The GULAG History Museum exhibits items picturing the history of the GULAG forced labor camp system. It served as an instrument of state repression in the Soviet Union in the 1930s-50s.

Nearly 20 million people were imprisoned in GULAG camps over these years, and 2 million died there. Today, the topic has nearly no coverage in mass media, and authorities also prefer to keep silent. Some people even think that GULAG is a mystification, and just half of young people know of mass repressions in the Soviet Union. Russians are forgetting about GULAG.

We wanted to refresh the memory by presenting evidence of mass repressions to the general public and spread knowledge about them among the youth so that this history is never repeated.

Introducing SURVIVORS — graphic novels based on life stories of GULAG victims, created and produced from crowdfunding.

We had no budget for the project. GULAG is controversial subject: some people think that mass repressions are fantasy but others know that the tragedy was real. And there is serious confrontation between them, and we decided to use it. For getting both camps to notice us and starting buzz in the run-up of campaign we opened the fundraising for books production.

We also wanted to introduce real GULAG victims as evidence of mass soviet repressions. That’s why we engaged survivors: they told real stories about their and their parents’ imprisonment and the way the government ruined their life.

Victims’ stories were transformed into graphic novels because comics is universally understandable, especially to younger people.

To spread the book among Russian-speaking youth we collaborated with educational institutions and schools.

We released the crowdfunding campaign in October 2018. It was supported by bloggers, influencers, and even haters. This was that we wanted - the buzz began. The money was collected shortly, and we were able to create the book.

Innocent people who faced unlawful imprisonment told their stories about the way GULAG ruined their lives. Illustration artists transformed these stories into graphic novels, since this format produces the best response among the youth. Different styles of illustrations are highlighting their hero’s personality. After each novel we direct link to the live hero’s interview.

We released the printed version for sale in March 2019 while the e-book version is available for downloading free of charge. For distribution the book we collaborated with educational institutions. Students read the book and discussed it with the teacher. This format became the most suitable for a first acquaintance with a complex topic, such as repressions.

The release of the SURVIVORS graphic novels was covered in over 220 mass media outlets, reaching 106,282,000 people around the world. About 90% were from CIS (Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belorussia).

The book became the most popular publication of the Museum. The SURVIVORS will be reprinted in 2020 — in Russian, English and Italian. Students of the Higher School of Economics (HSE), one of Russia’s main universities, decided to create on their own graphic novels based on biographies from other survivors.

The graphic novel format resonated with the younger audience so strongly that the Russian parliament has started discussing this format as a means to study history in schools.