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In 1887, following several years’ imprisonment for his role in the People’s Will terrorist group, Ivan P. Iuvachëv was exiled with other political prisoners to the notorious Sakhalin penal colony. The penal colony emerged during the late 1860s and 1870s and collapsed in 1905, under the weight of Japan’s invasion of Sakhalin. The eight years between 1887 and 1895 that Iuvachëv spent on the island were some of the most tumultuous in the penal colony’s existence. Originally published in 1901, his memoir offers a first-hand account of this netherworld that embodied the extremities of tsarist Russian penality. A valuable historical document as well as a work of literature testifying to one man’s ability to retain his humanity amid a sea of human degradation, this annotated translation marks the first time Iuvachëv’s memoir has appeared in any language besides Russian.
“This translation of a political prisoner’s memoir is another excellent work by Gentes dealing with Siberian exile and exiles during Russia’s late tsarist period. It not only sheds light on the Russian exile system during that period, but also has universal significance regarding prisoners everywhere.” —Walter G. Moss, Professor emeritus, Eastern Michigan University, US.
Acknowledgements; Introduction, Andrew A. Gentes; A Note on Transliteration and Dates; Glossary of Measurements; Eight Years on Sakhalin: A Political Prisoner’s Memoir, Ivan P. Iuvachëv; Foreword; Part I; I. First impressions of the Sakhalin coast; II. Searching for food; III. Dinner; IV. Meeting the educated exiles; V. The penal laborers’ march to Tymovsk District; VI. Rykovsk settlement; VII. Assignment as a carpenter; VIII. My comrades; IX. The situation in the Tym Valley; X. The warden’s efforts to build a church; XI. Katorga assignments; XII. The difficulty of katorga; XIII. Headmen-executioners; Part II; I. A new assignment; II. A change of situation; III. Preparing the new church for Easter; IV. The temptation of an artless existence; V. Recording Giliak fables; VI. Solitary and general prison confinement; VII. The murder of choirmaster Gennisaretskii; VIII. Morning impressions; IX. Summer jobs; X. The situation of designated homeowners; XI. Meeting penal laborers from the barracks; XII. Catching fish with a hook; XIII. My sailing assignment; XIV. The educated exile Pl.’s farm; Part III; I. Invitation to a seaside stroll; II. Guests of the military commander; III. Preparations for a new journey; IV. Cape Nevelˊskoi; V. Giliaks’ provisions caches; VI. Aboard the steamer Shooter; VII. Korsakovsk Post; VIII. Manué Post; IX. The 1891 Manifesto; X. Katorga’s tragic days; XI. My new manservant; XII. L−‘s retirement and departure; XIII. Leaving Sakhalin; XIV. A visit to Rykovsk settlement; XV. First news in the press about the Onor atrocities; XVI. Situation for educated people on the island.; Part IV; I. The new status of exile-settler; II. My meeting with General Grodekov; III. The exile-settler Elizaveta K; IV. Women on Sakhalin; V. Personal morality’s importance in lifting a man; VI. Losing the most favorable period of life; VII. A trip to Aleksandrovsk Post in winter; VIII. Exiles’ hidden sorrows; IX. Vladivostok under military alert; X. In a grave; XI. Held back!; XII. The governor’s new request; XIII. Sakhalintsy in Vladivostok; XIV. Distance and time make an impression; Bibliography.