Norilsk, Russia Norilsk Golgotha, a memorial to Gulag prisoners.

The origins and development of the city of Norilsk, the northernmost city in Siberia and a major center of heavy metal extraction, depended largely on the forced labor of prisoners in the Norilsk Correctional Labor Camp, which was better known by its acronym, Norillag.

During the more than 20 years of its existence, tens of thousands served as forced labor at Norillag. Precise figures of the human loss are difficult to determine, and research continues. Some records indicate that during the existence of Norillag, over 16,000 prisoners died, almost half during the World War II years, when malnutrition was particularly severe and diseases took a devastating toll.

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