Siberian Penal Servitude

Siberian Penal Servitude was a form of severe punishment used in Russia, primarily in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It involved sentencing convicts to hard labor in remote Siberian regions, often for long periods or life. Prisoners faced grueling conditions—forced labor, harsh climate, and isolation—aimed at punishing and deterring crime. While considered more humane than exile to remote areas, it was still a harsh form of penal incarceration designed to reform or incapacitate offenders through physical hardship.