1 DAY tour to Alzhir from Astana

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ALZHIR is a colloquial name that comes from the abbreviation АЛЖИР, which stands for “Akmola camp for the wives of traitors to the Motherland” (in Russian)

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Highlights

history of the period of Stalinist repression
transfer
entrance fee

Description

10.00 am meeting with the guide at hotel lobby . Alzhir The camp, which was the largest women’s camp in the Soviet Union, operated between 1938 and 1953 and was a place of human tragedy during the period of Stalinist repression. It is estimated that more than 18,000 prisoners passed through the camp, some of whom died there. Today, the site of the camp hosts a museum and memorial to these victims of political repression and totalitarianism. It is located 40km west of Astana. ALZHIR will always remain a silent witness to human tragedy in the 20th century, and its prisoners will be remembered forever. History of the ALZHIR camp The ALZHIR camp was built on the site of Special Settlement No. 26, which had been operating since 1931. Many families had been expelled to the Special Settlement from the Saratov region of Russia, Belarus, the Crimea, and other regions of the Soviet Union; however, the living conditions there were relatively bearable. The history of the ALZHIR camp itself started on 8 June 1934, when a decree (abbreviated as CHSIR) imposed a penalty, on family members of traitors to the motherland, of 5 years in prison or a deprivation of liberty for 5 to 10 years. On 15 August 1937, the order of the People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD) No. 00486 was issued. This allowed alleged traitors to be sent to CHSIR camps without court hearings. Based on this, ALZHIR (officially called the P-17 Forced Labor Camp), was opened in December 1937 on the site of Special Settlement No. 26. The ALZHIR camp was nominally closed in 1953, after Stalin’s death. However, it continued to operate for several more years, with the last group of prisoners released only in 1958-1960. Museum to the memory of the victims of political repression A memorial complex and museum were opened on the territory of the former ALZHIR camp on 31 May 2007. This date was significant because Kazakhstan celebrates the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Political Repression on 31 May every year, and 2007 marked the 70th anniversary of the beginning of mass repressions in the Soviet Union. Today, visitors can see various buildings and exhibits that reproduce the life of prisoners in the camp, such as barbed wire fences, watchtowers, and barracks. Representatives of various post-Soviet countries have installed monuments and memorial plaques that commemorate the women who were brought to the camp from all over the Soviet Union (including present-day Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Ukraine, and Central Asia). The museum contains various documents and photographs.

Includes

The tour price includes: Transport service according to the program (Toyota camry 70, Toyota Hiace) English speaking guide Entrance fees to the museum Water 1L per day per person