August 27, 2024
Dark pages of history on the Yana Highway.
In my previous post, I left you with us in the middle of nowhere on the Yana Highway (on our Yakutsk-Tiksi-Yakutsk expedition)…
So why did we stop here? Because we wanted another look at a place we’d seen here back in 2021 – among the last few remains of what was once a Gulag forced-labor camp – a barrack surrounded by two barbed-wire fences, plus a watchtower. It’s a symbol of a dark chapter of history of the country – one that needs to be known and remembered. I think the place should be preserved and protected until one day it becomes a valuable artifact of history and a museum of the Gulag.
Curiously, to many, the Gulag system was one of political repression and guilt-less “crimes”. And indeed it was like that. However, most inmates in places like this truly were monsters who’d committed the most heinous of crimes – who fully deserved the lengthy sentences and harsh conditions they were given. That should also be remembered (there’s always more to history than the generally accepted/believed narrative)…
Inside – just as bleak and depressing as on the outside ->
Not sure why they insisted on constructing this here watchtower. It’s not as if the inmates had anywhere to escape to – even if they did manage to get through the barbed wire ->
A dark chapter indeed. Let’s hope we learn from it so it’s not repeated…
After the Gulag, we were on our way again – over there: southward ->
As if to cheer us up after the Gulag: halo!
The rest of the pics from our Yakutsk-Tiksi-Yakutsk expedition are here.
