Welcome to Russian History Retold. Episode number 204, Siberia Part 3, Women and Children.

Last time we began our discussion of the use of Siberia to put people away in prison camps known as gulags.

Today we will be focusing on how women and children handled the harsh conditions. It is also the 10th anniversary of the

start of the Russian rulers history podcast. It began on April 30th, 2010.

And in the middle of this episode,

I'm going to have the announcement

about how we're moving forward.

The script for this

or my other podcast, Battle Ground History.

The stories of pain and suffering of the women and children I read to produce this is as heart-wrenching as anything I could have ever imagined.

But before I start, I'd like to read the dedication to Alexander Solzhen's book, The Gulag Archipelago.

Quote, I dedicate this to all those who did not live to tell it.

And may they please forgive me for not having seen at all,

nor remembered it all, for not having divined all of it.

His monumental account of the horrific conditions was published in 1973 and it exposed the system

of gulags that enslaved so many of his countrymen for nothing more than being cheap labor.

It is no easy read due to its subject and its length,

but I believe it should be mandatory reading for anyone wanting to understand what so many millions of people

went through from the 1930s to the 1980s.

Little did Solzhenits know that his book has been lauded by many as the catalyst for the eventual demise of the government that constructed the gulag system.

He was one of the few that thought his book would help. As he put it, quote, oh yes, Gulag was destined to affect the course of history. I was sure of that.

The day before he was sent into exile, February 12th

...