Death barges (russian: Ба́ржи сме́рти) were floating prisons used by both sides during the

Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...

in 1918–19, primarily in the

Volga The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchm ...

basin. They were mainly used to keep potential political enemies imprisoned, rather than as execution facilities. In case of a quickly advancing hostile army, they could be quickly dragged away, or sunk in a fairway, thus both liquidating enemy sympathizers and hampering the enemy navy's navigation. The first usage of death barges was recorded in

Yaroslavl Yaroslavl ( rus, Ярослáвль, p=jɪrɐˈsɫavlʲ) is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historic part of the city is a World Heritage Site, and is located at the confluenc ...

during the Eser Revolt in 1918. It is also known that one death barge with Soviet sympathizers was hijacked by towboat under

Fedor Raskolnikov Fyodor Fyodorovich Raskolnikov (russian: Фёдор Фёдорович Раскольников; (28 January 1892, Saint Petersburg, Russia – 12 September 1939, Nice, France),Zalessky K.A. ''Stalin Imperia'' Moscow, ''Veche'', 2002 citing by re ...

References

{{reflist Russian Civil War Barges Defunct prisons in Russia