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Concept
Katorga
Summary
Katorga (ка́торга; from medieval and modern Greek: katergon, κάτεργον, "galley") was a system of penal labor in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union (see Katorga labor in the Soviet Union). Prisoners were sent to remote penal colonies in vast uninhabited areas of Siberia and the Russian Far East where voluntary settlers and workers were never available in sufficient numbers. The prisoners had to perform forced labor under harsh conditions.
Katorga, a category of punishment within the judicial system of the Russian Empire, had many of the features associated with labor-camp imprisonment: confinement, simplified facilities (as opposed to prisons), and forced labor, usually involving hard, unskilled or semi-skilled work.
Katorga camps were established in the 17th century by Alexis of Russia in newly conquered, underpopulated areas of Siberia and the Russian Far East - regions that had few towns or food sources. Despite the isolated conditions, a few prisoners successfully escaped to populated areas. From these times, Siberia gained its fearful connotation of punishment, which was further enhanced by the Soviet gulag system.
After the change in Russian penal law in 1847, exile and katorga became common punishments for participants in national uprisings within the Russian Empire. This led to increasing numbers of Poles sent to Siberia for katorga. These people have become known in Poland as Sybiraks ("Siberians"). Some of them remained there, forming a Polish minority in Siberia.
The most common occupations in katorga camps were mining and timber work. A notable example involved the construction of the Amur Cart Road (Амурская колесная дорога), praised as a success in the organisation of penal labor.
In 1891 Anton Chekhov, the Russian writer and playwright, visited the katorga settlements on Sakhalin island in the Russian Far East and wrote about the conditions there in his book Sakhalin Island. He criticized the short-sightedness and incompetence of the officials in charge that led to poor living standards, waste of government funds, and decreased productivity.
Official source
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