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Archaeological research of Soviet Steplag in Kazakhstan

Overview

Archaeologists from the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen and the organization Gulag.cz have initiated the first scientific archaeological research of the former Steplag Soviet Gulag in Terekty, near Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan.

Operating between 1948 and 1956, the camp held more than 20,000 prisoners, many of whom were political detainees from the Baltic states, Ukraine, and other regions, including Czechoslovak citizens. The excavation site includes remains of male and female camps, a command center, guard quarters, an economic zone for forced labor, and a cemetery for victims.

Preliminary findings suggest the camp may have remained active longer than historical records indicate. While academic literature states operations ceased in 1956, researchers discovered artifacts, such as glass bottles, dating between 1959 and 1961. Local testimony from a resident supports the possibility that a female camp for Baltic prisoners was still active in 1959.

Entities

Gulag.cz · Pavel Vařeka · Stepalag · Steplag · Zhezqazgan

Timeline

  1. [CULTURE] 3 sources
    Archaeologists begin research on Soviet Gulag in Kazakhstan

    Archaeologists have begun the first research of the Stepalag Soviet Gulag in Kazakhstan, discovering evidence that the camp operated longer than recorded and held Czechoslovak political prisoners.

  2. [CULTURE] 2 sources
    Archaeologists begin first scientific research of Soviet Gulag in Kazakhstan

    Czech archaeologists have begun the first scientific excavation of a former Soviet Gulag camp in Kazakhstan, uncovering evidence that the Steplag camp operated longer than previously recorded.

Sources

cesky.radio.cz · ct24.ceskatelevize.cz · dromedar.zoznam.sk · nasregion.cz · tydeniky.cz