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what do you know about uprisings in Gulag?
3 biggest uprisings in Gulag history, what do you know about uprisings in Gulag? I Ust-Usa uprising 1942, Norilsk uprising 1953, Kengir uprising 1954
Ust-Usa uprising (1942)
The winter of 1942, in the very north of the Soviet Union in the Komi Republic, saw the first uprising in the history of the Gulag. Surprisingly, it was organized by the head, Mark Retyunin, of the Lesoreid logging camp near the village of Ust-Usa.
Retyunin had himself in the past been convicted for banditry. Having remained in the camp as a civilian guard, he soon became the chief administrator, maintaining good relations with both prisoners and security. But persistent rumors about an upcoming mass execution of prisoners “for counter-revolutionary activities” forced Retyunin to take action.
On Jan. 24, after disarming the guards, more than a hundred prisoners escaped from the camp and raided nearby villages and settlements, clashing with law enforcement officers and freeing prisoners from local holding cells.
After several skirmishes with units of the Military Guard, a paramilitary security service, the prisoners were defeated, and Retyunin shot himself. The law enforcement agencies lost 33 men, while among the rebels 42 were killed and a further 50 were sentenced to death.
3 biggest uprisings in Gulag history
Gulag prisoners didn't always sit quietly and obediently; there were times when even the tanks had to be sent in.