Publication Date
Spring 2013
School
School of Education
Major
social Science--Teacher Certification
Primary Subject Area
History, Russian and Soviet; History, Modern; History, General
Keywords
GULAG, Russian, Soviet, Marxism, Totalitarianism, Socialism, Communism, Terror, Propaganda, Stalin, Marx
Disciplines
European History | Political History | Social History | Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies
Recommended Citation
Riley, Mark C., "The Russian GULAG: Understanding the Dangers of Marxism Combined with Totalitarianism" (2013). Senior Honors Theses. 336.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/honors/336
Abstract
This study examines the Soviet Gulag, the main prison camp administration implemented in the Soviet Union. The GULAG represents an institution that is not well known, and this paper will explain why it existed and why it remains in the shadows of history. Terror, propaganda, and belief in progress represent the three ideas that directed the Soviet totalitarian system. This thesis will accordingly explore the ideology behind totalitarian government and Marxist practice in order to understand why the Gulag was allowed to exist. Finally, it investigates the reasons why the Gulag has not taken a priority position in human knowledge and how the rise of the intellectual Left in the West and its sympathies towards Marxism contributed to this. Alexandr Solzhenitsyn is heavily used throughout this paper for his insights on the Gulag.
Included in
European History Commons, Political History Commons, Social History Commons, Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies Commons
