Paper short abstract:

Western Siberia is home to three sacred springs on the sites of Stalin-era prison camps. This paper will examine how people perceive these beautiful locations in spite of (or because of) their connection to a violent and troubled past and renegotiate its memory.

Paper long abstract:

Western Siberia is home to three sacred springs located on the sites of former Stalin-era prison camps. The prison buildings were razed after the camps were shuttered, and portions of the sites returned to a natural state. This paper will examine how people perceive these beautiful locations in spite of (or because of) their connection to a violent and troubled past. Interviews with local residents make clear that the physical features of the springs plays an important role in understanding their sacrality. While local legends paint a horrific picture of the camps, this past has been re-framed through the lens of the spring's beauty. These two elements provide a start contrast between the present-day loveliness and the violent past. This paper will explore how these two contrasting views of the site serve to remake the GULAG past. The narratives focus on the religious victims, a selective vision of history that illustrates how memory of this period is being reconstructed. The religious practices at the springs in a place of great beauty are set against the backdrop of this remade past. The springs and the stories told about them allow visitors to come to terms with the disturbing history of their region and to forge an identity consonant with post-socialist values.