Prisoners in January 1942 seized weapons and escaped: uprising against GULAG or an attempt to save life?

With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War in June 1941, almost all state bodies and institutions switched to a special regime of their activities, including tougher liability for crimes against the state. This also applied to places of deprivation of liberty in the infamous GULAG, where, in particular, it was prescribed to strengthen measures to prevent prisoner escapes and prevent mass violations of the detention regime. Nevertheless, crimes in correctional labor camps during wartime did occur. One of the most resonant was the mass armed escape of prisoners in Vorkutlag (Ust-Usinsky district of the Komi ASSR) in January 1942. The article examines the features of this large-scale and extremely daring and pre-planned crime committed by almost a hundred prisoners who seized weapons, killed several law enforcement officers and civilians, and even tried to raise an uprising in other correctional labor camps. Mass disobedience was eventually suppressed, some of the escapees were destroyed during the pursuit, the survivors were brought to trial and received harsh sentences. In the literature, there is an opinion that the prisoners raised an uprising against the GULAG, and in its person against the Soviet government for the rights and freedoms of citizens, that is, an assessment is given in a positive connotation. With all the negative aspects of the GULAG, the author does not agree with this assessment.