Peculiarities of correspondence in the camps of the USSR in the 1920s and 30s

Abstract

This article describes the specifics of correspondence among prisoners in Soviet concentration camps in the 1920s and 1930s, using the Solovetsky Special Purpose Camp as an example. The authors focus on the delivery of official mail and unofficial methods of communication which were common among the camp inmates, under the conditions of informational isolation which was artificially created by the Soviet regime. Solovetsky Special Camp is chosen as the first large-scale concentration facility for prisoners during the persecution years and provides a vivid insight into the design of postal items and the workings of the camp mail itself. The role of the clergy in the Solovetsky Camp in the circulation of letters and parcels is described. Comparisons are made between tsarist and Soviet era correspondence.