Social Meaning of Culture in a Stalinist Prison Camp

Abstract

The Stalinist prison camp system - popularly known as the Gulag archipelago - existed for a relatively short period (from 1931-1960) and became world famous as a synonym for terror, humiliation and human suffering. This article focuses on the social significance of culture in one of the biggest Stalinist prison camp - Karlag in Central Kazakhstan. The first part of the article gives an overview of the institutions of culture in prison camps and their activities. It also gives an overview of unofficial cultural activities and the consequences of being engaged in the unsanctioned creation of art. In the second part of the paper, the social significance of culture in Stalinist prison camps is discussed. Official and non-official art were not separate and existed in symbiosis: people crossed the border between these spheres. Moreover, the camp administration recognised the material value of art produced in the camp and began to organise the production of pictures or handicrafts in order to sell them outside the camp. Nevertheless, both official and unofficial cultures had a deep social meaning for the people. Producing unsanctioned paintings and other objects of artistry can be seen as an act of resistance, producing sanctioned art helped the artists to create their own social and mental space and distance themselves from the everyday grind of the camp. In general, culture and its institutions in the prison failed to fulfill their original purpose - instead of re-educating and changing inmates, culture helped to maintain human dignity and integrity.