Gulag History Museum
Good for: Information in English, understanding culture, History and Culture, understanding locals
- Address
- ul Petrovka 16
- Transport
- Website
- Phone
- 495 621 7346
- Hours
- 11am-4pm Tue-Sat
Lonely Planet review for Gulag History Museum
In the midst of all the swanky shops on ul Petrovka, an archway leads to a courtyard that is strung with barbed wire and hung with portraits of political prisoners. This is the entrance to a unique museum dedicated to the Chief Administration of Corrective Labour Camps and Colonies, better known as the GULAG. Guides dressed like guards describe the vast network of labour camps that once existed in the former Soviet Union and recount the horrors of camp life. Millions of prisoners spent years in these labour camps, made famous by Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s book The Gulag Archipelago. More than 18 million people passed through this system during its peak years, from 1929 to 1953, although many camps remained in operation until the end of the 1980s. The gulag became a chilling symbol of political repression, as many of the prisoners were serving time for ‘antisocial’ or ‘counter-revolutionary’ behaviour. The museum serves as a history lesson about the system, as well as a memorial to its victims.
Traveller reviews for Gulag History Museum (2)
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Very moving and important exhibits - they deserve to be seen
kfray recommends this,
This museum is tucked away in a very affluent part of town and is constantly under threat of being closed / moved. This, combined with recent attempts to gloss over the terror of Stalin's reign and downgrade its place in history, means it is more imprtant than ever to go.
Good for: understanding culture, History and Culture, understanding locals
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