The Vorkuta Gulag - Hellhole of the USSR 

😱Remember guys we need to: Step 1: Secure the keys Step 2: Ascend from darkness Step 3: Rain fire Step 4: Unleash the horde Step 5: Skewer the winged beast Step 6: Wield a fist of iron Step 7: Raise hell Step 8: Freedom Da.

I heard an American prisoner escaped on a bike with a lever action shotgun

You can see in some scenes that Reznov and Sergei are in the background.

My grandpa was 24 when he was taken to one of these gulags. He had to stay there for more than 3 years. He never talked about what happened there. Always when we asked him about it he started to lose tears and said "I can't talk about it". Horrible thing must have happened over there.

“Dragovich, kravchenko, Steiner these..men all must die”

_”Dragovich...Kravchenko...Steiner. ALL must die.”_

_"In Vorkuta, we are all soldiers without an army."_ _"Betrayed."_ _"Forgotten."_ _"ABANDONED."_ _"In Vorkuta, we are ALL brothers."_

RIP Reznov. I remember actually believing Reznov made it out when Mason was having those dreams. I was very sad when I found out he didn’t make it. Honestly if Sergei wasn’t there the plan would’ve probably failed. RIP Sergei. Also how did Woods survive the explosion when he drove himself and Kravchenko out the window, I mean I know he’s a goddamn onion but still.

“Step 8 Reznov, freedom!” “For you Mason, not for me.” “Reznov!”

"We are all soldiers, without an army, Betrayed, Forgotten, Abandoned." - Reznov

Reznov: "You will break... American." Hudson: "Victor Reznov." Mason: "My friend."

"You will break, American!" "Viktor Reznov." "My friend....."

“step off reznov! Freedom!” “For you mason, not for me!”

It’s amazing that in CoD Cold War when Mason revisited the broken down satellites from “Black Ops”, Mason STILL receives faint numbers in his head. This goes to show that the game 10 years ago is still a memory to this day.

"In Vorkuta, we are all brothers."

Russian Prisoner: Reznov, you sure you can trust this American? Reznov: With my life...He and us are not so different. We are all soldiers without an army...Betrayed...Forgotten...Abandoned. In Vorkuta, we are ALL brothers...

Simple History: You couldn't escape Mason: Are you sure about that?

My grandfather was a inmate in Vorkuta, he got out some years after the death of Stalin and was sent back to the GDR.

“In Vorkuta, we are all brothers” -Reznov

"We Russians know this better than anyone!"-Reznov

“MY NAME IS VIKTOR REZNOV. AND I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE.”

If anyone wants a true glimpse into the life in the gulags, read "Man is Wolf to Man". For a glimpse into life as a survivor, read the sequel titled "Surviving Freedom". The first book accounts for what many gulag prisoners endured, which was starting in the lower security camps and hopping camps eastward, all the way to Kolyma. The system was set so that labor could be exploited at every stage of denigration of the human body for those that were sentenced. All to the point of self-expiration by being overworked if they weren't already purged by the NKVD or fellow prisoners along the way. One particular issue the author (Janusz Bardach) discusses is witnessing how prisoners getting diarrhea from poor nutrition often died from the cold. This is because the prisoners were stacked upon one another in shacks. If you had soiled your clothes and another prisoner had your butt in their face, they would throw you out into the cold to freeze to death, simply because the smell prevented them from getting any sleep. Many prisoners upon being reaching close to death due to being overworked, would reach a point of no longer caring about dignity. Retaining your dignity at all costs (not ripping one in your pants during morning lineup) kept you alive. The author made it a point to never resort to eating rats because he felt it would cause a loss of his dignity and humanity. Because he observed that once prisoners resorted to eating rats they would all end up dying relatively soon. Even though they had attained additional sustenance. Survival as always, is just as much about the mind if not more so than the body. Janusz also describes a scene where after attempting escape, he was rounded up and beaten by a guard and an officer. Once the officer left the room, the guard immediately became compassionate and stopped beating Janusz and even offering water. The guard had to snap back into "beating mode" once the officer returned, resuming the flurry of blows and non-stop insults. The point being that compassion would rise to the surface even in the hearts of the guards, but was suppressed simply due to fear of repercussions. If a guard was seen as lenient at any time, it could cost them their job or their lives, by them being interned into a gulag themselves. As in today's prisons, the guards would work hand-in-hand with ringleaders of the gulag. Often times these would be the Urka, or Russian prison gangs at the time. The gangs would keep the other prisoners in order, ensure productivity (or mutually assured meeting of quotas by fudging numbers, as those running the camp could be punished alongside prisoners for not meeting these). They also purchased commodities from the guards through pooling methods. One such method was collecting alcohol being given every morning to prisoners during winter months before work. The Urka ordered the prisoners to not swallow the alcohol, and instead to spit it out into a large container after exiting the alcohol line. The alcohol would be collected, and sold to the guards for food or other favors. If you were new and uninformed of this process and swallowed your alcohol, you would get a single warning via a beating and explanation. The Urka were just as important for internal enforcement as the NKVD guards. Another glimpse into this story is about how medical staff at the gulags enjoyed many perks, even sometimes a relatively normal life. This is because medical personnel were always required not just for the prisoners but for the guards. Even simply becoming a janitor for an associated hospital was enough to spare you the rigors of the physical labor in the camps. Also, those who injured themselves to get to the infirmary were usually sniffed out and executed as it was against the rules to do so. Many people cut off digits or even entire limbs, burned themselves or spilled acid upon themselves just to get a few days in the hospital. Prisoners would often help inflict wounds upon each other so as to make it look like an accident (as self-inflicted wounds show certain characteristics of being so).

I can hear the Tankies now... "That wasn't real communism!"

"For you Mason! Not for me!" - Reznov

R.i.p Sergei ???-October 6, 1963 He was strong but the door was stronger

2:21 There's Sergei pushing the Coal Cart and there's Reznov mining next to him.

"Can't get the Fucking Numbers out of my head!" - Alex Mason

Love how you can see Sergi and Resnov in the animation LMAO.

“The flag may be different, but the methods are all the same” -Reznov

“In Vorkuta, we are all brothers.”

Crazy this popped up! John Nobles son, also John is a great friend of mine, and one of the nicest people I've ever met. He speaks highly of his father and lent me a book wrote by his father. John wrote a book called "i was a slave in russia" that detailed his experience. It certainly brought tears to the eyes several times.

"Your turn!!!" "Come on!!!" "Step eight, Reznov - freedom!" "For you Mason..." "Not for me..."

All the Easter Eggs in this one

I love how in the graphic with the 3 prisoners revolting the one in the middle looks like Reznov from Call of Duty Black Ops! You guys are tru legends for including him!

"STEP 8 REZNOV! FREEDOM!" "FOR YOU MASON, NOT FOR ME"

“Allow me to introduce Sergei Kozin, the monster of Magadan.” - Viktor Reznov

As long as he lives the heart of this army cannot be broken, he makes us all proud." -Victor reznov 1939

The Vorkuta Gulag is a really scary place to be

"Allow me to introduce, Sergei Kozin the monster from Magadan" "Glad you're a friend, Sergei" "We will never pause, we will never falter, we will be free or die trying"

"Dragovich... Kravchenko... Steiner... These "men" must die." - Viktor Reznov

I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT THE VIDEO BECAUSE OF THE REFERENCES

Seeing all my fellow Bo1 brothers and sisters assemble again to remember a great time in gaming history brings me joy.

People in the comments USSR historians: SLEEP Black Ops players: *REZNOV!*

"VICTORY CANNOT BE ACHIEVED WITHOUT SACRAFICE, MASON." *"WE RUSSIANS KNOW THIS BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE."*

95% of the comment section: call of duty

“I love Soviet Union.” Says the person who wasn’t been to a gulag

We all know about Reznov's sacrifice,but what about Sergei's sacrifice.

"STEP 8 REZONOV, FREEEDOM!!!" "FOR YOU MASON, NOT FOR ME" "REZNOV!!!!!!"

Thinking about gulags makes me so sad that I start bawling my eyes out, that's because my great-grandfather once told me that once of his friends got sent to one of them and he got hanged. #sosad. 😭💔

I get it, communism makes everyone equally miserable.

1% of comments: stalin jokes 1% of comments: gulag jokes 98% of comments: *Reznov Mason something*

"Mason. Every journey begins with a single step. This - is step one!!"

Putting hellhole and USSR in the same sentence is essentially just repeating the same thing twice

"welcome to the gulag, if you survived you earned your freedom"

“Freedom Reznov!” “For you mason, not for me.” 😔😔😔

“So that was the last time you saw Victor Reznov?” “Yea” “At least for awhile.”

Thanks for adding Reznov and Sergei.

Soviet guard: Welcome to the Vorkuta Gul- Stalin: Don't say it. Guard: I mean camp!

the comment section is 10% talking about how horrible the soviet union was 90% COD references

Simple History: How many COD references do you want?? World: *YES*

I'm so happy you made this because legit no one at my HIGH SCHOOL knows what the actual gulag is just that it's where u go when u die in cod

1:57 you can see sergei pushing the coal cart

Russian prisoner: "Reznov, you sure you can trust this American?" Reznov: "With my life. He and us, are not so different... We are all soldiers, without an army. Betrayed. Forgotten. Abandoned. In Vorkuta, we are ALL brothers..." God tier moment

"Come on, step 8 Reznov, freedom!" "For you Mason, not for me" "REZNOV!"

"demetri petrenko was was one of the bravest men I ever knew. He fought by my side from the siege of stalingrad to the fall of Berlin. The wounds he sustained ensuring our victory should have earned him a heros welcome to Russia..... but stalin had little need for heros."

I love your channel keep up the great stuff

Can we just point out that theres characters that look like Reznov and Sergei (Edit: why are so many people liking this)

Mason: "Your turn!!! Come on!!! Step eight, Reznov - Freedom! " Reznov: "For you Mason... Not for me... " Mason: "REZNOV!!!" Man that scene gave me the feels...

I like the animated Victor Reznov at 5:47 Good touch and good reference lol

“Victory cannot be achieved without sacrifice” “we will be free or die trying”

It feels like everyone in this comment section loves me.

“I will die in the this wretched place. The only thing that keeps me alive is the thirst for vengeance.” - Viktor Reznov

“He and us are not so different. We are all soldiers without an army, betrayed, forgotten, abandoned. We are all brothers in Vortuka…” -Victor Reznov

"Mason! You did it Mason! You did what I could not!"- Reznov's last words

"We are all soldiers without an army" - Victor Reznov

Sergei's death in this mission of CoD was probably the saddest one that we actually see

I love the little background details of the bo1 mission so much😂

Whenever I need a reminder that where I am is a good place to be I visit simple history.

A Documentary about my home? unbelievable

"Victory cannot be achieved without sacrifice Mason. We Russians know this better than anyone" - Viktor Reznov

"Sure you can have freedom of speech... in Siberia!" - Joseph Stalin, probably.

5:10 "Allow me to introduce: Sergei Kozin, The Monster of Megadan!"

I like the little COD: Black Ops references with Viktor Reznov and Sergei in the animation, and the pinned comment of the escape steps, lmao

“The vorkuta gulag” Me: “The number mason, what do they mean”?”

good for adding the bo1 refrences in there

Hehehe im glad you guys made sure to make one of characters look like Reznov

Here you can spot a lot of COD Black ops 1 references 1. The Mine where Mason and Reznov distracted one of the guards to steal the Mine key - 5:13 5:44 6:08 2. The Shotgun armoury that was filled with KS23 shotguns - 5:38 and 5:57 3. Sergei can be found pushing minecarts and fighting one of the guards - 1:40 2:22 4:48 5:21 6:08 and 6:22 in here you can see him pushing a minecart along with Reznov 4. Reznov, This iconic black ops character can be found in - 5:43 5:56 6:08 and 6:22 in here you can see him pushing a minecart along with Sergei 5. The Bucket-wheel excavator, where you can find this in COD Black ops while supporting the uprising from the south - 0:59 2:13 2:46 3:18 5:32 7:10

“ Victory cannot be achieved without sacrifice Mason. We Russians know this better than anyone” Sgt Viktor Reznov

Anyone notice Victor Reznov at 3:59 in the background?

“I remeber you, Vorkuta, you dont know what we did to you”

Bae: Come over Stalin: Can’t, I’m busy sending people to gulag Bae: My parents aren’t home Stalin: I know

"My name is Viktor Reznov, and I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE!" "MASON NO!!"

I love how they put Reznov and Sergei in the video

I love that mason Sergei (I think that’s how you spell it) and Reznov are in the video

I like the fact that two of the characters in the animations are Reznov and Sergei.

“Kravchenko, dragovich,Steiner.....ALL MUST DIEE”

I love how there are a few references to reznov

I love how you guys drew rezneov in the background

people: welcome to gulag veterans: REZNOOV!! guys simple history themselves are veterans (the people who work on the channel)

I love the Call of Duty: Black Ops references in this! Simple History never fails to appeal to it’s fans! A truly elite history RU-vid channel!