The web exhibit titled “Gulag: Many Days, Many Lives” immediately stood out to me as a project I would like to draw inspiration from. The site itself acts both as an archive of primary sources and as an exhibit for the personal experiences of a select few Soviet citizens who were forced to endure the hardships of the Soviet penal labor system. The site also offers a virtual tour of the “Perm 36” facility, a restored Gulag site that now acts as a museum.
Content: The site itself feels very clean and up to date. According to the “about me” section, the project was worked on from 2004-2014, making the information relatively recent. The interpretive point of view is provided in the point of view of the inmates who were held there. The content is conveyed in a very concise manner, through both an exhibit that shows the fates of several inmates as well as an archive where Gulag related artifacts are cataloged and tagged.
Design: The site is easy to access, with a bar across the top with links to all of the different pages on the site. The structure of the site is logically laid out, with different options for locating specific information nested within a number of broad categories. The site is accessible on mobile as well, and the layout is unaltered by the change in platform.
Audience: The site is directed towards both historians and researchers as well as members of the general public. Members of the public have the ability to learn the basics about the Gulag system, while researchers have the ability to search for primary sources.
Digital Media: The site uses both videos and images to exhibit life in the Gulag. Of particular note is the Perm 36 virtual tour that allows visitors to the site to tour a restored Soviet-era penal labor camp. This is unique to the digital environment.
Creators:
