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Human Rights and Crimes Against Humanity Ser.: Cannibal Island : Death in a Siberian Gulag by Nicolas Werth (2007, Hardcover)
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Product Identifiers
PublisherPrinceton University Press
ISBN-100691130833
ISBN-139780691130835
eBay Product ID (ePID)57189992
Product Key Features
Number of Pages256 Pages
Publication NameCannibal Island : Death in a Siberian Gulag
LanguageEnglish
Publication Year2007
SubjectRussia & the Former Soviet Union, Modern / 20th Century, Civil Rights
TypeTextbook
AuthorNicolas Werth
Subject AreaPolitical Science, History
SeriesHuman Rights and Crimes Against Humanity Ser.
FormatHardcover
Dimensions
Item Height1 in
Item Weight14 Oz
Item Length8.8 in
Item Width5.8 in
Additional Product Features
Intended AudienceCollege Audience
LCCN2006-051829
ReviewsWerth's meticulous approach to the study of social order and administrative norms in the Stalin era is likely to be of real interest to specialists in GULAG studies, camp memoirs, and Soviet culture in general. Clearly and forcefully argued,Cannibal Islanddoes an excellent job of reconstructing the way in which Soviet officials and institutions operated in the 1930s. Readable enough to serve as a good source for undergraduates working on research papers in Soviet history and culture, this volume would make a good addition to even the most modest university library collections., "This short yet extraordinarily rich account of Stalinist politics and Soviet life should be read widely." --Hiroaki Kuromiya, Slavonic and East European Review, "The author demonstrates encyclopedic erudition and provides nuanced explanations. Ample quotations from reports and letters of government officials give the book its sense of immediacy. In other words, the volume is both scholarly and absorbing, which is a rare combination." --Michael Jakobson, Slavic Review, Cannibal Islandis a grim tale of ten thousand 'anti-social elements' deposited on an empty Siberian island in the Ob river in the 1930s. But, more than that, it is a story of how the brutal purge machinery was oiled and run at its lowest level., [An] absorbing new book. . . . After detailing the lead-up to the deportation of the 'socially harmful elements' and the political situation surrounding it, Mr. Werth zeroes in on the Nazino affair to illustrate the policy's devastating effect. ---Martha Mercer, New York Sun, Nicolas Werth's book is the stuff of nightmares. It recounts the fate of 6,000 'special settlers', rounded up in Moscow and Leningrad in 1933 and sent to the island of Nazino in the Ob River in Western Siberia. -- Carla King, Irish Times, This is an utterly harrowing account of the 'bloody implementation of a utopia' and an exemplary analysis of the Soviet state, with its 'number culture' and 'pseudocategorizations' -- all of this underpinned, of course, by the most spectacular cruelty. ---Richard King, Sydney Morning Herald, "Perhaps it is not surprising that Nicolas Werth, the French historian who cowrote The Black Book of Communism , has decided in Cannibal Island to return to an incident he merely mentioned in that vast book. He was right to do so: in its way, this small, brilliant work, the description of a single incident, is every bit as powerful a condemnation of Communist ideology as the Black Book itself." --Anne Applebaum, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Gulag: A History, Few books have captured the human tragedy of Stalin's bloody reign so succinctly or with such force. ---Douglas Smith, Seattle Times, "Nicolas Werth's book is the stuff of nightmares. It recounts the fate of 6,000 'special settlers', rounded up in Moscow and Leningrad in 1933 and sent to the island of Nazino in the Ob River in Western Siberia." --Carla King, Irish Times, " Cannibal Island is a valuable addition to emerging Gulag scholarship in so far as it demonstrates how, in the early 1930s, this network of labour camps and settlements also began serving as a dumping ground for those elderly, destitute, and physically and mentally disabled 'elements' the regime expunged from urban centres." --Andrew A. Gentes, European History Quarterly, Werth's meticulous approach to the study of social order and administrative norms in the Stalin era is likely to be of real interest to specialists in GULAG studies, camp memoirs, and Soviet culture in general. Clearly and forcefully argued, Cannibal Island does an excellent job of reconstructing the way in which Soviet officials and institutions operated in the 1930s. Readable enough to serve as a good source for undergraduates working on research papers in Soviet history and culture, this volume would make a good addition to even the most modest university library collections. -- Emily D. Johnson, Slavic and East European Journal, Nicolas Werth's book is the stuff of nightmares. It recounts the fate of 6,000 'special settlers', rounded up in Moscow and Leningrad in 1933 and sent to the island of Nazino in the Ob River in Western Siberia., Cannibal Island is a valuable addition to emerging Gulag scholarship in so far as it demonstrates how, in the early 1930s, this network of labour camps and settlements also began serving as a dumping ground for those elderly, destitute, and physically and mentally disabled 'elements' the regime expunged from urban centres. -- Andrew A. Gentes, European History Quarterly, "Often the details in a single instance sear more deeply than the most gruesome tally of large numbers....Werth describes in rich detail the transformation of the vast western Siberian wilderness into the dumping ground for millions of 'de-kulakized' peasants, minority groups from the borderlands, the socially marginal, criminals, and the utterly innocent....These 'special settlements' are a part of the gulag's least-known history. Werth corrects that in plain and clear language, leaving the story to convey its own excruciating eloquence."-- Robert Levgold, Foreign Affairs, Few books have captured the human tragedy of Stalin's bloody reign so succinctly or with such force., "This is an utterly harrowing account of the 'bloody implementation of a utopia' and an exemplary analysis of the Soviet state, with its 'number culture' and 'pseudocategorizations' -- all of this underpinned, of course, by the most spectacular cruelty." --Richard King, Sydney Morning Herald, Nicolas Werth's excellent history of the Nazino gulag is a portrait of a place that went from terrible to unimaginable.... In a strong field, Cannibal Island is one of the grisliest and most unpleasant accounts of gulag life.... This one ranks as one of the more memorable exhibits in the gallery of horrors. ---Graeme Wood, Weekly Standard, " Cannibal Island is a grim tale of ten thousand 'anti-social elements' deposited on an empty Siberian island in the Ob river in the 1930s. But, more than that, it is a story of how the brutal purge machinery was oiled and run at its lowest level."-- Paul E. Richardson, Russian Life Magazine, "[This book] mark[s] a quantitative leap forward in data now available in English on these important and complex problems that had previously been much neglected." -- Stephen G. Wheatcroft, American Historical Review, "Nicolas Werth's excellent history of the Nazino gulag is a portrait of a place that went from terrible to unimaginable.... In a strong field, Cannibal Island is one of the grisliest and most unpleasant accounts of gulag life.... This one ranks as one of the more memorable exhibits in the gallery of horrors." --Graeme Wood, Weekly Standard, "Nicolas Werth's excellent history of the Nazino gulag is a portrait of a place that went from terrible to unimaginable.... In a strong field, Cannibal Island is one of the grisliest and most unpleasant accounts of gulag life.... This one ranks as one of the more memorable exhibits in the gallery of horrors."-- Graeme Wood, Weekly Standard, Review of the original French edition: "The mind-blowing story of a bureaucratic utopia that turned into carnage. A 'micro-history' that forms a representative example in a country where the inconceivable became the norm." --Thomas Wieder, Le Monde, "[An] absorbing new book. . . . After detailing the lead-up to the deportation of the 'socially harmful elements' and the political situation surrounding it, Mr. Werth zeroes in on the Nazino affair to illustrate the policy's devastating effect."-- Martha Mercer, New York Sun, Nicolas Werth's excellent history of the Nazino gulag is a portrait of a place that went from terrible to unimaginable.... In a strong field, Cannibal Island is one of the grisliest and most unpleasant accounts of gulag life.... This one ranks as one of the more memorable exhibits in the gallery of horrors. -- Graeme Wood, Weekly Standard, "[This book] mark[s] a quantitative leap forward in data now available in English on these important and complex problems that had previously been much neglected."-- Stephen G. Wheatcroft, American Historical Review, In short, this remarkable case study of dysfunction and terror makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of Stalinism. -- JeffreyS.Hardy, H-Net Reviews, "Often the details in a single instance sear more deeply than the most gruesome tally of large numbers....Werth describes in rich detail the transformation of the vast western Siberian wilderness into the dumping ground for millions of 'de-kulakized' peasants, minority groups from the borderlands, the socially marginal, criminals, and the utterly innocent....These 'special settlements' are a part of the gulag's least-known history. Werth corrects that in plain and clear language, leaving the story to convey its own excruciating eloquence." --Robert Levgold, Foreign Affairs, "The author demonstrates encyclopedic erudition and provides nuanced explanations. Ample quotations from reports and letters of government officials give the book its sense of immediacy. In other words, the volume is both scholarly and absorbing, which is a rare combination."-- Michael Jakobson, Slavic Review, This short yet extraordinarily rich account of Stalinist politics and Soviet life should be read widely. -- Hiroaki Kuromiya, Slavonic and East European Review, The author demonstrates encyclopedic erudition and provides nuanced explanations. Ample quotations from reports and letters of government officials give the book its sense of immediacy. In other words, the volume is both scholarly and absorbing, which is a rare combination. -- Michael Jakobson, Slavic Review, "Nicolas Werth's excellent history of the Nazino gulag is a portrait of a place that went from terrible to unimaginable. . . . In a strong field, Cannibal Island is one of the grisliest and most unpleasant accounts of gulag life. . . . This one ranks as one of the more memorable exhibits in the gallery of horrors." ---Graeme Wood, Weekly Standard, Cannibal Island is a grim tale of ten thousand 'anti-social elements' deposited on an empty Siberian island in the Ob river in the 1930s. But, more than that, it is a story of how the brutal purge machinery was oiled and run at its lowest level. -- Paul E. Richardson, Russian Life Magazine, This short yet extraordinarily rich account of Stalinist politics and Soviet life should be read widely., Review of the original French edition: "The mind-blowing story of a bureaucratic utopia that turned into carnage. A 'micro-history' that forms a representative example in a country where the inconceivable became the norm. -- Thomas Wieder, Le Monde, Review of the original French edition: "The mind-blowing story of a bureaucratic utopia that turned into carnage. A 'micro-history' that forms a representative example in a country where the inconceivable became the norm., Often the details in a single instance sear more deeply than the most gruesome tally of large numbers....Werth describes in rich detail the transformation of the vast western Siberian wilderness into the dumping ground for millions of 'de-kulakized' peasants, minority groups from the borderlands, the socially marginal, criminals, and the utterly innocent....These 'special settlements' are a part of the gulag's least-known history. Werth corrects that in plain and clear language, leaving the story to convey its own excruciating eloquence. ---Robert Levgold, Foreign Affairs, Werth's meticulous approach to the study of social order and administrative norms in the Stalin era is likely to be of real interest to specialists in GULAG studies, camp memoirs, and Soviet culture in general. Clearly and forcefully argued,Cannibal Islanddoes an excellent job of reconstructing the way in which Soviet officials and institutions operated in the 1930s. Readable enough to serve as a good source for undergraduates working on research papers in Soviet history and culture, this volume would make a good addition to even the most modest university library collections. -- Emily D. Johnson, Slavic and East European Journal, [This book] mark[s] a quantitative leap forward in data now available in English on these important and complex problems that had previously been much neglected. --- Stephen G. Wheatcroft, American Historical Review, "Werth has as solid a command of the Soviet-era archival documentation as anyone. But while he lays out a synthetic, institutional panorama of a segment of Soviet bureaucracy, he can write at the same time a story full of suspense, in a crisp and lucid style. He certainly does both with shattering effect in his Cannibal Island." -- Jan T. Gross, Nicolas Werth's book is the stuff of nightmares. It recounts the fate of 6,000 'special settlers', rounded up in Moscow and Leningrad in 1933 and sent to the island of Nazino in the Ob River in Western Siberia. ---Carla King, Irish Times, Cannibal Island is a grim tale of ten thousand 'anti-social elements' deposited on an empty Siberian island in the Ob river in the 1930s. But, more than that, it is a story of how the brutal purge machinery was oiled and run at its lowest level., "In this gripping new work, Nicolas Werth documents the horrifying story of the forced deportation of 'socially-dangerous elements' from Moscow and Leningrad to the forbidding island of Nazino. With the use of dramatic new documents from previously classified Soviet archives, he chronicles for the first time in English the atrocities that unfolded on 'cannibal island.' This is an absorbing, indeed chilling tale of savagery, highlighting in microcosm the brutal realities of Stalinist socialism in action." 'e"Lynne Viola, author of The Unknown Gulag: The Lost World of Stalin's Special Settlements, [An] absorbing new book. . . . After detailing the lead-up to the deportation of the 'socially harmful elements' and the political situation surrounding it, Mr. Werth zeroes in on the Nazino affair to illustrate the policy's devastating effect. -- Martha Mercer, New York Sun, "Nicolas Werth's book is the stuff of nightmares. It recounts the fate of 6,000 'special settlers', rounded up in Moscow and Leningrad in 1933 and sent to the island of Nazino in the Ob River in Western Siberia."-- Carla King, Irish Times, This short yet extraordinarily rich account of Stalinist politics and Soviet life should be read widely. ---Hiroaki Kuromiya, Slavonic and East European Review, "In short, this remarkable case study of dysfunction and terror makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of Stalinism." --JeffreyS.Hardy, H-Net Reviews, "This remarkable case study of dysfunction and terror makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of Stalinism." ---Jeffrey S. Hardy, H-Net Reviews, In short, this remarkable case study of dysfunction and terror makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of Stalinism., "Few books have captured the human tragedy of Stalin's bloody reign so succinctly or with such force."-- Douglas Smith, Seattle Times, "Werth has as solid a command of the Soviet-era archival documentation as anyone. But while he lays out a synthetic, institutional panorama of a segment of Soviet bureaucracy, he can write at the same time a story full of suspense, in a crisp and lucid style. He certainly does both with shattering effect in his Cannibal Island ." 'e"Jan T. Gross, author of Neighbors: The Destruction of the Jewish Community in Jedwabne, Poland, "Werth's meticulous approach to the study of social order and administrative norms in the Stalin era is likely to be of real interest to specialists in GULAG studies, camp memoirs, and Soviet culture in general. Clearly and forcefully argued, Cannibal Island does an excellent job of reconstructing the way in which Soviet officials and institutions operated in the 1930s. Readable enough to serve as a good source for undergraduates working on research papers in Soviet history and culture, this volume would make a good addition to even the most modest university library collections." --Emily D. Johnson, Slavic and East European Journal, Werth's meticulous approach to the study of social order and administrative norms in the Stalin era is likely to be of real interest to specialists in GULAG studies, camp memoirs, and Soviet culture in general. Clearly and forcefully argued, Cannibal Island does an excellent job of reconstructing the way in which Soviet officials and institutions operated in the 1930s. Readable enough to serve as a good source for undergraduates working on research papers in Soviet history and culture, this volume would make a good addition to even the most modest university library collections. ---Emily D. Johnson, Slavic and East European Journal, Cannibal Island is a grim tale of ten thousand 'anti-social elements' deposited on an empty Siberian island in the Ob river in the 1930s. But, more than that, it is a story of how the brutal purge machinery was oiled and run at its lowest level. ---Paul E. Richardson, Russian Life Magazine, Cannibal Island is a valuable addition to emerging Gulag scholarship in so far as it demonstrates how, in the early 1930s, this network of labour camps and settlements also began serving as a dumping ground for those elderly, destitute, and physically and mentally disabled 'elements' the regime expunged from urban centres. ---Andrew A. Gentes, European History Quarterly, "Werth has as solid a command of the Soviet-era archival documentation as anyone. But while he lays out a synthetic, institutional panorama of a segment of Soviet bureaucracy, he can write at the same time a story full of suspense, in a crisp and lucid style. He certainly does both with shattering effect in his Cannibal Island ." --Jan T. Gross, author of Neighbors: The Destruction of the Jewish Community in Jedwabne, Poland, Review of the original French edition: "The mind-blowing story of a bureaucratic utopia that turned into carnage. A 'micro-history' that forms a representative example in a country where the inconceivable became the norm."-- Thomas Wieder, Le Monde, This is an utterly harrowing account of the 'bloody implementation of a utopia' and an exemplary analysis of the Soviet state, with its 'number culture' and 'pseudocategorizations' -- all of this underpinned, of course, by the most spectacular cruelty., Cannibal Island is a valuable addition to emerging Gulag scholarship in so far as it demonstrates how, in the early 1930s, this network of labour camps and settlements also began serving as a dumping ground for those elderly, destitute, and physically and mentally disabled 'elements' the regime expunged from urban centres., This is an utterly harrowing account of the 'bloody implementation of a utopia' and an exemplary analysis of the Soviet state, with its 'number culture' and 'pseudocategorizations' -- all of this underpinned, of course, by the most spectacular cruelty. -- Richard King, Sydney Morning Herald, In short, this remarkable case study of dysfunction and terror makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of Stalinism. ---JeffreyS.Hardy, H-Net Reviews, Werth's meticulous approach to the study of social order and administrative norms in the Stalin era is likely to be of real interest to specialists in GULAG studies, camp memoirs, and Soviet culture in general. Clearly and forcefully argued, Cannibal Island does an excellent job of reconstructing the way in which Soviet officials and institutions operated in the 1930s. Readable enough to serve as a good source for undergraduates working on research papers in Soviet history and culture, this volume would make a good addition to even the most modest university library collections., "[This book] mark[s] a quantitative leap forward in data now available in English on these important and complex problems that had previously been much neglected." ---Stephen G. Wheatcroft, American Historical Review, Often the details in a single instance sear more deeply than the most gruesome tally of large numbers....Werth describes in rich detail the transformation of the vast western Siberian wilderness into the dumping ground for millions of 'de-kulakized' peasants, minority groups from the borderlands, the socially marginal, criminals, and the utterly innocent....These 'special settlements' are a part of the gulag's least-known history. Werth corrects that in plain and clear language, leaving the story to convey its own excruciating eloquence., "This is an utterly harrowing account of the 'bloody implementation of a utopia' and an exemplary analysis of the Soviet state, with its 'number culture' and 'pseudocategorizations' -- all of this underpinned, of course, by the most spectacular cruelty."-- Richard King, Sydney Morning Herald, "In short, this remarkable case study of dysfunction and terror makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of Stalinism."-- JeffreyS.Hardy, H-Net Reviews, "[An] absorbing new book. . . . After detailing the lead-up to the deportation of the 'socially harmful elements' and the political situation surrounding it, Mr. Werth zeroes in on the Nazino affair to illustrate the policy's devastating effect." --Martha Mercer, New York Sun, " Cannibal Island is a valuable addition to emerging Gulag scholarship in so far as it demonstrates how, in the early 1930s, this network of labour camps and settlements also began serving as a dumping ground for those elderly, destitute, and physically and mentally disabled 'elements' the regime expunged from urban centres."-- Andrew A. Gentes, European History Quarterly, [This book] mark[s] a quantitative leap forward in data now available in English on these important and complex problems that had previously been much neglected., "This short yet extraordinarily rich account of Stalinist politics and Soviet life should be read widely."-- Hiroaki Kuromiya, Slavonic and East European Review, Nicolas Werth's excellent history of the Nazino gulag is a portrait of a place that went from terrible to unimaginable.... In a strong field, Cannibal Island is one of the grisliest and most unpleasant accounts of gulag life.... This one ranks as one of the more memorable exhibits in the gallery of horrors., The author demonstrates encyclopedic erudition and provides nuanced explanations. Ample quotations from reports and letters of government officials give the book its sense of immediacy. In other words, the volume is both scholarly and absorbing, which is a rare combination., [This book] mark[s] a quantitative leap forward in data now available in English on these important and complex problems that had previously been much neglected. -- Stephen G. Wheatcroft, American Historical Review, "Perhaps it is not surprising that Nicolas Werth, the French historian who cowrote The Black Book of Communism , has decided in Cannibal Island to return to an incident he merely mentioned in that vast book. He was right to do so: in its way, this small, brilliant work, the description of a single incident, is every bit as powerful a condemnation of Communist ideology as the Black Book itself." 'e"Anne Applebaum, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Gulag: A History, "Few books have captured the human tragedy of Stalin's bloody reign so succinctly or with such force." --Douglas Smith, Seattle Times, Cannibal Islandis a grim tale of ten thousand 'anti-social elements' deposited on an empty Siberian island in the Ob river in the 1930s. But, more than that, it is a story of how the brutal purge machinery was oiled and run at its lowest level. -- Paul E. Richardson, Russian Life Magazine, " Cannibal Island is a grim tale of ten thousand 'anti-social elements' deposited on an empty Siberian island in the Ob river in the 1930s. But, more than that, it is a story of how the brutal purge machinery was oiled and run at its lowest level." --Paul E. Richardson, Russian Life Magazine, [An] absorbing new book. . . . After detailing the lead-up to the deportation of the 'socially harmful elements' and the political situation surrounding it, Mr. Werth zeroes in on the Nazino affair to illustrate the policy's devastating effect., "Werth's meticulous approach to the study of social order and administrative norms in the Stalin era is likely to be of real interest to specialists in GULAG studies, camp memoirs, and Soviet culture in general. Clearly and forcefully argued, Cannibal Island does an excellent job of reconstructing the way in which Soviet officials and institutions operated in the 1930s. Readable enough to serve as a good source for undergraduates working on research papers in Soviet history and culture, this volume would make a good addition to even the most modest university library collections."-- Emily D. Johnson, Slavic and East European Journal, "In this gripping new work, Nicolas Werth documents the horrifying story of the forced deportation of 'socially-dangerous elements' from Moscow and Leningrad to the forbidding island of Nazino. With the use of dramatic new documents from previously classified Soviet archives, he chronicles for the first time in English the atrocities that unfolded on 'cannibal island.' This is an absorbing, indeed chilling tale of savagery, highlighting in microcosm the brutal realities of Stalinist socialism in action." --Lynne Viola, author of The Unknown Gulag: The Lost World of Stalin's Special Settlements, Few books have captured the human tragedy of Stalin's bloody reign so succinctly or with such force. -- Douglas Smith, Seattle Times, Often the details in a single instance sear more deeply than the most gruesome tally of large numbers....Werth describes in rich detail the transformation of the vast western Siberian wilderness into the dumping ground for millions of 'de-kulakized' peasants, minority groups from the borderlands, the socially marginal, criminals, and the utterly innocent....These 'special settlements' are a part of the gulag's least-known history. Werth corrects that in plain and clear language, leaving the story to convey its own excruciating eloquence. -- Robert Levgold, Foreign Affairs, Review of the original French edition: "The mind-blowing story of a bureaucratic utopia that turned into carnage. A 'micro-history' that forms a representative example in a country where the inconceivable became the norm." ---Thomas Wieder, Le Monde, The author demonstrates encyclopedic erudition and provides nuanced explanations. Ample quotations from reports and letters of government officials give the book its sense of immediacy. In other words, the volume is both scholarly and absorbing, which is a rare combination. ---Michael Jakobson, Slavic Review
Dewey Edition22
Dewey Decimal365/.450947
Table Of ContentForeword by Jan T. Gross ix Preface xiii Glossary xxi CHAPTER 1: A "grandiose plan" 1 CHAPTER 2: Western Siberia, a Land of Deportation 23 CHAPTER 3: Negotiations and Preparations 59 CHAPTER 4: In the Tomsk Transit Camp 86 CHAPTER 5: Nazino 121 Conclusion 171 Epilogue, 1933-37 181 Acknowledgments 194 Notes 195
SynopsisDuring the spring of 1933, Stalin's police rounded up nearly one hundred thousand people as part of the Soviet regime's "cleansing" of Moscow and Leningrad and deported them to Siberia. Many of the victims were sent to labor camps, but ten thousand of them were dumped in a remote wasteland and left to fend for themselves. Cannibal Island reveals the shocking, grisly truth about their fate. These people were abandoned on the island of Nazino without food or shelter. Left there to starve and to die, they eventually began to eat each other. Nicolas Werth, a French historian of the Soviet era, reconstructs their gruesome final days using rare archival material from deep inside the Stalinist vaults. Werth skillfully weaves this episode into a broader story about the Soviet frenzy in the 1930s to purge society of all those deemed to be unfit. For Stalin, these undesirables included criminals, opponents of forced collectivization, vagabonds, gypsies, even entire groups in Soviet society such as the "kulaks" and their families. Werth sets his story within the broader social and political context of the period, giving us for the first time a full picture of how Stalin's system of "special villages" worked, how hundreds of thousands of Soviet citizens were moved about the country in wholesale mass transportations, and how this savage bureaucratic machinery functioned on the local, regional, and state levels. Cannibal Island challenges us to confront unpleasant facts not only about Stalin's punitive social controls and his failed Soviet utopia, but about every generation's capacity for brutality--including our own., A searing historical account of a tragic episode of the Stalinist terror During the spring of 1933, Stalin's police rounded up nearly one hundred thousand people as part of the Soviet regime's "cleansing" of Moscow and Leningrad and deported them to Siberia. Many of the victims were sent to labor camps, but ten thousand of them were dumped in a remote wasteland and left to fend for themselves. Cannibal Island reveals the shocking, grisly truth about their fate. These people were abandoned on the island of Nazino without food or shelter. Left there to starve and to die, they eventually began to eat each other. Nicolas Werth, a French historian of the Soviet era, reconstructs their gruesome final days using rare archival material from deep inside the Stalinist vaults. Werth skillfully weaves this episode into a broader story about the Soviet frenzy in the 1930s to purge society of all those deemed to be unfit. For Stalin, these undesirables included criminals, opponents of forced collectivization, vagabonds, gypsies, even entire groups in Soviet society such as the "kulaks" and their families. Werth sets his story within the broader social and political context of the period, giving us for the first time a full picture of how Stalin's system of "special villages" worked, how hundreds of thousands of Soviet citizens were moved about the country in wholesale mass transportations, and how this savage bureaucratic machinery functioned on the local, regional, and state levels. Cannibal Island challenges us to confront unpleasant facts not only about Stalin's punitive social controls and his failed Soviet utopia but about every generation's capacity for brutality--including our own., During the spring of 1933, Stalin's police rounded up nearly one hundred thousand people as part of the Soviet regime's "cleansing" of Moscow and Leningrad and deported them to Siberia. Many of the victims were sent to labor camps, but ten thousand of them were dumped in a remote wasteland and left to fend for themselves. "Cannibal Island" reveals the shocking, grisly truth about their fate.These people were abandoned on the island of Nazino without food or shelter. Left there to starve and to die, they eventually began to eat each other. Nicolas Werth, a French historian of the Soviet era, reconstructs their gruesome final days using rare archival material from deep inside the Stalinist vaults. Werth skillfully weaves this episode into a broader story about the Soviet frenzy in the 1930s to purge society of all those deemed to be unfit. For Stalin, these undesirables included criminals, opponents of forced collectivization, vagabonds, gypsies, even entire groups in Soviet society such as the "kulaks" and their families. Werth sets his story within the broader social and political context of the period, giving us for the first time a full picture of how Stalin's system of "special villages" worked, how hundreds of thousands of Soviet citizens were moved about the country in wholesale mass transportations, and how this savage bureaucratic machinery functioned on the local, regional, and state levels."Cannibal Island" challenges us to confront unpleasant facts not only about Stalin's punitive social controls and his failed Soviet utopia, but about every generation's capacity for brutality--including our own., During the spring of 1933, Stalin's police rounded up nearly one hundred thousand people as part of the Soviet regime's "cleansing" of Moscow and Leningrad and deported them to Siberia. Many of the victims were sent to labor camps, but ten thousand of them were dumped in a remote wasteland and left to fend for themselves. Cannibal Island reveals the shocking, grisly truth about their fate. These people were abandoned on the island of Nazino without food or shelter. Left there to starve and to die, they eventually began to eat each other. Nicolas Werth, a French historian of the Soviet era, reconstructs their gruesome final days using rare archival material from deep inside the Stalinist vaults. Werth skillfully weaves this episode into a broader story about the Soviet frenzy in the 1930s to purge society of all those deemed to be unfit. For Stalin, these undesirables included criminals, opponents of forced collectivization, vagabonds, gypsies, even entire groups in Soviet society such as the "kulaks" and their families.Werth sets his story within the broader social and political context of the period, giving us for the first time a full picture of how Stalin's system of "special villages" worked, how hundreds of thousands of Soviet citizens were moved about the country in wholesale mass transportations, and how this savage bureaucratic machinery functioned on the local, regional, and state levels.Cannibal Island challenges us to confront unpleasant facts not only about Stalin's punitive social controls and his failed Soviet utopia, but about every generation's capacity for brutality--including our own., During the spring of 1933, Stalin's police rounded up nearly one hundred thousand people as part of the Soviet regime's "cleansing" of Moscow and Leningrad and deported them to Siberia. This work weaves this episode into a broader story about the Soviet frenzy in the 1930s to purge society of all those deemed to be unfit.
LC Classification NumberDK771.O2W4713 2007
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