Steplag or Stepnoy Camp Directorate, Special Camp No. 4 (Степлаг (Степной лагерь), Особлаг (Особый лагерь) № 4) was an MVD special camp for political prisoners within the Gulag system of the Soviet Union. It was established on February 28, 1948, on the base of the Spasozavodsky (Спасозаводский) POW camp near Karaganda, Kazakhstan. In May 1948 it was moved to Jezkazgan. In 1956, Steplag was disestablished, and its camps were transferred to the administration of the Kazakh SSR.
Main works were construction works, copper and coal mining, but various odd jobs as well.
Initially it was planned for 10,000 inmates but it was expanded with more subcamps and at its height it held about 28,000 in 1950.
Between May and June 1954, the Kengir uprising happened in Steplag.
Detainees by nationality
Detainee statistics by nationality:
| No. | Nationality | Number | % | No. | Nationality | Number | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ukrainians | 9 596 | 46,36 % | 18 | Turkmens | 76 | 0,38 % |
| 2 | Lithuanians | 2 690 | 13,0 % | 19 | Ingush people | 56 | 0,27 % |
| 3 | Russians | 2 661 | 12,86 % | 20 | Chinese | 55 | 0,27 % |
| 4 | Latvians | 1 074 | 5,19 % | 21 | Tajiks | 54 | 0,26 % |
| 5 | Belarusians | 878 | 4,24 % | 22 | Koreans | 52 | 0,25 % |
| 6 | Estonians | 873 | 4,22 % | 23 | Kyrgyz people | 50 | 0,24 % |
| 7 | Polish people | 379 | 1,83 % | 24 | Japanese people | 30 | 0,14 % |
| 8 | Germans | 359 | 1,73 % | 25 | Romanians | 24 | 0,12 % |
| 9 | Kazakhs | 291 | 1,40 % | 26 | Greeks | 21 | 0,10 % |
| 10 | Moldovans | 208 | 1,0 % | 27 | Udmurts | 20 | 0,10 % |
| 11 | Uzbeks | 204 | 0,99 % | 28 | Iranian peoples | 18 | 0,09 % |
| 12 | Jews | 174 | 0,84 % | 29 | Finns und Karelians | 16 | 0,08 % |
| 13 | Armenians | 154 | 0,74 % | 30 | Bashkirs | 9 | 0,04 % |
| 14 | Georgians | 132 | 0,64 % | 31 | Pashtuns | 8 | 0,04 % |
| 15 | Tatars | 127 | 0,61 % | 32 | Turkish people | 8 | 0,04 % |
| 16 | Chechens | 124 | 0,60 % | 33 | Mongols | 2 | 0,01 % |
| 17 | Azerbaijanis | 108 | 0,52 % | 34 | Other | 167 | 0,81 % |
Notable inmates
- Alexander Dolgun, US embassy clerk falsely accused of espionage; author of the memoir Alexander Dolgun’s Story: An American in the Gulag.
- Vladimir Efroimson, Soviet geneticist
- Metropolitan Ioann, Ukrainian Orthodox minister
- Tatiana Okunevskaya, Russian actress
- Maria Kapnist, Ukrainian actress
References
- ^ Приказ МВД СССР № 00219 «Об организации особых лагерей МВД»
- ^ СТЕПНОЙ ЛАГЕРЬ, Reference book Система исправительно-трудовых лагерей в СССР ("The System of Corrective Labor Camps in the USSR")
- «Справка спецотдела Степного лагеря МВД о составе заключенных, содержащихся в лагере» (составитель начальник спецотдела полковник Савченко) ГА РФ Ф. 9414 Оп. 1, Д. 228. Л. 171—173. по публ. Кокурин А. И. Восстание в Степлаге. Отечественные архивы 1994. № 4 . с. 33-82. (с дополнением)
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