Prison Chronicles: Season 1, Episode 12

1 - 12: The Soviet Gulag

Within the first forty years of operation of the Soviet Gulag system, at least 18 million people were imprisoned and more than one and a half million die. At its peak, the Gulag is comprised of nearly 500 prison districts with up to 30,000 individual prison camps. They stretch across the vast country--many of them in remote locations and harsh climates--like Siberia, and Central Asia. These are three of the most incredible tales of the fight for survival. First, a system designed to starve and work inmates to death. Then--a 40-day siege that comes to a terrible end and finally--a political prisoner who risks his life to expose the system to the world.