Gulag Report

Camps in the area of Primorsky Kray

Air Force Hospital 404

While training for parachute duties in 1951, a witness broke his leg and was sent to an Air Force Hospital 404 hospital, number 404, in the small town of Staraya Sysoyovka, Primorsky Kray, between Arsenyev and Novosysoyevka. Due to lack of space, he was given a bed on the second floor in the corridor next to a room with four American patients. One was able to walk, the second was in traction and the third was burned. He clearly remembered the face of one of the Americans who was a blond, no younger than 25 years of age. He thought the blond person was the pilot. The witness was able to talk to and see the patients, as well as listen to their dialogue during questioning. He stated that patient number one was between 22 and 27 years of age, had light colored hair, was thin, had blue eyes, and bent over with a visible limp. His height was 1.68-1.7 meters. Patient one said he was from Cleveland and had two children. The witness said patient two and three appeared older. He had no other description, other than to say that they were from San Francisco, Chicago, and Los Angeles, He could not say which patient was from which city.

Vanino Bay

In 1947, a Ukrainian witness from Gribenko was moved from Lvov to the Vanino Bay transitional prison in the Soviet Far East where he remained for about two years, 1948-49, Heclaimed that there were numerous American prisoners there, awaiting movement to other prisons. He believed the Americans were from WWII. The witness described the layout of the Vanino Bay transitional prison as consisting of 15 separate zones, each zone containing 00-7000 prisoners, and that the Americans were housed in zone #2. He said all prisoners were moved to Kolyma by the ships: 'Felix Dzerzhinski," "Nagin," Dyurma," and 'Dal'stroi.' He said that whenever these ships passed by Hokkaido, the crew put on civilian attire so the Japanese would not know they were prison ships.

This is a release of the complete Gulag Study, prepared by The Joint Commission Support Directorate of the U.S. Russian Joint Commission in January 2001.