Kolyma legends in the literary texts of the prisoners

The aim of this article is to describe and analyze various types of Kolyma legends that constitute a part of the memoirs and fiction literature of different genres of the former Kolyma prisoners. Most of these legends are connected with the prisoner camp folklore that generated them and then let outside. The legends not only help to better understand the harsh realities of the north-eastern prisoner camps, but also to realize the changing mentality and consciousness of a human being who finds himself locked on so called island of Kolyma.