Gulag: A History
Anne Applebaum’s *Gulag: A History* is a definitive, unflinching account of the Soviet Union’s sprawling forced labor camp system, tracing its origins from post-1917 revolutionary repressions to its collapse in the late 20th century. Starting with repurposed WWI POW camps and Lenin’s directives to detain "unreliable elements," the book chronicles the Gulag’s evolution from a political tool to a core pillar of Stalin’s industrialization drive—epitomized by the deadly White Sea Canal project, where over 2.5 prisoners died. It exposes the horrors of the Great Purge, where millions were arbitrarily arrested, tortured, and sent to remote camps, as well as the system’s expansion during WWII, when foreign POWs and occupied-region civilians were added to its ranks. Applebaum also details the Gulag’s decline after Stalin’s death, driven by reforms, prisoner uprisings, and international pressure, and explores its enduring legacy in Russian society’s fractured memory of totalitarianism.