Russia Behind Bars: A History of Prisoners of the Russian Empire and Soviet Union, 1863-1932

FAIN: FT-265259-19

Aaron Benyamin Retish
Wayne State University (Detroit, MI 48201-1347)

Research and writing leading to publication of a book on the history of prisons in Russia and the Soviet Union from 1863-1932.

“Russia Behind Bars” uncovers the experiences of prisoners in local prisons of tsarist Russia and the early Soviet Union. It shows how prisoners lived their lives both in and out of the prison regimen. It also examines how penal reforms that aimed to soften punishment and rehabilitate prisoners shaped prisoners’ experience and how lack of resources and state and prison officials’ visions of prisoners as recidivist criminals undercut these reforms, making punishment harsher. The study goes from the birth of Russia’s modern penitentiary system and follows reforms through the rise of the Soviet state in 1917 and ends with the imposition of a harsh, punitive penal system under Stalin. “Russia Behind Bars” emphasizes the importance of prisons as symbols of state power located in urban areas and as important alternatives to exile to the peripheries. I argue that to understand the modern Russian penitentiary system, we need also to account for convicts’ experiences in prisons close to home.

Associated Products

“The Birth of Soviet Criminology: Mikhail Gernet’s Vision of the Good State and the Dangers of the People in 1917” (Article)
Title: “The Birth of Soviet Criminology: Mikhail Gernet’s Vision of the Good State and the Dangers of the People in 1917”
Author: Aaron B. Retish
Abstract: Mikhail Nikolaevich Gernet was a central figure in the study of criminology during the tsarist period, when he championed the sociological school of criminology. During the 1920s, he led the study of crime and penal reform. Through a study of Gernet’s im- portant, largely overlooked, writings in 1917, this article argues that the revolution was a pivotal moment in his thinking and career. Gernet’s hopes in the February Revolu- tion were crushed by what he saw as a dangerous wave of crime and samosud (mob violence) that did not respect the new state authority.
Year: 2020
Primary URL: https://brill.com/view/journals/jmrh/13/1/article-p184_184.xml
Access Model: Subscription
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Journal of Modern Russian History and Historiography
Publisher: Brill

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