Art and culture in the Gulag labor camps

Art and culture took on a variety of forms in the forced labor camps of the Gulag system that existed across the Soviet Union during the first half of the twentieth century. Theater, music, visual art, and literature played a role in camp life for many of the millions of prisoners who passed through the Gulag system. Some creative endeavors were initiated and executed by prisoners themselves (sometimes in secret), while others were overseen by the camp administration. Some projects benefited from prisoners who had been professional artists; others were organized by amateurs. The robust presence of the arts in the Gulag camps is a testament to the resourcefulness and resilience of prisoners there, many of whom derived material benefits and psychological comfort from their involvement in artistic projects.

One of the most visible forms of art within the Gulag was performance. Many prisoners, from experienced actors and musicians to total amateurs, either participated in or attended theatrical productions in the camps. Occasionally, even camp officials became involved: in his memoir Dear America!, Thomas Sgovio describes a production in which the leading role was played by the head of the Camp Administration.

The phenomenon of Gulag theater dates back almost as far as the existence of Gulag. Prisoners at Solovetsky prison camp, the USSR’s first Gulag camp, started an amateur theater group as early as 1923. Initially, the actors had no access to scripts, so they relied on memorized classics for material. The troupe was not officially recognized, and performers were given no special treatment; they often rehearsed after a full day of labor. The following year, however, the quality of performances at the camp greatly improved with the influx of a group of professional actors who had been arrested together.

By the 1940s, many work camps had developed theater troupes, some completely amateur and others highly accomplished. Directors of certain Gulags became competitive about producing the best theatrical performances, and officials like the commander at Unzhlag would hand-pick talented prisoners to participate. According to Lev Kopelev, the priority that Unzhlag’s commander placed on high-quality theater led the camp to become known as an “asylum for artists."

Talent was plentiful among Gulag prisoners, a number of whom had professional performing experience. The singers Vadim Kozin and Lidia Ruslanova, the actresses Valentina Tokarskaya and Zoya Fyodorova, and a host of other illustrious performers spent time in Gulag camps. Sometimes, too, non-prisoners were hired to supplement the camp’s supply of performers. (This was the case in the theater at Vorkuta, where a professional director from Moscow was hired for certain shows.) The commander at Ukhtizhimlag, a camp in Ukhta, organized what writer and prisoner Lev Razgon called “a real opera troupe” featuring a soprano from the Harbin operetta, a dancer from the Bolshoi Ballet, and a well-known viola-player. The troupe’s director was Konstantin Egert, an actor from the Maly Theater who had starred in the 1926 film The Legend of the Bear’s Wedding. Performances at Ukhta rivaled those of professional companies in cities like Moscow. The imposing building that once housed the Ukhtizhimlag theater still stands in Ukhta today.

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