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Article: SOVIET UNION'S GULAG A MONUMENT TO STALIN INHUMANITY WEST GETS A GLIMPSE OF HELL.(Main)
- Article from:
- Albany Times Union (Albany, NY)
- Article date:
- November 23, 1989
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1989 Albany Times Union. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Michael Dobbs Washington Post
Stark granite mountains rising to a height of 8,000 feet surround this Stalinist-era labor camp, forming a natural prison more awesome than anything man could invent. In winter the temperature drops to 60 below zero.
Visiting this desolate Siberian camp, it is difficult to conceive of anybody trying to escape. The only natural exit - down the mountain valley to the nearest village, about 35 miles away - is blocked by guardhouses and machine-gun posts.
And yet, according to Soviet secret police documents, 83 prisoners did try to escape in the years 1949 to 1951, when the camp was in operation. Most tried to ...