Ivan Solonevich, “Russia in a concentration camp” - this book is often cited as evidence of how poorly people lived in the Soviet Union. Was this really so? And if so, how were things in other countries? Was everything really good there, the rights and freedoms of people were respected, there were no concentration camps or prisons? Was paradise and abundance? How true is the text of the book, and wasn’t this another “song” of the next defector?
Where did the expression come from?
Ivan Solonevich’s book “Russia in a concentration camp” was written by him in the first half of the last century. In it, the author describes his life in Soviet Russia. How he wanted to run, how they prevented him, and then they sent him to a concentration camp. He reveals all the events and all the characters, the life of prisoners in great detail. He also names the reasons why people ended up in these places. All the characters of the characters and their actions are so vividly described that involuntarily a doubt arises: did he not invent, if not the whole story, from beginning to end, then at least some?
One fact should be clarified right away - there were concentration camps in Soviet Russia. But not only the Bolsheviks erected them. The British and Americans made a special contribution to the construction of concentration camps in Russia. So, during the intervention on the island of Mudyug, an American concentration camp was built in Russia for captured Red Army soldiers and partisans. The atrocities perpetrated by the invaders are evidenced by archival documents and verbally preserved stories told by descendants of surviving prisoners.
Who is Ivan Solonevich?
Ivan Lukyanovich Solonevich was born in the Russian Empire in 1891 in the town of Ciechanowiec, Grodno region. He studied at the gymnasium, after which he worked as a journalist, first in tsarist Russia, and then in Soviet. Published in sports newspapers and magazines. Despite his work in the Soviet press, he always adhered to monarchical views, which, according to him, he hid all the time. When trying to escape from the country in 1932 he was captured and sent to the Solovki.
Interestingly, with such views, he calmly worked “for the good” of Soviet journalism, traveled throughout the Soviet Union for more than 10 years. Was in Kyrgyzstan, Dagestan, Abkhazia, North Karelia, in the Urals. They even wanted to send him to work in England in 1927, but since relations between the USSR and Great Britain had deteriorated at that time, the trip did not take place.
The first flight attempt was carried out in 1932. It ended unsuccessfully, and Solonevich ended up in the Solovki concentration camp. July 28, 1934 he managed to escape from the country. He, along with his son and brother, crossed the Russian-Finnish border and ended up in the coveted Europe. There they worked as port loaders. At the same time, he writes a book .
Book publishing
The book of Ivan Solonevich "Russia in a concentration camp" was published in 1937. She becomes known and popular not only in emigrant circles, but also among representatives of the Western European intelligentsia, especially in Germany.
In May 1936 he moved to Bulgaria, and in March 1938 to Germany. There he lived and printed until the arrival of Soviet troops, and then hid in the territory occupied by allied forces, the British and Americans. During the war, he actively supported the “Russian Fascist Union” and other similar organizations. He met with famous Soviet traitors, including General A. A. Vlasov. In 1939, at the invitation of the Finnish side, he participated in the preparation of anti-Soviet propaganda .
In 1948, he and his family with Nazi criminals moved to Argentina, and then moved to Uruguay, where he died. He was buried at the British cemetery in Montevideo.
And why were white better than red?
His work “Russia in a concentration camp” was especially appreciated by Hitler and Goebbels. But not everything written in the book turned out to be true. Mass betrayal did not happen. There were no physically and morally weak Soviet soldiers on the battlefield, as Hitler dreamed.
In fact, this work only gives the impression of the author. Comparison of what was before the revolution and what happened after it. And it turned out that is described in the work of Ivan Solonevich "Russia in a concentration camp." The book reflects the experiences and thoughts of a person trapped in prison. It is somewhat reminiscent of “Notes from the Dead House” by F. M. Dostoevsky. The same heartbreaking details of prison life, the same characters' characters and the assessment of their actions from the point of view of universal morality. Only Fedor Mikhailovich made a completely different conclusion from the misfortune that happened to him.
In fact, there was no difference between the pre-revolutionary penal servitude and the first concentration camps of Russia. And they got into it for almost the same crimes as before the revolution. Only the executioners have changed .
The romanticization of the white movement and the demonization of red is that in the early 90s of the last century, colossal changes in political, economic and cultural development took place in Russia. The USSR collapsed, and a new state was born - the Russian Federation. And they began to overestimate the past. Although concentration camps on the territory of the Russian Empire were built not only red, but also white. So, the US concentration camps in Russia were built on the territory of the Murmansk region and the Northern Dvina with the support of whites. The Americans were just allies and helped the White Army to pacify the rebellious population - peasants and workers.
Why is Soviet Russia not a concentration camp country?
The book “Russia in a concentration camp” makes you think carefully about what kind of psychology people who fled from their country had. No wonder that Solonevich’s books liked Goebbels, Hitler and Goering so much. If not for this book, perhaps the German leadership did not dare to go to war on the Soviet Union.
According to the work, it turns out that Russia is a criminal state ruled by bandits, and the entire population of the country has turned into slaves leading a half-starved existence. Slaves are so angry and intimidated that if only someone comes from outside, they will immediately betray Soviet power and surrender to the mercy of the victors.
None of the historians deny the mass famine in 1930-1931. But is this really the fault of the Soviet government? In 1929, a global economic crisis erupted. This led to problems in the United States - the Great Depression, massive unemployment and hunger among farmers and factory workers. Most interestingly, during the Great Depression, the US government did not census.
The same consequences of the economic crisis were felt by the countries of Europe, especially Germany. Here, out of hopelessness, people ended their lives with suicide by families. As you can see, in those days, not only Soviet citizens suffered from hunger. What can I say - starving everywhere. Although this does not detract from the tragic events in the history of Russia, it is unreasonable to blame only the Soviet government for hunger .
Where were you located?
The most famous Soviet concentration camps are considered "Solovki". According to the generally accepted version, this concentration camp was built by the communists. But in fact, this is not entirely true. They did not build Solovki, but used the buildings already built before them. Ivan Solonevich’s work “Russia in a concentration camp” very often mentions him, though it doesn’t say who built it and who lived there before the buildings were converted into a Soviet prison.
Until 1923, “Solovki” had a slightly different name. It was a Solovetsky monastery. According to the generally accepted version, only monks lived there before the revolution. However, documents indicate that long before the advent of Soviet power there was referred to a settlement of political criminals. In 1937, the concentration camp was renamed the prison. Since 1939, the prison was disbanded, and in its place, the Jung school was opened .
“Solovki” was part of the Gulag network of Russian concentration camps. Concentration camps were located almost throughout the country, with most of them in the European part of Russia (before the Urals). In the camps were not only adults. There were also children's concentration camps. The analysis of the south of Russia was carried out by many historians who confirmed the fact that they existed. But what was the main reason for their occurrence?
Concentration camps for children
After two revolutions and the Civil War, children without parents appeared in the country - street children. Soviet power was confronted with the fact that crowds of juvenile delinquents were walking in the streets. In total, there were about 7 million. The fact that they were homeless children, for what faults they got there and how they lived in correctional colonies can be found in Makarenko’s “Pedagogical Poem”.
In addition to criminal elements, the camps contained children dispossessed, whiteguards, and political criminals. Teenagers could be imprisoned for petty misconduct, even for marriage at the factory. Although children staying in such places was painful, in comparison with the fascist camps that they built in the occupied part of the Soviet Union during World War II, the conditions in the Russian concentration camps were much better. In the children's concentration camps in southern Russia, erected by the Germans, they performed simply unthinkable experiments on children, took blood for their soldiers and at the same time forced them to work. Those who could not work were finished off .
How nowadays help former prisoners of concentration camps?
Today, there are several support measures. These are compensatory payments and benefits to juvenile prisoners of concentration camps in Russia. They have the right to free travel by public transport, treatment at medical institutions free of charge and without a queue, and obtaining vouchers to places of spa treatment.
In order to receive benefits and compensations, it is only necessary to submit documents confirming that they were prisoners of fascist concentration camps, as well as documents proving disability. It doesn’t matter if she was received while in prison or later.
In addition to benefits, former juvenile prisoners of fascist concentration camps in Russia and in Eastern Europe are entitled to compensation payments. The Russian state provides financial support to former underage prisoners. Monthly cash payments amount to 4,500 rubles. In addition, the state guarantees a monthly premium of 1,000 rubles.
The German government also pays compensation payments, but these amounts are unfixed. That is, someone will be given more, someone less. It all depends on where, when, and under what conditions the juvenile prisoner was kept.
In order to receive benefits and compensation payments, citizens should apply to the local social welfare authorities with the prepared package of documents. The most important documents are those that confirm the fact that minors were held in concentration camps. They can be obtained in the State Archive of the Russian Federation or Germany or in the archives of the International Tracing Service in Arolsen.
What happened to the concentration camps?
Officially, concentration camps in Russia ceased to exist in 1956. But to argue that such a phenomenon disappeared only thanks to the decision of individual politicians would be extremely rash. If we consider the concentration camps as a place where soldiers of the enemy army were temporarily staying, then in the USSR camps disappeared much later than this date. In fact, these institutions existed for some time, since the Stalinist repressions were replaced by the Khrushchev ones.
Although the prisoners were released, the prisons were soon filled again. There were no fewer people wishing to escape from the “socialist paradise”. And for dissent, or as they began to call it, dissent, continued to punish, that is, to plant. And most of those released into the wild had initially criminal inclinations. The share of political prisoners, as during the Stalinist repressions, according to archival data, was no more than 5%. That is, the overwhelming majority served the punishment deservedly and after returning to freedom they nevertheless returned to prison.
Today there are no concentration camps, but prisons still exist. And although the conditions in them are not as severe as described in Solonevich’s book “Russia in a concentration camp,” they are nevertheless similar. And not only Russian, but also those countries that declare adherence to the principles of humanism. Centuries-old prison life and orders are not so easy to change.
Everything is relative
To determine how objective the information is presented in Ivan Solonevich’s book “Russia in a concentration camp”, it is necessary to determine whether only the Soviet regime was cruel or similar regimes existed in other, more democratic countries? In fact, concentration camps at that time existed almost throughout Europe and even in the United States. With dozens of hands Franklin Roosevelt put together dozens of barracks of concentration camps.
The undisputed leader in the number of camps in Europe was Nazi Germany. They built them not only in Germany and Austria, but also in other countries: Poland, the former Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia. They contained not only Jews and local residents. The first "tenants" of the concentration camps were representatives of the opposition, dissenters and other people who were somewhat objectionable to the authorities. Although Solonevich’s “Russia in a concentration camp” was released, a reasonable question arises: “Why didn’t he write that Europe is in a concentration camp?” Given that he arrived in Europe just at the time when Hitler began his struggle against the opposition and dissent. When thousands of people were sent to concentration camps or shot in basements. And not only Hitler. Concentration camps worked throughout Europe.
Nothing justifies cruelty, but let's compare what conditions were in the USSR at that time. The country was not just split in two. Anarchy reigned in the country. Provinces declared separation and independence. The empire was on the verge of collapse. And it was not the Chekists who were to blame for this. The first, February revolution was not made by the Bolsheviks, but by the liberals. Unable to cope, they just ran away. Gangs recruited from yesterday's criminals, soldiers, Cossacks walked around the country. In other countries, there was no such rampant gangsterism.
The Communists not only saved the country from complete disintegration, there were territorial losses - Finland left, but they also put things in order, industrialized them, even though using the slave labor of prisoners. It would not have been possible to force the “diverging” people and channel the destructive energy towards creation in a different way. The Bolsheviks used the experience of pacification and restoring order in the country, which before them had been used by the tsarist government for several centuries.
Disappointing conclusion
Although in our time there are no concentration camps in Russia and abroad, at least officially, however, analogues of these institutions have not disappeared and will not disappear.
The book "Russia in a concentration camp" was released more than half a century ago. During this time, much has changed. The Soviet Union disappeared from the world map, new states appeared. But even in our time, cruelty has not disappeared. The war continues. Millions of people are in prison. Although the world has changed during this time, man has remained the same. And maybe someone will write a sequel and release a book called "Russia in a concentration camp-2." Alas, the problem is relevant for Russia and for any other country.