From Tolstyakov’s LiveJournal:
Unknown Yakutia: Gulag camp in Moma
Hello, dear reader! With the permission of Michael Cheremkina, creator of these both beautiful and terrible pictures, I’m writing a post about one of the least known Gulag death camps. In the late 30s/early 40s, by order of the NKVD of the USSR, in the upper reaches of rivers Moma and Kolyma, the Indigirsky corrective labour camp was set up (named Inlag), in which so-called “enemies of the people” mined an unknown ore. Perhaps uranium, although it is possible that they mined gold and tungsten.
“Many times, even in childhood,” recalls Michael, “I overheard conversations between adults about the fact that death camps were located in our region. And when the opportunity arose, I managed to organize a photo expedition to this natural and beautiful, but, in terms of context, terrible location.”
Along the way there were numerous mountains, rivers and lakes.
Along the way Michael and his friends came across the wreckage of an American A-20 bomber that crashed in 1943 during the voyage from Alaska to Siberia. It’s been 70 years and the American star is still clearly visible.
The machine-gun turrets were heated by stoves that were produced in Polubochek.
The guards’ room was made out of wood. Here even the bed of one of them has been preserved.
The cell. The floors and ceilings are made out of concrete, the walls out of stone. In the punishment area there are 5 rooms which were not heated even in winter. Imagine in winter at -50 Celsius… hungry, sick people were dropping like flies. The stove stood in the corridor where the guards were.
“Such a horrible place … we came at night, and when we photographed the cell it was kind of spooky and scary… I thought I heard the screams and groans of prisoners”, writes Michael in his travel notes.
Michael added “I cannot believe that in such a place, the regime created such horrors.”
An uncompleted building. History doesn’t tell us why: either camp was closed, or not enough builders survived.
“All mines have been blown up from inside”, says Mikhail.
One of the checkpoints.
16 people lived in these barracks.
Yakutsk was always called a prison without bars; they exiled revolutionaries here. Later, under Stalin, bars appeared anyway.
Comments from Tolstyakov’s LiveJournal:
anni_sanni:
Oh wow, what an impressive post!!!
pa_drugomu:
A stark contrast – beautiful nature and great human cruelty, this beautiful place can teach us of the death of thousands of innocent people.
tolstyakov: (responding to above)
And it’s part of our history :(
raf50:
Feel the fresh, clean air.
Caring Stalin sent the country’s citizens to ‘recover’…
That was the foundation of Socialism.
Sergey Contractor:
Stunningly beautiful. Sad that much of the earthly riches of the land are not part of our treasury, but belong to a handful of the 90s nouveau riche, who prefer to live not in our country but somewhere in London. […]
Comments from YaPlakal:
ClimberSPb:
No such thing as Gulag, 20 million repressed is nothing at all compared to the victories that the great Stalin led us to, he also won the war and made the country great, yes … we had industry … the Pioneers … yeah … the atom bomb … the repression, of course, was only for thieves, murderers and rapists ;) and it’s only justice! Glory to stalen [sic]! Long live the Soviet Union! ;) Urgh fuck, it’s as though it’s they dipped it in shit after they’d shown it to you.
Deim0nAx: (responding to above)
Oh well! Everyone has known for a long time that it was a billion people. Not counting the million who Stalin personally put down.
RAV4:
I always like to see articles, films, short stories on this topic. I always thought, why could those who were there not jump over the fence and run away? Well, it’s not difficult, a few people jumped over and ran aimlessly away.
But it seems these are really lousy conditions for human life if you’re not prepared for them, however beautiful it is. But personally this beauty would bore me after a month, I think.
Tashir:
The place is beautiful, but harsh. The inmates couldn’t give a shit about this beauty, the breadth and scope. Most likely they only had one thought: SURVIVE.
Сигнус:
How beautiful! But chilly(((
Nikolaha:
Vote me down, but I will say this: In the past, those who killed, mugged and robbed us, they did something for the country. The benefits: roads were built, gold was mined, etc., and now these parasites to society sit and come up with their own laws for us (then passing them on to the immature minds of youngsters) for money.
Who the fuck knows, but I know that I keep paying taxes for some fucking convict, who does fucking nothing except being dumb.
Do some business and be responsible for it, save the society which does you a favour.
What do you think? Beautiful surroundings for a terrible atrocity?
