This document provides an introduction to women in the Gulag system during Soviet rule. It discusses how women formed strong support systems with each other to survive the difficult conditions. While some women had relationships with higher-status men in the camps and received better treatment, most women faced the same harsh conditions as men, including meager food rations and poor living quarters. However, women generally had greater survival skills than men, such as mending clothes, and were able to support each other emotionally through shared hardships.

1.
Inside
the
Gulag
Looking
Out:
A
Review
of,
Letters
of
Love:
Women
Political
Prisoners
in
Exile
and
the
Camps,
with
an
introduction
to
women
in
the
Gulag
Savannah
Maxwell
RUSS
410
December
11th,
2014

2. 2
Introduction:
Women
in
the
Gulag
Women
throughout
history
have
played
a
pivotal
role
in
some
of
the
worlds
most
inspiring
and
difficult
conflicts.
Women
in
the
Gulag
during
the
time
of
the
Soviet
Union
are
no
different.
These
women
played
an
important
role
of
moral
support
for
each
other
and
for
their
loved
ones
outside
of
the
camp.
Without
a
support
system
it
can
be
argued
that
many
people
would
not
have
survived.
The
bond
between
women
is
an
immeasurable
one
that
spans
ethnicities,
social
class,
languages,
and
generations.
Women
are
strong,
and
in
many
cases
this
strength
and
willingness
to
take
care
of
each
other
helps
them
survive
the
tough
times
even
better.
This
was
no
different
for
women
in
the
Gulag
in
camps,
prisons,
and
in
exile.
The
women
that
were
imprisoned
during
this
time
faced
unimaginable
pain
and
challenges
that
would
put
them
to
the
ultimate
test.
It
is
important
in
the
study
of
any
conflicting
time
in
history
to
study
not
just
what
happened
at
the
surface
level,
but
to
dig
deeper
to
a
more
human
level
and
get
to
what
is
really
important
beyond
numbers
and
figures:
the
individual
human
experience
on
an
emotional
level,
in
this
case,
the
experiences
of
women.
The
Gulag
held
no
prejudices,
women,
men
and
children
alike
were
all
imprisoned
and
sent
to
camps
across
the
Soviet
Union.
In
theory,
men
and
women
were
not
supposed
to
be
placed
in
camps
together,
nonetheless,
this
happened.
Unfortunately,
this
created
many
problems
for
camp
system,
namely
relationships
between
men
and
women
in
the
camps
that
created
unfair
conditions
for
the
other
prisoners.
Prisoners
were
not
to
be
given
special
treatment,
but
in
some
cases
in
the
camps,
men
that
were
higher
in
the
camp
hierarchy
would
offer
women
in
the

3. 3
camps
better
opportunities
for
living
in
exchange
for
love,
romance,
and
even
sex
in
many
cases.
The
NKVD
strongly
disapproved
of
this
system
so
long
as
it
did
not
work
to
their
advantage.
Any
relationships
with
prisoners
that
served
to
benefit
themselves,
the
authorities
would
not
question.
This
did
not
mean
however
that
the
women
that
were
involved
in
these
relationships
were
always
given
preferential
treatment
though;
this
simply
meant
that
the
women
had
a
different
camp
experience
than
many.
Though
some
women
experienced
the
benefit
of
having
a
‘relationship’
of
sorts
with
someone
of
higher
status
in
the
camps,
many
women
did
not.
In
fact
most
women
were
unfortunate
in
that
area.
Many
women
were
arrested
as
a
result
of
their
husbands
being
arrested,
and
in
some
cases
even
their
children
were
arrested.
Again,
the
Gulag
did
not
discriminate.
The
system
was
meant
to
create
an
equal
enforced
labor
system
for
all
of
those
who
were
arrested.
Granted
some
camps
were
easier
to
work
at
and
less
deaths
occurred
there
than
other
camps,
the
system
was
still
as
rough
as
can
be
on
everyone,
everyone
that
was
arrested
and
entered
the
camp
system
suffered.
Everyone
ate
the
same
bland
soup,
the
same
small
bread
ration
(if
any),
and
lived
in
the
same
shoddy
conditions.
This
was
no
different
for
women,
but
what
was
different
for
women
was
their
ability
to
take
care
of
themselves
much
better
than
many
me
in
the
Gulag
were.
Women
were
more
accustomed
to
mending
their
own
clothes,
and
even
their
bodies
seemed
to
adjust
to
less
nourishment
better
than
the
men
did.
Women,
it
can
be
argued,
were
more
apt
to
survive
the
harsher
conditions
than
the
men
were
because
they
also
had
a
community
as
support.
They
not
only

4. 4
had
people
(acquaintances)
that
they
would
see
on
a
daily
basis,
but
they
had
a
support
system
in
the
other
women
in
the
camps.
This
support
system
was
comprised
usually
of
other
women,
and
in
this
system
the
women
were
able
to
share
stories
of
hardships,
times
of
happiness,
love,
grief.
Stories
of
horror
were
also
shared
between
women.
In
sharing
their
own
stories,
it
helped
women
cope
with
a
similar
horrific
event
that
might
have
happened
to
them.
The
main
strongpoint
of
the
support
system
between
women
in
the
camps
was
the
fact
that
these
women
always
had
emotional
and
moral
support
in
each
other,
because
they
were
facing
a
similar
plight.
(Applebaum,
Pg.
307-­‐333).
Many
women
were
viewed
based
on
their
status
within
different
camp
cliques.
These
cliques,
sometimes
referred
to
as
clans
within
the
camps,
could
determine
a
woman’s
worth
to
her
fellow
prisoners
and
even
to
the
camp
guards,
those
that
mattered
most
when
it
came
to
her
treatment.
In
many
cases,
women
were
offered
different
items
or
services
in
exchange
for
sex.
Many
women
were
offered
more
food,
or
even
in
some
instances
newer
clothing
and
more
bread
rations.
These
cliques
however
had
different
implications
depending
on
your
status
in
the
camp.
As
Anne
Applebaum
puts
it
in
her
book,
Gulag:
A
History,
“Within
the
criminal
world,
women
were
subject
to
a
system
of
elaborate
rules
and
rituals,
and
received
very
little
respect
(Applebaum,
Pg.
311).
According
to
Varlam
Shalamov,
“A
third
or
fourth
generation
criminal
learns
contempt
for
women
from
childhood…
woman,
an
inferior
being
has
been
created
only
to
satisfy
the
criminal’s
animal
craving,
to
be
the
butt
of
his

5. 5
crude
jokes
and
the
victim
of
public
beatings
when
her
thug
decides
to
‘whoop
it
up’”
(Shalamov,
Pg.
415-­‐431)
Women
in
the
criminal
system
much
of
the
time,
unfortunately,
became
prostitutes
and
part
of
a
system
where
they
were
owned
by
male
criminals.
This
system
continued
in
a
vicious
cycle
between
women
being
traded
between
masters
within
the
criminal
system.
It
is
undoubtedly
unfortunate
that
these
occurrences
continued
throughout
the
camp,
and
it
even
reached
the
point
where
for
some,
prostitution
and
rape
was
just
commonplace
and
a
casual
part
of
daily
life
in
the
camps.
This
did
not,
however,
make
it
any
less
horrific
or
scar
the
women
that
experienced
it
any
less.
To
illustrate
just
how
awful
this
system
was
for
women
Lev
Razgon
put
it
best,
reminiscing
about
his
time
in
the
camps:
“The
girl
finished
eating,
and
neatly
piled
the
plates
on
the
wooden
tray.
Then
she
lifted
her
dress,
pulled
off
her
pants
and,
holding
them
in
her
hand,
turned
her
unsmiling
face
in
my
direction.
“Lying
down
or
what?”
she
asked.
At
first
not
understanding,
and
then
scared
by
my
response,
she
said
in
self
justification,
again
without
a
smile,
“People
don’t
feed
me
without
it…”
(Razgon,
Pg.
163-­‐164)
This
unfortunately
was
a
harsh
reality
for
women.
What
little
I
have
uncovered
with
my
research
has
taught
me
that
the
women
that
experienced
the
Gulag
were
tough,
they
were
harsh
and
they
were
soft,
they
were
intelligent
yet
naïve,
but
above
all
they
were
women,
they
were
human
beings
no
different
from
the
men
and
women
that
chose
to
imprison
them.

6. 6
To
cap
off
my
introduction,
I
would
like
to
provide
a
quote,
a
quote
which
I
believe
will
speaks
volumes
to
just
how
horribly
life
changing
the
camps
were
on
women.
This
quote
also
lays
the
path
to
the
second
portion
of
my
studies,
the
author
of
the
book
in
question,
Letters
of
Love:
Women
Political
Prisoners
in
Exile
and
the
Camps,
Julia
Voznesenskaya.
“…
the
prisoner
who
was
our
barrack
orderly
greeted
me
with
a
cry:
“Run
and
see
what’s
under
your
pillow!”
My
heart
leaped:
Perhaps
I’d
got
my
break
ration
after
all!
I
ran
to
my
bed
and
threw
off
the
pillow.
Under
it
lay
three
letters
from
home,
three
whole
letters!
It
was
six
months
since
I’d
received
anything
at
all.
My
first
reaction
on
seeing
them
was
acute
disappointment.
And
then—horror.
What
had
become
of
me
if
a
piece
of
bread
was
worth
more
to
me
now
than
letters
from
my
mother,
my
father,
my
children….
I
forgot
all
about
the
bread
and
wept.”
(Vilensky,
Till
My
Tale
Is
Told,
Pg.
53-­‐54)
The
Author:
Julia
Voznesenskaya
With
a
good
introduction
into
the
background
of
women
in
the
Gulag
and
some
of
the
horrors
that
they
were
exposed
to,
an
author
introduction
is
now
in
order
to
provide
context
into
just
why
Julia
Voznesenskaya
chose
to
take
letters
written
by
women
in
the
Gulag
and
compile
them
in
a
book.
Julia
Voznesenskaya
was
born
in
Leningrad
on
September
14th,
1940.
Voznesenskaya
was
educated
in
Leningrad,
studying
drama.
Voznesenskaya
became
a
prominent
name
among
the
art
and
culture
crowd
in
Leningrad
and
after
composing
poetry
and
prose
of
her
own,
made
a
name
for
herself
as
a
poet.
Her

7. 7
activism
the
name
she
made
for
herself
among
this
crowd
put
Voznesenskaya
in
the
perfect
position
to
become
quite
the
political
spitfire.
Julia
Voznesenskaya
started
the
first
ever
Russian
Women’s
Group.
This
landmark
was
short-­‐lived
however,
as
the
group,
Maria,
was
soon
shut
down
and
Voznesenskaya
was
arrested
for
anti-­‐
Soviet
activities
and
was
imprisoned
in
1976.
Because
of
her
social
activism,
Voznesenskaya
was
exiled
and
soon
labeled
a
dissident
for
her
activities.
In
1980
when
she
was
released
from
her
imprisonment,
Voznesenskaya
chose
to
move
to
Germany
to
live
out
the
rest
of
her
life.
Letters
of
Love
is
not
the
only
book
that
Voznesenskaya
has
written
about
the
experiences
of
women.
She
has
also
written
The
Star
Chernobyl
(a
story
about
three
women
and
their
experience
with
the
catastrophe
at
Chernobyl)
and
The
Women’s
Decameron
(a
story
about
pregnant
women
quarantined
together
and
how
they
cope).
It
is
easy
to
tell
from
her
literary
history
that
Voznesenskaya
is
very
much
an
advocate
for
women
and
the
human
experience
of
women.
The
way
that
Voznesenskaya
presents
this
passion
is
through
her
literary
works,
and
Letters
of
Love
is
no
less.
The
depth
of
emotion
and
feeling
that
Voznesenskaya
brings
to
a
simple
collection
of
letters
is
much
greater
than
simply
reading
a
letter
and
knowing
what
it
says.
Voznesenskaya
greets
the
reader
with
quite
a
lengthy
introduction
that
strives
to
provide
the
reader
with
motive
and
need
for
this
particular
type
of
book.
Through
her
own
experiences,
Voznesenskaya
felt
the
need
to
tell
the
stories
of
women
in
one
of
the
most
intimate
and
personal
delivery
methods
possible:
letters.
Letters
have
always
been
a
more
personal
and
special
form
of
communication

8. 8
between
individuals.
In
a
letter,
a
person
is
more
and
more
likely
to
tell
someone
how
he
or
she
truly
feels
rather
than
hold
these
thoughts
back.
Letters,
to
those
in
the
camps,
provided
a
support
system
beyond
that
of
their
fellow
prisoners
in
the
camps.
Letters
from
friends,
children,
husbands,
and
lovers
provided
women
with
the
support,
encouragement,
and
hope
that
they
needed
to
know
that
they
would
survive
the
horrible
times
they
were
experiencing,
and
that
they
would
one
day
be
reunited
with
those
that
meant
most
to
them.
In
her
dedication,
Julia
Voznesenskaya
writes
“Dedicated
to
my
mother,
Olga
Nikolayevna
Lebdeva,
whose
letters
gave
me
comfort
and
courage
in
the
camp.”
(Voznesenskaya,
dedication).
The
support
of
her
mother
was
essential
to
her
needs
while
in
the
camp.
Voznesenskaya
was
reassured
throughout
her
stay
at
the
camp
near
Irkutsk
(no
particular
camp
is
specified—she
only
provides
regional
details
about
the
camp)
that
no
matter
what
she
had
the
letters
from
her
mother
to
keep
her
morale
high.
In
her
letter
from
the
editor,
Voznesenskaya
poses
an
important
question
and
provides
a
very
potent
answer,
all
regarding
why
she
chose
to
compile
and
edit
Letters
of
Love:
“Some
readers,
even
some
publishers,
say:
‘That’s
enough,
we’re
sick
of
it.
We
already
know
everything
there
is
to
know
about
it.’
But
that
can’t
be
true,
nobody
knows
everything
because
the
people
behind
the
barbed
wire
not
only
struggle
and
suffer,
but
also
love,
meditate,
share
spiritual
warmth
and
mental
anxieties
with
those
close
to
them,
speak
about
love.
And
this
everyone
is
completely
different
from
anyone
else.”
(Voznesenskaya,
Pg.
4-­‐5)

9. 9
The
letters,
which
Voznesenskaya
chose
to
compile
and
edit
and
include
into
her
book,
all
contain
a
simple
yet
important
element,
the
theme
of
love.
Love
is
in
many
cases
what
makes
a
person
tick.
Love
can
mean
the
difference
between
immeasurable
hope
and
immeasurable
despair,
and
for
women
in
the
camps,
Voznesenskaya
knew
this
was
no
different.
Voznesenskaya
purposefully
does
not
include
the
names
of
the
authors
of
the
letters
in
her
compilation.
It
is
her
full
intention
that
the
reader
takes
away
from
these
letters
more
than
a
simple
juicy
story
to
retell,
but
instead
“…I
want
you
to
discover
their
souls,
their
hearts,
their
thoughts.”
(Voznesenskaya,
Pg.
5).
The
Letters
The
letters
in
Letters
of
Love
are
broken
up
into
three
sections;
letters
to
friends,
letters
to
husbands
and
children,
and
letters
to
lovers.
By
splitting
up
the
letters
in
this
particular
manner,
Voznesenskaya
is
offering
the
reader
a
chance
to
compare
and
contrast
those
letters
that
were
written
to
friends
compared
to
those
letters
that
were
written
to
children
and
husbands
and
lovers.
The
latter
letters
most
definitely
included
a
different
depth
of
intimacy
than
those
letters
that
were
written
to
friends.
Though
the
letters
may
differ,
one
thing
remains
a
central
theme
throughout
the
letters:
love.
Each
letter
mentions
or
evokes
the
feeling
of
love
in
some
way
or
another.
Some
letters
delve
deep
into
the
topic
of
love,
providing
the
reader
with
insight
into
how
these
women’s
minds
were
thinking
at
the
time
they
were
imprisoned.
The
theme
of
love
provides
insight
into
the
true
human
condition,
the
condition
that
is
that
at
those
darkest
moments
of
life,
the
one
thing
that
is
still
on

10. 10
the
human
mind
is
love,
and
not
just
the
love
for
a
significant
other.
The
love
that
is
talked
about
in
these
letters
varies,
but
a
common
theme
is
the
simple
feeling
of
love.
The
first
letter
in
the
collection
gives
a
striking
example
of
just
why
Julia
Voznesenskaya
chose
to
only
include
those
letters
that
contain
the
topic
of
love.
The
first
author
writes:
“…
You
know
yourself
that
this
world
is
far
from
being
the
only
thing
that
we
have
to
look
forward
to.
It
is
only
the
‘training
ground’
after
all—an
experimental
zone
where
the
process
of
transforming
man
with
a
small
‘m’
into
Man
with
a
capital
goes
on…
Man
has
only
one
possible
direction
only
one
course
of
study:
the
subject
of
Love.
We
are
only
just
beginning
to
suspect
this.
Me,
too.
Camp
is
a
good
classroom
for
this
curriculum.”
From
camp—to
a
woman
friend
(Voznesenskaya,
Pg.
11)
In
her
letter
to
her
friend,
this
woman
clearly
has
had
the
notion
of
love
running
through
her
mind
and
not
just
as
a
passive
thought.
The
love
that
she
is
suggesting
is
that
there
is
a
greater
love
beyond
that
which
the
human
experience
allows
for
during
the
human
life
span.
The
love
that
this
particular
woman
is
talking
about,
I
take,
is
Godly
love.
The
love
of
a
much
greater
power
than
any
human
being,
a
love
that
is
greater
than
any
human
could
imagine.
The
author
suggests
to
her
friend
that
love
is
in
fact
the
reason
why
humans
exist,
love
is
their
purpose.
The
outlook
of
this
particular
author
puts
her
in
quite
a
hopeful
position.
The
idea
that
one
feeling,
one
thought,
could
give
someone
so
much
hope
goes
beyond
the
basic
concept
of
a
letter,
this
goes
to
speak
about
the
human
condition
and
just
where
the
mind
wanders
when
it
is
tested
like
the
minds
of
women
were
tested
in
the
camps.

11. 11
In
another
letter
to
friends,
a
woman
writes
about
being
torn
away
from
her
husband.
This
was
not
uncommon
in
the
camps,
but
this
particular
account
is
difficult
to
read
without
tissues
nearby.
The
woman
describes
to
her
friends
how
the
KGB
told
her
she
and
her
husband,
whose
name
is
Vanka
according
to
the
letter,
could
go
together
and
then
tore
them
apart
when
they
were
to
be
sent
to
the
camps.
The
love
that
she
has
for
her
husband
prompts
the
woman
to
go
on
a
hunger
strike
in
the
camp
and
she
is
writing
her
friends
to
give
them
warning.
With
this
particular
letter
however,
Voznesenskaya
includes
a
note
that
the
author
of
the
letter
was
pregnant
at
the
time
of
her
arrest
and
then
quickly
after
she
was
imprisoned
suffered
a
miscarriage
and
lost
the
baby.
With
this
background
on
the
woman
writing
the
letter
to
her
friend,
it
is
easy
to
see
how
the
woman
could
be
so
disturbed
as
to
starve
herself
in
protest.
After
the
loss
of
her
child,
the
woman
feels
the
need
to
be
even
closer
to
her
husband
whom
the
KGB
has
purposefully
kept
from
her.
The
emotion
being
her
writing
gives
the
reader
insight
into
the
author’s
pain
and
hurt
surrounding
the
event.
Even
so,
the
author
still
maintains
composure
and
signs
the
letter
“With
fond
kisses.”.
Again,
further
insight
into
the
individual
experiences
of
the
women
in
the
camps.
The
letters
that
were
written
to
family
members,
though
important,
provide
less
insight
into
the
author’s
hearts
and
minds
than
to
the
letters
to
lovers.
It
is
clear
from
reading
these
particular
letters
that
each
woman
survives
on
the
love
that
she
shares
with
the
man
she
is
writing
to.
Each
letter
is
filled
with
signs
of
hope,
no
matter
how
dark
the
experiences
are
that
she
shares
with
her
lover,
each
woman

12. 12
writes
with
such
passion
that
it
is
infectious
and
impossible
not
to
believe
that
she
held
onto
at
least
some
semblance
of
hope
while
in
the
camps.
One
woman
in
particular
writes
a
letter
to
her
lover,
and
in
the
letter
includes
the
memory
of
a
moment
she
had
previously.
While
the
author
was
lying
in
bed,
someone
turned
on
a
radio
below
her
and
the
song
that
came
on
only
brought
her
thoughts
of
her
lover.
The
author
was
overcome
by
this
and
even
includes
the
lyrics
to
the
song
in
her
letter
and
describes
the
event
in
detail.
After
reading
the
passage,
it
is
impossible
not
to
feel
at
least
something
for
the
woman
and
her
plight.
“…And
on
the
radio
someone
was
singing
Bella
Akhmadulina’s
song
about
friends…
My
heart
seemed
to
stop
beating.
I
listened,
not
breathing,
every
muscle
tensed,
and
I
realized
that
the
song
was
about
us.”
(Voznesenskaya,
Pg.
81)
In
later
letters
it
appears
the
author
of
the
letter
is
able
to
contact
her
lover
further
and
find
out
where
he
has
been
sent,
and
with
reason
this
brings
much
comfort
to
the
author.
Throughout
the
letters,
the
author,
who
composed
all
of
the
letters
that
were
exchanged
in
the
letters
to
lover
section
of
the
book,
maintains
her
fierce
love
and
loyalty
for
her
lover.
She
continues
to
keep
up
her
hope,
despite
the
harsh
changing
weather,
the
working
conditions
she
is
subjected
to,
and
the
plain
and
simple
fact
that
she
has
not
been
in
physical
contact
with
her
lover
for
over
a
year
by
the
end
of
the
letters
they
had
exchanged.
Through
these
letters
the
author
voices
her
deep
love
for
her
lover,
and
the
love
that
she
feels
from
him.
This
love
was
an
essential

13. 13
support
system
for
the
women
in
the
camps
and
arguably
helped
them
survive
their
plight;
this
could
even
be
seen
as
a
survival
strategy
that
women
in
the
camps
used.
In
compiling
and
editing
hundreds
of
letters
to
make
Letters
of
Love:
Women
Political
Prisoners
in
Exile
and
the
Camps,
Julia
Voznesenskaya
touched
on
a
subject
that
many
people
know
nothing
about,
the
experience
of
women
in
the
Gulag
and
how
they
coped.
I
largely
viewed
the
letters
in
Letters
of
Love
as
a
coping
mechanism.
Contact
with
those
closest
to
the
women
in
the
camps
is
what
kept
them
going
and
the
way
in
which
the
women
spoke
of
love,
if
anything,
should
provide
hope
to
the
reader.
Hope,
that
even
in
the
darkest
of
times,
love
will
be
there
and
love
provides
what
physical
earthly
things
cannot
when
they
fail—
fulfillment,
an
escape
from
the
current
situation,
and
hope
for
a
better
future.
The
main
takeaway
that
I
received
from
reading
this
novel
is
just
this—love
prevails.

14. 14
Works
Cited
Applebaum,
Anne.
Gulag:
A
History,
Anchor
Books,
New
York,
2003.
Razgon,
Lev.
True
Stories
(Nepridumannoe,
Moska,
1989),
translated
by
John
Crowfott,
Dana
Point,
CA,
1997.
Shalamov,
Varlam.
Kolyma
Tales,
London,
1994.
Vilensky,
Simeon.
Till
My
Tale
Is
Told
(Dodnes
Tuagoteet,
Moscow,
1989),
Bloomington
and
Indianapolis,
IN,
1999.
Voznesenskaya,
Julia.
Letters
of
Love:
Women
Political
Prisoners
in
Exile
and
the
Camps.
Quartet
Books,
London,
1989.