Survival as Victory: Ukrainian Women in the Gulag

Oksana Kis' book, Survival as Victory, is the first anthropological study of daily life in Soviet forced labor camps for Ukrainian women prisoners. It is based on the written memoirs, autobiographies, and oral histories of over 150 survivors and details their resistance to the brutality of camp conditions through the preservation of customs and traditions and the elision of regional and confessional differences.

Format: Hardback
Length: 652 pages
Publication date: 26 March 2021
Publisher: Harvard University Press

Survival as Victory is a groundbreaking anthropological study that delves into the daily lives of Ukrainian women prisoners in Soviet forced labor camps during the 1940s and 1950s. Authored by Oksana Kis, the book draws upon the written memoirs, autobiographies, and oral histories of over 150 survivors to provide a comprehensive account of their experiences.

Kis' work fills a significant gap in the scholarship on the Ukrainian experience, particularly in the realm of understanding the strategies employed by women to resist the brutal conditions of the camps. Through the preservation of customs and traditions from their everyday home lives, as well as the frequent elision of regional and confessional differences, the women in Survival as Victory demonstrated their resilience and determination to survive.

This book is a must-read for anyone interested in gendered strategies of survival, accommodation, and resistance to the dehumanizing effects of the Gulag. It adds valuable insights to our understanding of the experiences of women in the Soviet system and contributes to our broader understanding of the history of the Gulag.

In conclusion, Survival as Victory is a groundbreaking work that sheds light on the lives of Ukrainian women prisoners in the Gulag. Through the meticulous research and analysis of primary sources, Kis has produced a valuable contribution to the scholarship on this period of history. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in gendered strategies of survival, accommodation, and resistance to the dehumanizing effects of the Gulag.

Weight: 1172g
Dimension: 163 x 240 x 41 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780674258280