Search for truth about islands' dark history goes on

Historically the Solovki Islands in the far north of Russia were the location of the famous Orthodox monastery complex, but the in Stalin's era the buildings were turned into the Solovki Camp of Special Designation (“SLON”- the Russian acronym

Ivan the Terrible first used the imposing Kremlin on Solovetsky Island to exile his enemies. With the change of regime after the Bolshevik revolution in 1917, the monastery was closed and the SLON, the precursor to the notorious Gulag system, opened.  Political dissidents, White Army soldiers, prostitutes and thieves – men, women and children – all considered to be enemies of the people, were put to work. Monks were forced to become jailers, and thousands were tortured.

Much of the evidence of the camp's and prison's existence was subsequently destroyed, and it is only in the past 20 years that the truth about this dark period of the island's history has begun to emerge, but some reminders remain.

Olga has dedicated nearly two decades of her life to uncovering the history of the SLON.

Working for the islands' museum service, she also helps people trace their missing relatives, who whether through starvation, disease, or execution never made it off the islands alive. The work is difficult. It's an emotional experience, which everyday draws her further into the dark past.

“I came here for another reason but was drawn to studying this part of history,” she says.

Efforts to find out yet more about the SLON are hampered by a lack of information, much of which is still locked away in archives that will never be opened. Olga says that this is for political reasons. Perhaps there is sensitive information on high-ranking people that were held here.

However, out of sight, doesn't mean out of mind. New generations of Russians are aware of the history of these islands, and even now come to pay their respects to the events of its tragic past .