Exile in the Soviet forest 'special settlers' in northern Perm' Oblast

This paper seeks to contribute to the growing body of knowledge about the local conditions which accompanied the dual policies of settlement and development of the resource-rich Russian North during the Soviet period. Archival research is presented in the context of recent debate over the focus of Stalinist policies towards the penal labour force, and its use is suggested as a means for understanding the historical socio-economic context of the locality for post-Soviet transformation.