Svirlag, SvirLAG (Svirskiy Lager' – Svir Concentration-Camp, russian: Свирлаг, also / – ) was a Soviet
forced labour camp
A labor camp (or labour camp, see spelling differences) or work camp is a detention facility where inmates are forced to engage in penal labor as a form of punishment. Labor camps have many common aspects with slavery and with prisons (especi ...
run by
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union.
...
's
GULAG
The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= was the government agency in ...
Directorate. It was located on the river
Svir
The Svir (, Veps: , Karelian/Finnish: ) is a river in Podporozhsky, Lodeynopolsky, and Volkhovsky districts in the north-east of Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It flows westwards from Lake Onega to Lake Ladoga, thus connecting the two largest ...
(hence the name Svirskiy in
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
) in the forests by the town
Lodeynoye Pole
Lodeynoye Pole (russian: Лоде́йное По́ле, lit. ''the field of boats'') is a town and the administrative center of Lodeynopolsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Svir River (Lake Ladoga's basin) ...
, 244 km north-east of
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, in
Leningrad oblast
Leningrad Oblast ( rus, Ленинградская область, Leningradskaya oblast’, lʲɪnʲɪnˈgratskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ, , ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It was established on 1 August 1927, a ...
, Vepsland – the land of the
Vepses
Veps, or Vepsians ( Veps: ''vepsläižed''), are a Finnic people who speak the Veps language, which belongs to the Finnic branch of the Uralic languages.
According to the 2002 census, there were 8,240 Veps in Russia. Of the 281 Veps in Ukraine, ...
, operated in the 1930s (
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
's time) and onwards. SvirLAG concentration camp was supplier of wood to
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
and Saint Petersburg.
The camp was established on November 17, 1931.
The number of those who died or were killed in Svirlag in 1930s (the times of the most numerous and heavy executions that took place in SvirLAG seem to be 1931–1937) is measured in thousands of victims. In 1935, 36.500 inmates were kept in this camp.
The camp was located in the medieval buildings of what was formerly the
Alexander-Svirsky Monastery
Alexander-Svirsky Monastery (Александро-Свирский монастырь) is a Russian Orthodox monastery situated deep in the woods of the Leningrad Oblast, just south from its border with the Republic of Karelia. The golden age o ...
. Bolsheviks closed and vandalized the monastery in 1918 (it finally ceased in 1925). The holy relics were removed, monks partly executed and partly expelled. The chief of the monastery
archimandrite
The title archimandrite ( gr, ἀρχιμανδρίτης, archimandritēs), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot (''hegumenos'', gr, ἡγούμενος, present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") who ...
Evgeniy Trofimov was executed on October 23, 1918 along with 5 monks behind the monastery walls. The monastery buildings were turned into prisons, barracks, and
mental asylum
The lunatic asylum (or insane asylum) was an early precursor of the modern psychiatric hospital.
The fall of the lunatic asylum and its eventual replacement by modern psychiatric hospitals explains the rise of organized, institutional psychiatry ...
. On September 22, 1998
Ministry of Culture of Russia and
Russian Ministry of State Property signed decree about delivery of monastery back to Saint Petersburg parish of
Russian Orthodox Church
, native_name_lang = ru
, image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg
, imagewidth =
, alt =
, caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia
, abbreviation = ROC
, type ...
.
Svirlag compared in GULAG system
"The situation review" of
GULAG
The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= was the government agency in ...
for October 1935 presents the average composition of the camp population as for October 1934 – 694,100 persons, as for October 1935 – 828,800 persons and of these 36,500 were concentrated in SvirLAG – 6th by size along with
Bamlag Baikal Amur Corrective Labor Camp (Bamlag) (russian: Байка́ло-Аму́рский исправи́тельно-трудово́й ла́герь, Бамла́г) was a subdivision of GULAG which existed during 1932-1948.
Its administration, ...
(the biggest with 190,300 inmates in
Svobodnyi,
Amur Oblast
Amur Oblast ( rus, Аму́рская о́бласть, r=Amurskaya oblast, p=ɐˈmurskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located on the banks of the Amur and Zeya Rivers in the Russian Far East. The administrative ...
),
Dmitlag (193,300 inmates),
Volgolag on
Volga
The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the List of rivers of Europe#Rivers of Europe by length, longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Cas ...
,
Belbaltlag (82,000 inmates) and
Ukhtpechlag in
Ukhta
Ukhta (russian: Ухта́; kv, Уква, ''Ukva'') is an important industrial town in the Komi Republic of Russia. Population:
It was previously known as ''Chibyu'' (until 1939).
History
Oil springs along the Ukhta River were already known in ...
,
Temlag Temlag (Темла́г), Temnikovsky Corrective Labor Camp (Темниковский исправи́тельно-трудово́й ла́герь), or Temnikovsky ITL (Темниковский ИТЛ) was a camp of the Gulag labor camp system of ...
(21,100 inmates),
Dallag (70,200 inmates),
Siblag (Siberian concentration camp 74,600 inmates),
Sazlag,
Karlag
Karlag (Karaganda Corrective Labor Camp, Russian: Карагандинский исправительно-трудовой лагерь, Карлаг) was one of the largest Gulag labor camps, located in Karaganda Oblast (now Karaganda Region, ...
(34,100 inmates),
Prorvlag,
Sarlag,
Vetlag,
Sevvostlag
Sevvostlag (russian: Северо-восточные исправительно-трудовые лагеря, Севвостлаг, СВИТЛ, North-Eastern Corrective Labor Camps) was a system of forced labor camps set up to satisfy the work ...
(47,700 inmates),
Vaygach
Vaygach Island (russian: Вайга́ч, ''Vajgač''; Nenets: Вай Хабць, romanized: ''Vai Habcj’'') an island in the Arctic Sea between the Pechora Sea and the Kara Sea.
Vaygach Island is separated from the Yugorsky Peninsula in the ...
,
Norilsklag
Norillag, Norilsk Corrective Labor Camp (russian: Норильлаг, Норильстрой, Норильский ИТЛ) was a gulag labor camp set by Norilsk, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia and headquartered there. It existed from June 25, 1935 to Aug ...
in
Norilsk
Norilsk ( rus, Нори́льск, p=nɐˈrʲilʲsk, ''Norílʹsk'') is a closed city in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located south of the western Taymyr Peninsula, around 90 km east of the Yenisey River and 1,500 km north of Krasnoyarsk. Norilsk i ...
.
Convicts and victims
Political and church convicts were kept there. Only 1 of 4 was a criminal.
The administration of the camp was based in
Svirstroy (Svir Construction Directorate) on the
Svir River
The Svir (, Veps: , Karelian/Finnish: ) is a river in Podporozhsky, Lodeynopolsky, and Volkhovsky districts in the north-east of Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It flows westwards from Lake Onega to Lake Ladoga, thus connecting the two largest ...
. The convicted inmates worked in mines extracting
mica
Micas ( ) are a group of silicate minerals whose outstanding physical characteristic is that individual mica crystals can easily be split into extremely thin elastic plates. This characteristic is described as perfect basal cleavage. Mica is ...
,
stone
In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...
and
clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4).
Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...
.
Sampson Sievers
Sampson Sievers, (born Edward Sievers, russian: Эдуард Сиверс) July 10, 1900 – August 24, 1979 was a Russian Orthodox Christian elder, hieromonk, priest, confessor of Russian patriarch and higher clergy, and mystic of English ancestr ...
–
hieromonk
A hieromonk ( el, Ἱερομόναχος, Ieromonachos; ka, მღვდელმონაზონი, tr; Slavonic: ''Ieromonakh'', ro, Ieromonah), also called a priestmonk, is a monk who is also a priest in the Eastern Orthodox Church and E ...
(born of
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
mother) of Saint Petersburg's
Alexander Nevsky Lavra
Saint Alexander Nevsky Lavra or Saint Alexander Nevsky Monastery was founded by Peter I of Russia in 1710 at the eastern end of the Nevsky Prospekt in Saint Petersburg, in the belief that this was the site of the Neva Battle in 1240 when Ale ...
was imprisoned and tortured in this camp (from 1932, what is witnessed by archival documents and personal testimonies), though survived.
Among other inmates who were imprisoned or executed in SvirLAG were:
* Archbishop Augustine (
Alexander Belayev
Alexander Romanovich Belyaev (russian: Алекса́ндр Рома́нович Беля́ев, ; – 6 January 1942) was a Soviet Russian writer of science fiction. His works from the 1920s and 1930s made him a highly regarded figure in Russia ...
) (imprisoned in SvirLAG in 1931–1934, executed November 23, 1937),
Russian Orthodox
Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most ...
archbishop
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
.
*
Vladimir Vorobyev (b. in 1876 in Russia's
Saratov Region, sat in SvirLAG in 1931–1932, died in
Kuybyshev prison in 1940 from heart paralysis) – archeologist and Russian Orthodox parish priest.
*
Stepan Rudnytskyi –
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
geographer, founder of
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
geography
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...
(born in
Tarnopol
Ternópil ( uk, Тернопіль, Ternopil' ; pl, Tarnopol; yi, טאַרנאָפּל, Tarnopl, or ; he, טארנופול (טַרְנוֹפּוֹל), Tarnopol; german: Tarnopol) is a city in the west of Ukraine. Administratively, Ternopi ...
in 1877, then
Austro-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
), sat in SvirLAG in 1933–1937 where he was also executed in 1937 .
*
Yulian Shpol
Mykhailo Yalovy ( uk , Михайло Омелянович Яловий) (5 June 1895 – 3 November 1937), also known under the his pen name Yulian Shpol, was a Ukrainians, Ukrainian communist poet-futurism (literature), futurist, prose, prose ...
(literary name, in life:
Mykhaylo Yalovyi – Ukrainian writer (born in
Poltava region
Poltava Oblast ( uk, Полта́вська о́бласть, translit=Poltavska oblast; also referred to as Poltavshchyna – uk, Полта́вщина, literally 'Poltava Country') is an oblast (province) of central Ukraine. The administrative ...
), arrested in 1933 and May 11, 1934 with special convoy sent to SvirLAG, 2,5 years later executed in SvirLAG November 3, 1937.
*
Magzhan Zhumabayev
Magzhan Zhumabayev ( kk, Мағжан Жұмабаев, romanized: ''Mağjan Jūmabaev''), (25 June 1893 – 19 March 1938) was a Kazakh people, Kazakh poet and writer who revolutionized the Kazakh language.
Biography
He was born in 1893 into ...
–
Kazakh poet, arrested by Soviet authorities in 1929, sent to Svirlag where he was imprisoned until June 2, 1934. Arrested again in 1935 in
Alma-Ata
Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to 1936 as an autonomous republic as part of t ...
, March 1938 he was executed by organs of NKVD.
Archival statistics tells that only in one year of 1932 1,569 died or were executed in Svirlag and in 1935 3,887 inmates more died or were killed in Svirlag, this makes total of 5,456 victims just in two years of 1932 and 1935.
References
External links
Statistics on numbers of victims of Soviet concentration camps by Timofeev (in Russian), presents also SvirLAGThe official site of Alexander-Svirsky Monastery, buildings of which had been used for Svirlag in 1930 s
{{coord, 60, 46, 45, N, 33, 18, 40, E, region:RU_type:landmark_scale:30000, display=title
Camps of the Gulag
Political repression in the Soviet Union
NKVD