The Project Gutenberg eBook of An island hell: A Soviet prison in the far north
Title: An island hell: A Soviet prison in the far north
Author: S. A. Malʹsagov
Translator: F. H. Lyon
Release date: September 6, 2022 [eBook #68923]
Language: English
Original publication: United Kingdom: A. M. Philpot Ltd, 1926
Credits: Scans generously provided by hugesummers at archive.org
AN ISLAND HELL:
A SOVIET PRISON
IN THE FAR NORTH
An Island Hell:
A Soviet Prison in the Far North
By S. A. MALSAGOFF Translated by F. H. LYON
LONDON: A. M. PHILPOT LTD.
69, GREAT RUSSELL STREET, W.C.1
1926
PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN.
CONTENTS
| Part I. (Introductory). — FROM BATOUM TO THE SOLOVETSKY ISLANDS. | ||
| CHAPTER | PAGE | |
| I. | A White Guard in the Caucasus | 13 |
| II. | A Famous "Amnesty" | 19 |
| III. | Horrors of Tiflis Prison | 27 |
| IV. | Bound for the "Solovky" | 33 |
| Part II. — THE SOLOVETSKY ISLANDS. | ||
| CHAPTER | PAGE | |
| I. | The Forerunners of the "Solovky" | 43 |
| II. | From Monastery to Prison Camp | 52 |
| III. | A Gallery of Tchekists | 61 |
| IV. | Popoff Island Camp | 74 |
| V. | The Tyranny of the Criminals | 83 |
| VI. | "Counter-Revolutionaries" | 94 |
| VII. | Victims of the Tcheka: Some Strange Cases | 102 |
| VIII. | "Politicals": A Favoured Class | 117 |
| IX. | The Women's Fate | 132 |
| X. | Foreign Prisoners | 139 |
| XI. | A "Change of Cabinet" | 146 |
| XII. | Daily Life, Work, and Food | 151 |
| XIII. | Hospital Horrors | 162 |
| XIV. | How "Useful Citizens" are Made | 169 |
| XV. | How the Tchekists Live | 176 |
| Part III. — OUR ESCAPE. | ||
| CHAPTER | PAGE | |
| I. | The Only Way Out | 183 |
| II. | Laying our Plans | 188 |
| III. | Our Flight: The First Stage | 195 |
| IV. | A Terrible March | 204 |
| V. | Freedom | 213 |
AUTHOR'S NOTE
I and my four companions left the Solovetsky Islands (called in this narrative the "Solovky," the name by which they are commonly known) on May 18th, 1925, and crossed the frontier between Russia and Finland on June 15th. But it was not until eight days later that we reached Kuusamo and ascertained positively that we were in Finland, so that our journey lasted thirty-six days.
As I had supposed, I found that outside Soviet Russia the whole circumstances in which those transported to the Solovetsky Islands are compelled to live (or, it would be more correct to say, to die) — the whole life, regime, conditions of labour, food, and the other internal and external characteristics of the Solovky, were absolutely unknown.
The secrecy which enwraps the Solovky is quite comprehensible. The Soviet papers, concealing the grim truth from Russian readers, pass the Solovky by in complete silence. Foreign newspaper correspondents are not allowed to go there. There had not been, till we got away, a single case in which a prisoner had succeeded in escaping across the frontier, whereby the public opinion of Europe could have learnt the truth about the Solovky.
Providence thought fit to rescue me, by a miracle, from this place of torment. And I count it my most sacred duty to tell the world what I saw, heard and went through there.
These notes, of course, make no claim either to literary qualities and beauty of style or to exhaustive completeness. I look upon them as the testimony of a fair witness who speaks the truth and only the truth. And if my testimony is recognised as worthy of consideration, and is accepted as a part of that gigantic indictment which the Russian nation, the whole of humanity, history and God will without doubt bring forward against the Soviet power, I shall consider that my duty has been discharged.
In confirmation of my claim to have been, to the best of my power, impartial in my exposition of the facts, I may say that when I showed these notes to my comrades who escaped with me they were of opinion that, in my description of the regime in the Solovetsky Islands, I had in many cases been too moderate.