Perm 36 is about 10 km from the town Chusovoy, which is 100 km east of Perm. It was one of the infamous labour camps of the Gulag Archipelago where many dissidents were persecuted. Stalin ordered the camp built in 1946 for the detention of political prisoners, who were confined to small freezing sheds. Perm 36 closed in 1987 and the camp now has a memorial to the victims of the Gulag system and a museum and research centre.

  A day tour from Perm to the only museum dedicated to Soviet political repression actually located in a former Gulag camp - Perm-36. During the Soviet era many freethinkers, including writers, scientists and human rights activities, who were deemed a danger to the regime, were imprisoned here.

The Perm-36 camp was opened in 1946 and remained in use much longer than all other camps – it was only closed in 1988. Up until its closure, Perm-36 had two sections: the special security section and the strict security section.

  Up until the 1970s the camp was primarily used for law enforcers found guilty of crimes. Only later did it become a camp for dissidents and political prisoners. Its location outside the village of Kuchino was especially chosen for a camp of this category. It ensured full isolation from the outside world and made any attempt at escape virtually impossible. In documents the camp was referred to by the abbreviation VS-389/36 and so it gained its more common name of Perm-36, after the closest major city and the last two digits of its abbreviation.

  Not ever prisoner survived until their release date. For example, the famous Ukrainian poet and human rights activist Vasyl Stus died here in 1985.