Valaam Island (Lake Ladoga) is the site of one of the most inhuman experiments in the formation of a human "factory". Disabled people from large cities of the European part of the USSR were brought here. A legless veteran who asks for alms from a bakery did not bother anyone in Muhosransk, but was unacceptable in Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev, Odessa, Kharkov, Novosibirsk.
They were taken to railway stations, loaded, their passports and soldier's books were taken away and sent to “sanatoriums” as prisoners.
The old monastery buildings were not suitable for habitation. Some buildings lacked roofs, and electricity was brought here only a few years later. Many died in the first months of their stay on the island. The food was meager. Patients without limbs were taken out into the yard to breathe fresh air, put in baskets and lifted up trees with the help of ropes. Sometimes they were "forgotten" to take off and they died of hypothermia after spending the night in the frosty, fresh air. Suicide cases were frequent.
Well what can I say, but on the world stage, the facade of the USSR sparkled with splendor and beauty
The figure shows the former infantryman Alexander Ambarov, who defended the besieged Leningrad. Twice during the fierce bombings, he was buried alive. Having healed, he again went into battle. He ended his days exiled and forgotten alive on the island of Valaam. Author: Kazimir Rudewich