Perm-36

Perm-36 (also known as ITK-6) was a Soviet forced labor colony located near the village of Kuchino, 100 km (60 miles) northeast of the city of Perm in Russia. It was part of the large prison camp system established by the former Soviet Union during the Stalin era, known as the Gulag. Since 1972 the camp was designated a "strict regime" and "special regime" (строгого режима, особого режима) camp used exclusively for the incarceration of "especially dangerous state criminals", mostly Soviet dissidents. Built in 1946 and closed in December 1987, the camp was preserved in 1994 by the Russian human historical and human rights organization Memorial. In 1995 the following year it was opened to the public as The "Perm-36" Museum of the History of Political Repression (known popularly as the Gulag Museum). It was run by an NGO called the Perm-36 Memorial Center of Political Repression". It was the only surviving example of a Gulag labor camp, the others having been abandoned or demolished by the Soviet government before the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The museum was a founding member of the International Coalition of Historic Sites of Conscience. and received an average 35,000 visitors a year. There were hopes that the museum might be incorporated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 2004, however, the World Monuments Fund included Perm 36 in its Watchlist of 100 Most Endangered Sites. Later various bodies of Perm Krai administration withdrew support and funding, forcing the museum to close in April 2014.