Remembering the Darkness: Women in Soviet Prisons

by Veronica Shapovalov

This engrossing collection of prison memoirs by Russian women is the first to portray the direct experiences of the wide range of women who were incarcerated in Soviet prisons and camps. Comprising the stories of women from all classes and backgrounds, this book covers the entire span of the Gulag's existence from the 1920s to the 1980s, including the little-known periods of political repression of the 1960s and 1980s. These memoirs and letters provide a rich portrait of how women led everyday life in prison and in the camps, of the strategies of accommodation and resistance they employed, and the challenges they faced when they reentered Soviet society. Although readers will hear the voices of women who were in excruciating physical and emotional pain, they will also find remarkable testimonies to the agency and resilience of women who struggled against incredible odds. Written by women from all stations in life and from drastically different backgrounds, these stories reconstruct not only the world of the Gulag but also its meaning for society at large. The documents excerpted here point to areas of Soviet history and culture that have yet to be fully investigated as they illuminate women's experiences of friendship, work, hope, inspiration, loss, and terror. All the works selected for the collection are united by their authors' sense of group and individual identity. To varying degrees, all of them associate their experiences with events and people beyond their personal experiences and immediate surroundings, thus expanding the traditional perspective of women's writing. These riveting stories, never before published in English or Russian, will appeal to scholars and students of Soviet history and literature, as well as general readers interested in women's history.

Genres: Russia

364 pages, Paperback

First published August 24, 2001

Reviews

[Devan Lochees · Rating 5 out of 5]

A woman who became voluntarily homeless, starved herself, and learned how to be a thief. A woman who was in a group of 12,000 prisoners on a forced march, up to 70 km a day with no food, less water and no change of clothes. A 23 year old socialite arrested for holding anti-Soviet meetings in her apartment, and who loved her time in prison so much she didn’t want to leave. These are just 3 of the stories that fill this book.

The author has collected and translated an anthology of memoirs, notes, autobiographies, diary entries, and a myriad of other stories written firsthand by woman who lived and, in many cases, survived the years of their life spent in Soviet prisons.

Each chapter highlights a specific woman. The author and translator will give a 1-3 page introduction. From there, the entire rest of the chapter is verbatim from what that woman wrote in prison.
A unexpected but wonderful find at the community college I work at, and I’m so glad I picked it up. Would highly recommend.