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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where did most arrests happen during the time the Gulag prison systems were in use?

2. What is the name Vlasov synonymous with?

3. During what month of the year was Solzhenitsyn arrested?

4. Why did the Russian government kill and imprison its people, according to Solzhenitsyn?

5. What was used at night when prisoners were being interrogated in the 1920s?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did families typically react when they saw a family member arrested?

2. What reason does Solzhenitsyn give for the mass arrests that were sweeping through Russia during the time of Gulag's height?

3. What freedoms did Solzhenitsyn experience during his first stay in the Gulag prison system?

4. Where was Solzhenitsyn arrested, and what was his reaction?

5. What made the first two hours of the day the most difficult for Solzhenitsyn?

6. What happened in the 1960s when 70 judges were brought before the Supreme Court to justify their actions in the Gulag trials?

7. Who were the organs?

8. What was the hygienic purge?

9. What was the Cadet Party?

10. What was the Section 11 paperwork that Solzhenitsyn signed during his interrogation?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In his memoir, Solzhenitsyn gives very specific descriptions about the soldiers who were a part of the mass arrests leading to the overflow of prisoners in Gulag. What types of men were typically arresting soldiers during this time? What was specific about the arresting soldiers' uniforms? What does Solzhenitsyn remember most about the guards who arrested him?

Essay Topic 2

When the war broke out in the Soviet Union in 1941, many things about camp life in Gulag were changed. First, explain why it took so long for WWII to reach Russia. Next, explain how the onset of war fighting altered the conditions for prisoners within the camp. Why were more prisoners dying during wartime than any other time in Gulag history?

Essay Topic 3

Even though security in the Gulag camps was tight, many prisoners still attempted to escape. First, explain the security measures guards put up in the hopes they would deter prisoners from attempting to escape. Next, explain at least two ways prisoners managed to escape from Gulag. Finally, give at least one example from the text of a famous attempted, or successful, escape from Gulag.

(see the answer keys)

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