The House of the Dead - Siberian Exile under the Tsars (Daniel Beer, 2017)

(378 pages)

While this overlapped with several other books (for example this one on the Decembrists - early exiles; Dosteovsky's exile here; Polish rebels in exile here; Solzenhitsyn here; Chekhov on Sakhalin Island), it was well worth reading - much additional information and perspective.

I hadn't realized the scope of exile in tsarist days.  In the early days - c. 1700 - it was a convenient way to get rid of political opposition - a few folks were sent far, far away.  Then the regime figured out that sending forced labor to Siberia might be a good way to exploit natural resources there (along with rehabilitating the exiles).  Then the regime started expanding the variety of offenses that gave rise to exile - a great way to get rid of undesirables.  But the system had very limited resources, and the numbers sent into exile simply overwhelmed it.  The goals were not achieved and, if anything, Siberian development was retarded.

For a long period, those exiled walked prodigious distances to their final destination -Tobolsk to the Nerchinsk silver mines was 3570 km (like walking from Madrid to St. Petersburg, or from Washington DC to Salt Lake City).  Lots of folks don't make it - limited accountability as exiles are handed off along the route.  (Compare Brits transporting folks to Australia - a single captain with a single medical officer on a single ship - survival rates improved dramatically once rules were put into place.)

Early arrivals sometimes found Siberia refreshing - people less beaten down than the serfs - but the flood of exiles and the constant exposure to doubtful types changed this over time.  Many political exiles who weren't particularly violent or dangerous - but many, many criminals who were.  A bad mix.

Often often no right of return - settle in Siberia after sentence, if survive - difficult.

As the 19th century proceeds and the numbers continue to increase - the Siberian experience produces flashpoints for resistance to absolutism.  This escalates into the early 20th century - many key figures in 1905 and 1917 were here.

Epilogue introduces how 1917 revolutionaries - ardent opponents of the exile system - adapted it for their own purposes after taking power.  With horrific efficiency.