Authors

Discussion

The precise estimation of the number of victims of Stalinism is widely debated, in part due to the need to identify the number of ‘repeaters’. Most declassified statistics describe the numbers of annual arrests or convictions, making it challenging to establish totals due to potential duplications. Some researchers have estimated that 10-15% of Gulag prisoners were re-arrested (Khlevniuk, 2022). However, these estimations are based on selected judicial statistical data that include both political and ordinary criminals. Utilising digital methods and regional sources, this paper will propose a new estimate of the minimum number of individuals arrested two or more times for ‘political’ crimes, as well as discuss some of the typical stories of repeaters.