Sakhalin. Penal servitude

Vlas Mikhailovich Doroshevich (1864 – 1922) was a contemporary of Chekhov, almost his peer. He made a loud name for himself as a feuilletonist in Odessa newspapers, and later the publisher Syutin invited Doroshevich to join him in organizing the newspaper «Russian Word».

Doroshevich's sketches about penal servitude are compared not only with Chekhov's, which is quite predictable, but also with the «Kolyma Stories» of Varlam Shalamov, of course, with the difference that the author studied penal servitude closely but still from the outside. Doroshevich’s goal was very specific – to see penal servitude «as it is», not as the officials «would wish to show» him. To see it and write about it.

«Sakhalin» is a book of morals. Doroshevich provides a sociological snapshot of penal servitude, describing its everyday life, types of convicts and island authorities, the typology of crimes and criminals, the punished and the punishing, as well as their similarities and the ease of transition from one category to another.

The most obvious and bitter thing that you understand while reading this book is that it has not become outdated even after a century. Surviving in the conditions of our penitentiary system is incredibly difficult now. And to survive without losing one's human appearance is even harder.