Part 3, Chapter 24: The Zeks' Revolution—Summary

A colloquial name for a Gulag inmate was "zek." After Stalin's death, rumors abounded as to what would happen to various prisoners. At the same time, organization within the special camps grew stronger. In some camps, these groups put out underground newspapers and began organizing strikes. In the Gorlag and Rechlag camps organized strikes took place. Camp administrators left the camps in fear. Various theories exist about whether the rebellions were planned by a Ukrainian secret organization or whether the secret police had actually started them to reassert their power and place in the Soviet Union.

Strike committees began trying to sort out the situations, but it became clear that the striking zeks wanted amnesty, not just improvements in their living conditions. While authorities began with negotiation, they often ended with violence. Soldiers assumed...