The Gulag after Stalin: Redefining Punishment in Khrushchev’s Soviet Union, 1953-1964

280 Pages·2016·2.98 MB·English

by  Jeffrey S. Hardy

THE GULAG A FTER
STALIN

THE GULAG
AFTER STALIN
Redefining Punishment in
Khrushchev’s Soviet Union,
1953–1964
Jeffrey S. Hardy
CORNELL UNIVERSITY PRESS ITHACA AND LONDON
Copyright © 2016 by Cornell University
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts
thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from
the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512
East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850.
First published 2016 by Cornell University Press
Printed in the United States of Amer i ca
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Hardy, Jeffrey S., 1978– author.
Title: The gulag after Stalin : redefining punishment in Khrushchev’s Soviet Union,
1953–1964 / Jeffrey S. Hardy.
Description: Ithaca ; London : Cornell University Press, 2016. | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016013226 | ISBN 9781501702792 (cloth : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Prisons— Soviet Union— History. | Concentration camps— Soviet
Union— History. | Soviet Union—P olitics and government—1953–1964. |
Khrushchev, Nikita Sergeevich, 1894–1971.
Classification: LCC HV8964.S65 H37 2016 | DDC 365/.4709045— dc23
LC rec ord available at http:// lccn . loc . gov / 2016013226
Cornell University Press strives to use environmentally responsible suppliers and
materials to the fullest extent pos si ble in the publishing of its books. Such materials
include vegetable- based, low- VOC inks and acid- free papers that are recycled,
totally chlorine- free, or partly composed of nonwood fibers. For further informa-
tion, visit our website at www . cornellpress . cornell . edu.
Cloth printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Cover: Moving Out (n.d.), by Nikolai Getman. From the online exhibit Art of the
Gulag, Museum on Communism, Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.
Contents
Acknowl edgments vii
Introduction. A Gulag without Stalin 1
1. Restructuring the Penal Empire: Administration,
Institutions, and Demographics 19
2. Re orienting the Aims of Imprisonment: Production,
Reeducation, and Control 58
3. Oversight and Assistance: The Role of the Procuracy
and Other Outside Agencies in Penal Operations 96
4. Undoing the Reforms: The Campaign against
“Liberalism” in the Gulag 130
5. A Khrushchevian Synthesis: The Birth of the Late Soviet
Penal System 160
Conclusions. Khrushchev’s Reforms and the Late
(and Post-)Soviet Gulag 201
Notes 209
Select Bibliography 261
Index 265

Acknowl edgments
This book is the culmination of many years of research and writing. My interest in
studying the Soviet Gulag first developed while reading the works of Aleksandr
Solzhenitsyn during high school and then living in Magadan, the “capital of the
Gulag,” for several months as an LDS missionary. My study of the post- Stalin
Gulag then took shape while pursuing gradua te degrees at Brigham Young Univer-
sity (BYU) and Prince ton University, presenting my findings at numerous confer-
ences, and engaging with a broad support group of mentors and colleagues. As
anyone who has written a research- intensive book knows, it has been at vari ous
times exciting, challenging, stressful, humbling, and ultimately rewarding. Along
the way I have incurred many debts of gratitude that I would like to now express.
The first who must be mentioned is Rodney Bohac, my adviser at BYU, who
steered me in the direction of the Khrushchev era and provided fantastic advice
for a budding historian. Stephen Kotkin at Prince ton then guided me through
my most formative years as a scholar and was in every way a remarkable adviser.
My knowledge of Soviet history I owe primarily to him, and his provoking and
insightful comments on my work have improved it im mensely. Michael Gordin,
Jan Gross, and Ekaterina Pravilova likewise w ere superb mentors who challenged,
supported, and inspired me.
I have been fortunate over the years to converse and collaborate with scholars
who specialize on the Gulag or related fields. Steven Barnes has been a mentor
and friend throughout this pro cess. Marc Elie, Alan Barenberg, Wilson Bell,
Padraic Kenney, and Simon Ertz were always generous with their advice and
companionship. I also benefitted im mensely from my interactions with Stephen
Cohen, Dan Healey, Cynthia Hooper, Jan Behrends, Peter Solomon, Stephen
Norris, Maria Galmarini, Mark Vincent, Judith Pallot, Richard Wetzell, Kent
Schull, Stephen Toth, Paul Garfinkel, and Volker Janssen. Other debts of gratitude
for their friendship and intellectual stimulation are due to Michael Paulauskas,
Emily Baran, Gleb Tsipursky, Eren Tasar, Lo Faber, Piotr Kosicki, Mayhill Fowler,
Anne O’Donnell, Elidor Mehili, Pey-yi Chu, Kyrill Kunakhovich, Jeremy
Friedman, Sue Naquin, Mark Beissinger, Deborah Kaple, Serguei Oushakine,
Charles Townsend, Vanessa Barker, and Joy Kim. I would fin ally like to thank the
staff at the vari ous archives where I conducted my research. With very few excep-
tions they were professional, courteous, and helpful in providing access to the
needed documents.
vii
viii Acknowl edgmentS
Special mention is due to Miami University’s Havighurst Center, the Social Sci-
ence Research Council, the George Washington University Cold War Group, and
the University of Texas for providing conference-r elated funding that contributed
to the formulation of this book. Generous funding for archival research has come
from several institutions to which proper ac know ledg ment is due: the Fulbright-
Hays Program of the United States Department of Education, the International
Research and Exchanges Board, the Prince ton Institute for International and Re-
gional Studies, the Fellowship of Woodrow Wilson Scholars at Prince ton Univer-
sity, and BYU Gradua te Studies. I would also like to acknowledge Stephen Cohen
and Katrina vanden Heuvel for their generous funding of the Robert C. Tucker/
Stephen F. Cohen Dissertation Prize. Fin ally, much of chapter 4 and part of chap-
ter 5 w ere previously published as “ ‘The Camp Is Not a Resort’: The Campaign
against Privileges in the Soviet Gulag, 1957–61,” Kritika: Explorations in Rus sian
and Eurasian History 13, no. 1 (Winter 2012): 89–122. I am grateful to Kritika
for granting permission to reproduce that work here.
The greatest debt of gratitude that I have incurred over the years is the one owed
to my sweet wife, Pamela. She has endured the challenges of being an academic’s
spouse with admirable grace, all while raising our three beautiful c hildren. Thank
you for the joy and meaning you have brought to my life. This book is for you.
THE GULAG A FTER
STALIN