It is no secret that Karaganda, despite its cheerfulness today, had a rather murky past. Soviet Gulags made their way to this remote part of the Union, as they often did. This radically changed the landscape and the demographics of the region. All sorts of people ended up here, some who shared the worst fates were political offenders. Near Karaganda today, lays the small sleepy town of Dolinka, in which one can find one of the finest museums dedicated to this darker part of the region’s past: KarLag Museum. Let us now see what it entails.
Getting to Dolinka without a car is not without its headaches, but it is manageable. Simply go to the main bus terminal in Karaganda and hop on to number 121. Pay 190 KZT (September 2023) to the driver. Tell him that you want to go to Dolinka, or to the KarLag Museum, even the word “KarLag” should be enough for them to understand. You will leave the bus at the nearest bus stop to Dolinka (people will help you), though it will still be at least a two-kilometre walk to the museum itself from the main road. Just go back the same road and get on the same bus going the opposite direction to go back to Karaganda. Do be warned that the bus on the way back may be already full of people, so get ready to feel like a sardine in a can. Ultimately though, you will arrive at your destination, this beautiful solitary building on the outskirts of a small village.
The exhibition starts quite abruptly and in an “in your face” manner, by purpose. Prisoners sometimes stayed here long enough to give birth to their babies. Though it is a place of terror, torture, and executions, it feels so weird to see that it was also a place of birth and hence the renewal of life. That being said, I reckon these mothers seldom felt any joy for the life they brought to this world, given how terrible the situation likely was for their offspring. A genius of KarLag Museum already comes into play this early on in its exhibition, as you can see that the person that was (most likely) responsible for putting this baby’s mother into prison could be seen reconstructed by some playing blocks next to said baby’s crib… Dark and sobering.
As I mentioned before, people from all walks of life could end up in KarLag if they were to go against the narratives prevalent in the Soviet Union at the time. Clergymen and liberal activists were some of the most frequent “visitors” of this prison-labour complex. One cannot help but think about what horrifying thoughts must have came to the minds of these people as their mugshots were taken by a sulky officer in a frigid cell.
It sure is quite something to see that they even had a special room all for babies, separate from their mothers and fathers… One can only imagine the tragic solitude that any living being would feel in these conditions, regardless of their immature cognitive abilities.
Moreover, these types of torture rooms (recreations) are found in the lower levels of the museum, and I heard that normally they would be presented alongside some audio cues to visitors in groups. I was alone when I visited KarLag, and I am sort of glad that I was… I had enough unnecessary noises already stuck in my mind “thanks to” the Torture Museum in Belgrade…
KarLag is one of those museums that are better seen in person than to read about. After all, why create an exhibition if it can so easily be translated to text? Though it was not necessarily the place where all these atrocities took place, it manages to feel like one through its well organized halls. You will see life-like mannequins in corners, some victims in deep pits, full of agony, and yet others crying on their bed. It is a gut-wrenching experience but an experience to have, nonetheless.
Kazakhstan has a complex history, and that complexity is never clearer than it is in Dolinka, in the KarLag Museum. This is a must-see place for Soviet era history buffs, for anyone on either side of the political spectrum, for tourists that want to understand Kazakhstan today through its past, and for people who just want to see a properly designed museum that offers a once in a lifetime experience to its “lucky” visitors. Sure, it is a little outside the main touristic areas, as Karaganda itself is hardly on the tourism maps of Kazakhstan, but you will know why it is well worth the trip once you make it there!