Labor Propaganda and the Gulag Press: The Case of Putevka

Abstract

ABSTRACT Soviet propaganda extended beyond the general Soviet population to include prisoners who were sent to Gulag camps and special settlements. Newspapers produced in camps by prisoners were common and presented Soviet labor propaganda to camp residents. Research into the “Gulag press” is recent and with the discovery of Gulag newspapers, the area has continued to develop. This research provides an overview of Gulag newspapers and examines Putevka, a newspaper published at Karlag, a large set of Gulag camps and special settlements in central Kazakhstan. The authors were given official permission to examine surviving copies of Putevka and used content analysis to determine its propaganda role as a camp newspaper. While the larger Soviet propaganda mission was to educate workers toward rehabilitation, in reality Putevka’s role was to promote a constant need for increased and improved labor productivity.