Heterotopy of Labor Camp North in the "Kolyma Stories" by V. Shalamov

Abstract

In the article, the cycle of V. Shalamov Kolyma Stories is considered with the help of M. Foucault's theory on heterotopies. The concept of «heterotopia» («another place»), according to the French philosopher, defines specific spaces in which social norms and practices noticeably shift or transform, primarily characterizes GULAG space in Shalamov's stories. In the writer's texts, the entire Soviet penitentiary system of the 1920s-1950s is presented as a hierarchy of «other» places terminated by the labor camp, which is the culmination of the Soviet penitentiary system. All types of space outside the camp (including the «big earth» space) at the same time turn out to be correlated with the topos of the GULAG; their values are determined by place in the repressive hierarchy. A special function in the world of Kolyma Stories is played by the concept of «without convoy»; this is the one, in the writer's opinion, which outlines the ultimate limits of a Soviet person’s freedom, who can, at best, be on the border of the penitentiary system, but never outside its borders.