Welcome to Russian History Retold, Episode 274, the Soviet Gulag System, Part 2 of the Women.

Last time, we began our journey into the saddest institution created by the Bolsheviks, the

Gulag.

Today, we will concentrate on some of the people sent there, focusing mainly on the women.

Two of the books I will be leaning on to share the stories of women and at times children

are dressed for a dance in the snow by Monica Zuckstorra and women of the Gulag by Paul R. Gregory.

Of course, I will also be using an Applebaum's book Gulag.

So, to start off, I want to share a quote from that book.

Quote, the prisoner who was our barrack orderly greeted me with a cry,

run and see what's under your pillow.

My heart leaped. Perhaps I got my bread ration after all.

I ran to my bed and threw off the pillow.

Under it lay three letters from home, three whole letters.

It was six months since I'd received anything at all.

My first reaction on seeing them was acute disappointment and then horror.

What had become of me if a piece of bread was worse more than me now than letters from my mother,

father, my children?

I forgot all about the bread and wept.

Olga Adamov, Slizoberk.

The three women we will meet today are Agnesia Agra Populo, Maria Senostro Solvo,

and Evgenia Feigenberg.

We can talk a little bit about their lives, why would they were sent to the Gulag

...