camp. The representative answered that that WOW wail
not correct, and that If a disabled person did not refust to work, and for example,
heated stoves or sawed wood, he also had the right to be recommended for release or
reduction of sentence. Upon hearing V is, junior Lieutenant SA)IN, of We political
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S E C R E T
3
unit of the subeamp, said: "We wou3e reccmv? end eVreryone for release with great
pleasure, but we have been hearing talk about decrees for a whole vcar, and we
don't know tt:e meaning- of them or whit we are supposed to do. All this has caused
a lowering of discipline in the carpi and up to now tie have not heart of one ease
of release. The prisoners are' expecting release from day to day, but no one, eit4rwr
in our subcamp or in the others, has bleed released#. Even the representative of the
prpsecutor'a office is unable to give us cohtpletely clear explanatirns. For example,
the comp, ;public prosecutor t1veatened to told the authorities 'of tr a subcar?ps respon-
sible for not having released those who have served two-thirds of tFeir sentences.
This indicates that the public prosecutor hix elf did not read ti-e decree attintively1
since it stated tfat court examination was requirer, and the carp authorities did
not have the authority to independently release prisoners. All this leads to the
conclusion that though it has been said that wood bias been cut in the forest, when
one goes to bring the wood home it turns out that there isn't any".
13. A couple or days after this vesting, the subearrp administration asked Vs council
of the subcarp aktiv, which was composed of prisoners, to recoarrea6 to the camp adn iYi--
istration 15 mare persons for pre-term release and reduction of sentence.
14. The results were that of 19 persons recotr.rrended for release and reduction of sentence
by the subcarp authorities, the Directorate of Oaerlag, perritted the revaev of ti e
cases of a tctal of tires persons. The epplieetion for the reduction of tie prison-
ers' sentences was sent by the Directorate to NDscow, but in the three succeeding
mcnths, while source was still In the subcarp, no answer from 'Moscow arrived. 25X1
15.
16. Once, in 1954, a representative from CUl tC came to subcarp C37 from ''oscow end began
giving the prisoners explanations. of the regulations and the "payments" (sarbety
cerrpensetion given to a prisoner for overfulfilling the norm 1*, reducing his sentence
a specified number of hours or days). _Among the prisoners was a German who had been
sentenced to life imprisonment. As a joke, he asked the representative of GUL C:
"end what about sachety in my case -- I have a life sentence?" The representative,
undisturbed, adawereds "They are still taken into consideration". The prisoners
responded with explosive laughter, but the representative did not uncerstand that he
had said something stupid.
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In 1945 one of the men arrested tasked the interrogator 25X1
during an interroguti in the Lefortovskaya prison why the interrogator was screaming
at him, that he,C , was a suspect not proven guilty, and therefore did not de-
serve such treatment. t'o this the interrogator replied that any man walking on the
street was a suspect, but a man who was already in prison was finished?
2, In 1955 at Kraslag, Reshety station, some t}laves (bletnyye) were talking to the prison
warden, and told him that one of their friends had been senteneec1 to five years for an
attempt to leave the USSR. The warden said that that was not possible, the sentence
for escape attempts was 25 years. But a thief explained to him that,, according to the
law, the sentence should be between 3 and 8 years, and his friend got away with 5 years,
To this the warden replied that the thief did not know what he was talking about, be-
cause if the sentence for attempted escape were only five years, everybody in the USSR.
would make attempts to escape abroad.
30 In 1954 the chief of one of the Ozerlag subcamps asked a prisoner about the length of
his term. When he found out that the prisoner had a 25-year sentence, the chief asked
what the prisoner's crime was, and when the prisoner replied that he was not guilty;
the chief said that that was not possible, innocent persons received ton years, not
250
MOPY
25X1
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4e
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