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November 13, 2006
Excerpt
From Anne Applebaum’s book on the Gulag:
At one point during the late 1930s, the authorities suddenly decided that prisoners undergoing interrogation were to receive no packages from their relatives whatsoever, on the grounds that even “two French rolls, five apples, and a pair old pants were enough to transmit any text into prison.” Only money could be sent, and that only in round numbers, so that the sums could not be used to spell out “messages.” Yet not all prisoner families had enough money to send…
To solve this problem, the prisoners of Butyrka resurrected a phrase from the early days of the Revolution, and organized “Committees of the Poor.” Each prisoner donated 10 percent of his money to the committee. In turn the committee purchased food items for prisoners who had none. This system went on for some years until authorities decided to eliminate the committees by promising some prisoners “rewards” of various kinds for refusing to participate. The cells fought back, however, and ostracized refusers. And who, asks Shalamov, “would risk placing himself in opposition to the entire group, to people who are with you twenty four hours a day, where only sleep can save you from the hostile glare of your fellow inmates?”
Stuff | By jb | 02:47 AM