Dolinka Museum for the Commemoration of Victims of Political Repression in Karaganda

The Karaganda Corrective Labour Camp (Karlag) was a Soviet forced labour camp located in the Karaganda region, in the central part of Kazakhstan, and operated between 1931 and 1959. The camp covered a vast area, at its largest, roughly the size of France. After its closure, the camp was left for the most part unfenced and unattended. The locals had reused many former camp buildings. After Kazakhstan gained independence, the government had little interest in commemorating former camps and also addressing the contentious Soviet legacy. In the late 2000s, an effort towards commemoration was made by the government with the creation of the two museums, Alzhir Museum and Karlag Museum in Dolinka. However, since then, the visitation levels have remained low, both for local and international tourists, arguably reflecting a lack of ownership and legitimacy given by other stakeholders, most importantly, local communities.