MVD special camp

MVD special camps of the Gulag was a system of special labor camps established addressing the February 21, 1948 decree 416—159сс of the USSR Council of Ministers of February 28 decree 00219 of the Ministry of [Internal Affairs (Soviet Union)|Soviet Ministry of Internal Affairs] exclusively for a "special contingent" of political prisoners, convicted according to the more severe sub-articles of Article 58 : treason, espionage, terrorism, etc., for various political opponents, such as Trotskyists, nationalists, and white émigrés, etc.
It was forbidden to keep other types of convicts in these camps.

History

Initially, in February 1948, five osoblags were established, nameless, numbered from 1 to 5. Later, they were given codenames, accordingly, Mineralny Минеральный, Gorny Горный, Dubravny Дубравный, Stepnoy Степной and Beregovoy Береговой. Russian political prisoner and writer Georgy Demidov notices that this naming was arbitrary, unlike regular Gulag camps, which were commonly named after geographical features or major occupation.
Later the following osoblags were created: Rechnoy Речной, Ozyorny Озерный, Луговой, Камышовый, Дальний, and Водораздельный.
In 1954, after the death of Stalin, most of them were reorganized into regular corrective labor camps.
MVD special camps were places of the three largest Gulag uprisings: Norilsk uprising, Vorkuta uprising, and Kengir uprising.