Valiantly who lived… All survived…

The memory of you never dies…

We invite residents and guests on a three hour tour to ALGERIA Akmol village (30 km from Astana).

Akmola camp wives of traitors of Motherland (ALZHIR.) is the colloquial name of the 17th women’s camp of the special Department of the Karaganda labor camp in Akmola region, Kazakhstan (1938-1953). The largest Soviet women’s camp, one of the 3 “Islands” of the Gulag Archipelago. The name is associated with the composition of the prison population, much of which was repressed in accordance with the operational NKVD order № 00486 as Cseri — “family members of traitors of the Motherland”. There was another colloquial name of the camp Department – “26 point”, as the camp was located in the 26th settlement of labor settlements (now the village of Akmol (BOV. Malinovka), Akmola region of Kazakhstan).

In 1938, there were about 8,000 women prisoners in the camp, including 4,500 women. About 1500 more chiras were located in other departments of Karlag.

Unfortunately, this truth took place in our country, but still a tiny ray of light made its way through the darkness. To remain a person who carries light is not the meaning of our existence?? The following story, which we will present below, will tell about the people of Kazakhstan of that time…

“KURT – THE JEWEL»

When in 1990 the former prisoner of Akmola camp of wives of “traitors” of the homeland Gertrude Platays arrived to Kazakhstan, she for the first time told the staff of the Museum “ALZHIR”, as for the first time she saw the local Kazakhs and how they treated the imprisoned women.

 Once, when a snowstorm one winter morning female prisoner under the strengthened escort collected reeds on the shore of lake Zhalanash for the construction of huts, of reeds popped up elderly people and children — local residents of the neighboring Kazakh village Gansu. Children in the senior team began to throw stones at the downtrodden of women (for the implementation of standards in 40 sheaves of reeds had to work in the cold for 17-20 hours per day). Convoys began to laugh loudly: pier, you see, you not only in Moscow, you and here, in the village, even children do not like. It was very sad and painful and, first and foremost, morally, recalled Gertrude Platys and other former prisoners. This was repeated for several days. Insulted prisoners only remained to appeal to the fate, complaining about the injustice of the drugged and embittered by Stalin’s propaganda of the Kazakhs… until one day, dodging the stones flying on them, exhausted Gertrude stumbled and fell face to face in these stones. Buried in them, she suddenly felt the smell of cheese, and realized that these stones smell… cheese and milk! She took a piece and put it in his mouth – he seemed pretty tasty. She gathered these stones and brought them to the barracks. There were also imprisoned Kazakh women. They said it was Kurt — sun-dried salted cottage cheese. Turns out, risking their lives of their own children, compassionate Kazakhs finding no other way as this way, without arousing suspicion from the guards, shared with the prisoners last thing they had — Kurt, to somehow support the hungry poor women, because they are in the 1930-ies learned hunger and deprivation. Secret from supervisors they left for prisoners under bushes slices of boiled meat, oatmeal, Kurt, flat cakes. Gratitude to the Kazakh people was told by women that they have carried through life. “All the camps are bad, but it was in Kazakhstan that many survived and, first of all, thanks to the Kazakhs. They experienced hunger, cold, deprivation,” they admitted.