A gulag fence in Perm
A gulag is a forced labor camp worked by prisoners, who include criminals and political dissidents. The gulag was created by the Soviet Union's GULAG agency, which used the gulags for political repression and sent millions to their deaths in remote locations in gulags. Joseph Stalin saw gulags be used extensively under his rule from the 1930s to 1950s, sending Great Purge prisoners and other undesirables to gulags to be put away for life without a chance of escape. Soviet-influenced North Korea later used gulags in its political system, sending prisoners to force labor camps in the north of the country; thousands of forced labor camps can also be found in China. Norilsk, Vorkuta, and Magadan were the most infamous Soviet gulags.