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
- 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
- Penal Class of Prisoners at Tiumén Forwarding Prison.Penal Class of Prisoners at Tiumén Forwarding Prison. A table showing the number of prisoners in each of the penal classes recognized by Tiumén Forwarding Prison, along with how they received their sentence. The table above shows the number of prisoners belonging to each penal class at Tiumen Forwarding Prison. The first two classes, hard-labor… Read more: Penal Class of Prisoners at Tiumén Forwarding Prison.
- Number of Voluntary Exiles to Siberia, 1882-1885.Number of Voluntary Exiles to Siberia, 1882-1885. A table that shows the number of voluntary exiles from the year 1882-1885, as well as the percentage that each voluntary group made up of the overall exile number. The table above shows the annual number of voluntary exiles from 1882 to 1885. Despite the harsh conditions of… Read more: Number of Voluntary Exiles to Siberia, 1882-1885.
- Death-Rate in Tiumen Forwarding Prison, 1876-1886.Death-Rate in Tiumen Forwarding Prison, 1876-1886. A graph showing the death-rate in Tiumen Forwarding Prison, 1876-1886. The graph above shows the average number of prisoners brought into Tiumen Forwarding Prison daily and the total number of deaths within the prison each year. The data comes from the annual reports made by inspectors of exile transportation… Read more: Death-Rate in Tiumen Forwarding Prison, 1876-1886.