Recent Posts
Blog Posts
- Soviet Data Digitization and ContextualizationSoviet Data Digitization and Contextualization Introduction Starting in August 2025, I began collecting, digitizing, and contextualizing data on Russia and the Soviet Union for the KGB Lab’s website. This blog post serves as a reflection on why I chose to analyze many of the sources, as well as a commentary on the importance of viewing… Read more: Soviet Data Digitization and Contextualization
- Introduction to the KGB/Soviet Secret Police DatabaseIntroduction to the KGB/Soviet Secret Police Q&A Database What does a secret police interrogation sound like, exactly? What are the stories of the interrogated? How are secret police interrogation questions formed – do they follow any particular syntactic constructions? Which questions elicit the longest answers, and which ones the shortest? How does the language of… Read more: Introduction to the KGB/Soviet Secret Police Database
Data and Tables
- Ethnic Groups in Gulag Camps, 1937-1940Ethnic Groups in Gulag Camps, 1937-1940 Pie charts showing the ethnic composition of Soviet Gulags The pie charts above show the ethnic ratios in Soviet Gulags from 1937 to 1940. This period of time includes the 1937-38 terror, which explains the drastic rise in gulag populations, especially among Russians. It should be noted that groups… Read more: Ethnic Groups in Gulag Camps, 1937-1940
- Offenses of GULAG Population, 1934-1940Offenses of GULAG Population, 1934-1940 Pie charts showing the percentage of Gulag prisoners with each type of offense The graph above shows the percentage of offenses committed by laborers in Gulags. The data show that counterrevolutionaries made up a surprising minority of the gulag population. However, this does not mean that there was a minority… Read more: Offenses of GULAG Population, 1934-1940
- Age and Gender Structure of Gulag Population, 1934-1940Age and Gender Structure of Gulag Population, 1934-1940 Pie charts showing the percentage of the population different age groups and gender groups made up in Gulags Above is a pie chart depicting the percentages of different age groups and women in the Gulag population in 1934, 1937, and 1940. According to the graph, those who… Read more: Age and Gender Structure of Gulag Population, 1934-1940
- Criminal Sentencing of Rape, Belorussia, 1961-74Criminal Sentencing of Rape, Belorussia, 1961-74: A line graph depicting the percentage of criminal sentences given in Rostov Oblast for rape between 1961 and 1974 The graph above shows the annual percentage of sentences given for crimes surrounding rape. Rape was categorized as a violent and serious crime in the Soviet Union, and was one… Read more: Criminal Sentencing of Rape, Belorussia, 1961-74
- Sentencing Policy For Murder, Rostov Oblast, 1961-63Sentencing Policy For Murder, Rostov Oblast, 1961-63: Left: A line graph showing the percentage of sentences given to convicted first-degree murderers | Right: A line graph showing the absolute number of first-degree murders getting each sentence The graphs above show the percentage and absolute number of convicted murderers who received each sentence. The death penalty… Read more: Sentencing Policy For Murder, Rostov Oblast, 1961-63