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Starting in the 1500s, Russia began sending its most severe criminals to the harsh wilderness of Siberia. There, they were forced into grueling labor, working in mines that were still under development. As the chilling reality of the Siberian labor camps haunted the imaginations of people worldwide, reports about life inside these prisons—later known as gulags under Stalin—began emerging in newspapers by the late 1800s.
10. The Horrific Statistics
In 1890, a newspaper article titled “The Horrors of Siberian Prison Life” went straight to the heart of the matter, revealing stark statistics from Tomsk prison. It reported that the prison had capacity for 765 inmates, with each getting only 0.1 cubic meters (4.8 ft) of air. Yet, overcrowding was a constant issue, with 1,313 men imprisoned in 1886, 1,120 in 1887, and 1,380 in 1888.
Among those sent to Tomsk were the ill. The facility had space for 275 sick prisoners, but the actual number far exceeded its capacity. For instance, in 1887, 512 prisoners were listed as ill, most suffering from typhoid fever. Due to the lack of space, many of them were forced to endure near-freezing temperatures outdoors.
As expected, the death toll at Tomsk was alarmingly high, with between 360 and 400 men buried every year.
9. Cannibalism on Sakhalin
The prison on Sakhalin Island (referred to as Saghalien in the 1800s) gained notoriety for its extreme cruelty, even when compared to other Siberian work camps and prisons. By 1894, both rumors and confirmations began to surface about the harsh treatment of prisoners at Sakhalin.
Men and women were savagely flogged, sometimes resulting in death. Their bodies were often disfigured. There were also reports of cannibalism occurring, as the prisoners were not provided with enough food to survive.
8. Ball and Chain
In a 1903 account, a Russian officer was sentenced to 12 years at Nestchink, one of Siberia’s copper mines. During his imprisonment, he was forced to wear balls and chains around his ankles both day and night. He and the other prisoners in his cell even wore them to bed. He complained that any movement while sleeping caused noise, disturbing him and his fellow inmates throughout the night.
Prisoners were also forced to wear chains while working their grueling ten-hour shifts in the copper mines. During these long hours, they were allowed just three or four breaks, where they could return to the surface and dry off their clothes before descending back into the depths of the mine.
7. Complete Isolation from the Outside World
In 1952, a newspaper from New South Wales published a captivating story about a Polish woman who crossed into Russia to visit friends, only to be arrested by the authorities. Though the article doesn’t specify the charges, the woman was sent to a Siberian labor camp for a year. One of her major grievances was being denied any contact with the outside world. Prisoners weren’t even told what time it was or what day of the week it was.
Due to her gender, she was assigned the task of cutting trouser legs in a clothing factory. Struggling to meet the demanding quota of 300 pairs per day, she faced punishment in the form of a reduced food ration. Her daily meals consisted of water, dry bread, soybean husks, and cabbage water.
6. Suicide Was All Too Common
The conditions within the Siberian prisons were so unbearable that many prisoners chose to end their own lives. A 1910 newspaper report recounted the story of a man sent to the Zarantui prison who took his own life after being brutally flogged. He had been accused of assassinating the Russian Minister of the Interior.
In 1912, 40 political prisoners were sent to Nertoinsk prison, where they endured 30 lashes. The men suffered from extreme hunger and fear. Two of the men took their own lives by cutting their veins, while another two poisoned themselves.
Within Siberian prisons, suicide attempts appeared to be relatively common and even accepted.
5. Marks of Distinction: Notches, Slits, and Brands
Professor Ossendowski, a dedicated scientist and writer, spent a decade traversing Siberia and exploring the minerals in the region. Upon his return, he shared his fascinating experiences with the public. In a 1925 article, he described an encounter with two escaped convicts during his journey. He employed them for assistance, and through their stories, gained insight into life inside the brutal work camps.
The two men had been distinctly marked as convicts. Their ears had been notched, and their nostrils slashed open, making them easily identifiable if they tried to escape the camp. According to Professor Ossendowski, "Any Russian citizen encountering men with such markings had the right to kill them."
The men were also marked with brands, the scars of which were so deeply seared that their ribs were almost visible through the barely-healed skin.
4. The Skin Pouch
A particularly strange account involves skin pockets. It was said that one of the escaped Siberian convicts who assisted Professor Ossendowski had a hidden skin pouch, which he used to conceal weapons.
The story goes that the professor wished he had a small pocketknife to gut whatever he had just shot. Upon hearing this, the convict reached for his bare hip, pulled back a fold of skin at the junction of his abdomen and hip, and revealed a small knife. He explained, "We old convicts always undergo this operation. We have to have weapons in our struggles with the guards or soldiers chasing us."
3. Sleeping Conditions
According to one report, the sleeping conditions in Tyumen prison were appalling. Prisoners were provided with a cell that contained a wooden platform positioned about 0.6 meters (2 ft) above the ground. The men would share this platform, called a nare, during the night. There were no pillows, mattresses, or blankets. To keep warm, the convicts slept in their clothes. The only other item in the cell was a wooden tub for bathroom use.
Overcrowding was a major issue at this prison. In 1888, it was reported that a cell designed to hold 35 men was packed with 160 inmates at the time.
2. Forced Marriages
Unmarried women who were imprisoned and sent to Sakhalin prison were immediately placed in a barracks. Single male inmates were then allowed to enter and select a woman to marry. The women had no voice in the matter, and the marriage was immediately formalized to finalize the arrangement.
The conditions for female prisoners were no better than those of the men. Many reports recount instances of women being beaten, whipped, and punched by the authorities.
1. Chained to a Wheelbarrow
Due to the dire conditions in Siberian prisons and work camps, many attempted to escape. While most were caught and punished, a particularly harsh form of retribution awaited those who tried to escape a second time at Sakhalin prison. These individuals, whether male or female, would be chained to a wheelbarrow for an entire year.
This punishment was considered “terrible and much-dreaded,” and rightly so. The person chained to the wheelbarrow couldn’t find any comfort while trying to sleep and had to drag the wheelbarrow with them wherever they went. It also made any further escape attempts nearly impossible.
