A penal colony on Sakhalin. It was the scariest place in Tsarist Russia.

"Sakhalin is a place of the greatest torments that a free or imprisoned person can endure," wrote the famous Anton Chekhov. "We tortured millions of people in prisons, we tortured them for nothing, thoughtlessly, in a barbaric way."Sakhalin, today the largest island in Russia and inhabited by half a million people, in the middle of the nineteenth century was an inaccessible, unexplored wilderness, for which, in addition to the tsarist Empire, Japan competed.Six thousand kilometers from Moscow For almost two decades, the Romanov government has been making strenuous attempts to colonize the wild, frosty land located more than 6,000 kilometers from Moscow. Every attempt was unsuccessful.Approach to the port of Alexandrovsk.There were not enough volunteers, and those who were tempted by false promises to participate in settlement actions were forced to live in barracks, suffer enormous hardships and fight hunger.The "brilliant" plan In 1868, the authorities, who decided to include the island at the edge of the world in the empire, outlined a new plan. Sakhalin was supposed to become a large colony for the most unrepentant criminals. And for the worst political enemies of the tsarist regime.The Special Committee recommended that 800 convicts be sent to Sakhalin immediately, and 12,000 soon. It was claimed that:1. The geography of the island will make it difficult for convicts to escape.2. Exile to the island will be a severe punishment, as it will last a lifetime.3. The island is huge, so after serving the sentence, the convicts will have a place to settle.4. It is beneficial for the state to settle with fines, because it will be difficult to find people willing to voluntarily live in such a place.All for rubles also brought the expected financial benefits. The Committee was convinced that the transformation of Sakhalin into a large penal colony would bring substantial income to the empire.:5. The island's rich coal reserves can be used profitably, given the growing demand in China and Japan.6. The costs of the penitentiary system will be reduced by collecting such a large number of convicts in one place.With the royal blessing, Tsar Alexander II willingly approved the project on April 18, 1869, and ordered the first eight hundred unfortunate people to be transported to the island as soon as possible.In the same year, a special Volunteer fleet was formed. His only job was to send the exiles to a place where most of them would be tortured.Thirty thousand unfortunate people in 1869-1906, about 30,000 people were sent to Sakhalin.Sakhalin Island without sunshine has become a hell on earth in people's memories. And although the tsarist authorities did a lot to ensure that the truth about the conditions in this place never saw the light, hundreds of photographs were taken on the island at the turn of the 20th century.Most of the photographs were taken by Ivan Nikolaevich Krasnov, who is called the "artist from Sakhalin." They are currently in the collection of the Museum of the History of Literature in Alexandrovsk-Sakhalinsk. 1xBet Sports Welcome Bonus for New Bettors: Full Overview Out of all sports welcome bonuses that are currently available in India, the 1xBet welcome offer ranks highly. You can use our exclusive 1xbet promo code india o receive up to a ₹65,000 welcome bonus on your first deposit. 1xBet's casino welcome package of ₹140,000, up to a maximum amount of ₹150,000.