7 votes

Forty-five things I learned in the gulag

2 comments

  1. [2]
    starchturrets
    Link
    Good God what a sobering read. That waste of life, of talent. And we all just make memes out of this. I don't quite see what he means. And this, I too do not get.

    Good God what a sobering read. That waste of life, of talent. And we all just make memes out of this.

    I realized that Stalin’s “victories” were due to his killing the innocent—an organization a tenth the size would have swept Stalin away in two days.

    I don't quite see what he means.

    I understood why prisoners hear political news (arrests, et cetera) before the outside world does

    And this, I too do not get.

    2 votes
    1. catfacedkiller
      Link Parent
      Yeah I would like to understand the second quote better. Because prisoners overhear guards and officials talking? Because prisoners are considered so insignificant that guards and officials tell...

      Yeah I would like to understand the second quote better. Because prisoners overhear guards and officials talking? Because prisoners are considered so insignificant that guards and officials tell them things flippantly? Because prisoners have so little else to occupy/interest/sustain them that spreading information is a big deal? I think my best guess would be that information comes from new prisoners who have only just been involved in new situations. Probably a combination of all of these in different prison contexts around the world, but I'd still like to know what Shalamov was specifically trying to get at.

      3 votes