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Corruption in the Gulag: Dilemmas of Officials and Prisoners

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  • James Heinzen

    (Department of History, Rowan University, Glassboro, New Jersey, 08028, USA.)

Abstract

Based on research in the archives of the Soviet penal camp system, this article addresses the phenomenon of corruption among officials of the Gulag in the period between 1945 and 1953. The Ministry of Internal Affairs, which oversaw the camp system, treated corruption as a harmful and dangerous phenomenon that was unacceptably pervasive. The article investigates the varieties and frequency of corrupt activities among camp officials, including bribery, theft of state property, participation in illegal markets and speculation, and embezzlement Gulag authorities' anti-corruption efforts included inspections, audits, and a large network of prisoner–informants. These anti-corruption campaigns were largely ineffective. The article concludes that corruption existed in significant quantities inside the camp system, and that the forms it took were largely the same as in the wider Soviet society. Comparative Economic Studies (2005) 47, 456–475. doi:10.1057/palgrave.ces.8100114

Suggested Citation

  • James Heinzen, 2005. "Corruption in the Gulag: Dilemmas of Officials and Prisoners," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 47(2), pages 456-475, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:compes:v:47:y:2005:i:2:p:456-475
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    Cited by:

    1. Rajeev K Goel & Jelena Budak & Edo Rajh, 2013. "Bureaucratic Monopoly and the Nature and Timing of Bribes: Evidence from Croatian Data," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 55(1), pages 43-58, March.
    2. Nikolova, Milena & Popova, Olga & Otrachshenko, Vladimir, 2022. "Stalin and the origins of mistrust," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    3. Łukasz Goczek, 2007. "Przyczyny korupcji i skuteczność strategii antykorupcyjnych," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 4, pages 33-48.

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