gulag

noun

gu·​lag ˈgü-ˌläg How to pronounce gulag (audio)
often capitalized
: the penal system of the Soviet Union consisting of a network of labor camps

Examples of gulag in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Nikita Khrushchev’s Soviet Union was a murderous gulag. Bryan C. Donohue, Baltimore Sun, 17 Apr. 2024 Around 200,000 Lithuanians were deported to the gulags during that period, or executed for taking up arms against the occupiers. Tomas Dapkus, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2024 The World Wars, the gulags, the camps, the colonies, and so on—these dismal chapters of modernity essentially predate our protagonist’s agreeable personal experience of the political sphere. Willing Davidson, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024 In Moscow on Monday night, a steady trickle of mourners continued to pay respects to Navalny by laying flowers at the Solovetsky stone, a memorial for victims of the Soviet gulags, under the watchful eye of a dozen or so police officers. Robyn Dixon, Emily Rauhala, arkansasonline.com, 20 Feb. 2024 See all Example Sentences for gulag 

Word History

Etymology

Russian, from Glavnoe upravlenie ispravitel'notrudovykh lagereĭ chief administration of corrective labor camps

First Known Use

1974, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of gulag was in 1974

Dictionary Entries Near gulag

Cite this Entry

“Gulag.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gulag. Accessed 10 Nov. 2024.

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