Stories of prison experience in Soviet Russia are not new. In fact the sordid details of nocturnal searches, incarceration in filthy jails, midnight inquisitions, and executions without warning have been made known to English readers through many personal accounts. But the narrative of the present author is unique in several respects and deserves a special place in literature descriptive of Russian conditions. In the first place it gives the only first-hand authentic account of the penal camps of the Far North that has yet appeared. Two or three of those condemned to penal servitude in these camps have, it is true, escaped or been released, but in these cases their stay was brief and came at a time when for special reasons the severity of the regime was relaxed. The present author is the only man, so far as I am aware, who has undergone the actual experiences of these penal camps and lived to tell the tale. George Kitchin is a gentleman of education and culture and an able and successful business executive. His social standing and business reputation were above reproach. The authenticity of his account is implicit in the narrative. As will be seen in his story, he had the good fortune after a time to be assigned clerical work in the office of the penal camp administration. This undoubtedly saved his life and it also gave him a unique opportunity to observe the inner workings of the OGPU organization.
Download Prisoner Of The OGPU Soviet Prison Camps-George Kitchin-1935