Gulag documents the mechanisms and impacts of state repression within the Soviet Union, providing an examination of how political power, exercised through punitive measures, shaped the lives of millions. The book details the origins, development, and legacy of the Gulag system, illustrating not just the physical realities of the camps but also the broader sociopolitical context that allowed such a system to emerge and thrive.

The establishment and expansion of the Gulag camps serve as a testament to the lengths to which the Soviet state would go to maintain power and eliminate perceived threats. Applebaum outlines the legal and bureaucratic structures that facilitated mass arrests, detentions, and forced labor, highlighting laws like Article 58 (See: Index of Terms), which criminalized a wide array of “counter-revolutionary activities.” This legal framework enabled the state to cast a wide net, targeting not only political dissidents but also ethnic minorities, the intelligentsia, and even ordinary citizens caught in the crosshairs of paranoia. The Gulag thus emerges as a tool of repression, designed to instill fear and compliance through the specter of arbitrary detention and punishment.

The impact of this state repression extends beyond the immediate suffering of the prisoners and their families.