One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich Study Guide

Glossary of Terms

"Special" camps

camps for political crimes

Bendera

general in the Soviet army who betrayed his country during WWII

CED

Culture and Education Department

Chetezes

galoshes made of scraps of motor tires, after the Cheliabinsk tractor works

GULAG

Central Camp Administration, used also to mean camps in general

Kolkhoz

Communal farm

Kulak

a landed peasant in Czarist Russia

Lett

Latvian

Magara

Chinese oatmeal, basically cooked yellow grasses

Old Whiskers

Stalin

PPD

Production Planning Department

Taiga

the frozen Siberian woods

Valenki

knee length felt boots for winter wear

Vechorka

Slang for Vecheruyaya Moskva, an evening newspaper

Volk

wolf, the root of Volkovoi's name

Zek

abbreviation of Russian for prisoner