Karlag
Karlag - Karaganda cooperative labor camp
One of the must-visit places in Karaganda is the KaraLag labor camp. It shows the details of the period of political repression through a large exhibition with stories in English. It was one of the largest branches of the GULAG (State Administration of Camps) during the period of massive political repression. The total area of the Karlag was actually similar in size to that of France.
KarLag is located 50 km southwest of Karaganda in the town of Dolinka. The camp was opened in 1930 and existed till 1959. During this period at least a million people passed through KarLag. Karlag held people from all over USSR meaning diverse ethnicities such as Kazakhs, Germans, Russians, Romans, Hungarians, Poles, Belarusians, Jews, Chechens, Ingush, Frenchmen, Georgians, Italians, Kyrgyz, Ukrainians, Japanese, Finns, Lithuanians, Latvians, and Estonians.
One of the main purposes of the Karaganda camp was to exploit the free labor of prisoners to produce a base of food for generating coal mining and metallurgic industry in Central Kazakhstan. With the force of prisoners, a large food base, coal and metallurgical industry, agriculture, and animal farming developed rapidly in the area. Natural resources were also produced such as mines with the help of forced labor.
The colonization of Central Asian countries and the composition of industrial centers needed railway contact with central parts of Russia. One of the first prisoners of the Karlag were sent to build a railway from Akmolinsk to Karaganda. By mid-1931 the railway was created and started to operate.
KarLag Museum of Political Repression Victims’ Memory
The museum expositions occupy 25 halls in total, which tell visitors about the history of the camp and the life of the prisoners. Personal files of prisoners, their belongings, declassified archival documents, dioramas are also shown and the exhibition leaves a lasting impression. Naturalistic installations with wax figures clearly show how prisoners lived here: a common cell, a punishment cell, an interrogation room, a hospital ward and a Karlag laboratory for example. The prisoners of Karlag made a huge contribution to the military economy of the country during the WW2.
- Entrance fee: 1 000 tenge
- 39, Dolinka 101604, Kazakhstan
Thank you for the pictures @theojansen
Sights & destinations near Karlag
Page updated 27.11.2022
