In this book, researchers from the USA, France, Germany and Great Britain examine the Gulag as a special historical and cultural phenomenon. The Soviet camp system appears in a wide variety of its specific manifestations and is compared with similar systems in different countries and eras - from India and Africa in the 19th century to Germany and North Korea in the 20th century. Readers will be able to get acquainted with the stories of prisoners and guards, learn how the food distribution system was organized, plunge into the visual history of the camps, and be convinced that the Gulag has not only deep historical origins and multiple typological parallels, but also long-term consequences. By placing the Soviet camp system in a broad historical, geographical and cultural context, the authors of this book present the Russian reader with a new, third-party view of many social, legal, moral and other phenomena of Soviet life, thereby opening new horizons for understanding the history of the 20th century.