Gulags from "summary" of Iron Curtain by Anne Applebaum
The Gulags were a vast system of labor camps that dotted the Soviet Union in the years following World War II. Originally established by Lenin and expanded under Stalin, these camps were used to imprison perceived enemies of the state, political dissidents, and other undesirables. Conditions in the Gulags were notoriously harsh, with prisoners forced to perform grueling physical labor in extreme weather conditions. Food was scarce, medical care was virtually nonexistent, and brutality was often the norm. Many prisoners perished due to the brutal conditions, while others were executed outright. The Gulags served multiple purposes for the Soviet regime. They were a means of punishment for those deemed disloyal to the state, a source of cheap labor for industrial projects, and a way to instill fear in the general population. The mere threat of being sent to the Gulags was often enough to keep dissent in check. Despite the horrors of the Gulags, they remained a central feature of the Soviet system for decades. It was not until the death of Stalin and the gradual thawing of the Cold War that the Gulags began to be dismantled. Even today, the memory of the Gulags looms large in the collective consciousness of those who lived through that era.
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