Adventure Travel Destination: Gulag Prison Camp Perm-36

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The Gulag penal system goes down in history as the most inhumane and barbaric means ever utilized by the Russian authorities to punish Soviet criminals and dissidents. Millions of hopeless souls were transported across the desolate Siberian Hinterland and deposited in crudely constructed work camps spread across the frozen permafrost, never to heard from again. None was more infamous or inspired more terror in the proletariat than Gulag Prison Camp Perm-36.

Reminiscent of Nazi concentration camps, Perm-36 was the harshest work camp the Soviet officials could devise, specifically designed to house formidable political dissidents, outspoken writers, abstract artists and anyone else who was considered an immediate threat to the communist ideals touted by the Russian government. Once considered a death sentence to be sent there, it is now a carefully preserved memorial and reminder to the world of what governments are capable of when faced with open opposition to their regime.

HISTORY

World War II was finished and Stalin was now faced with the daunting task of reconstruction. Severe damage was inflicted on Russian cities along the Western border (the Nazi’s referred to this as the Eastern Front during the war) and were in dire need of repair. Figuring he could kill two birds with one stone, Stalin ordered the construction of logging camps around the Perm region, approximately 1,400 km due East of Moscow, on the border of the Siberian Hinterland. Here, 150,000 undesirables were dispersed throughout one hundred fifty work camps and assigned the task of providing much-needed lumber for Western cities.

Known officially as ITK-6 camp, the notorious Perm-36 was quickly filled with one thousand of the “worst of the worst” offenders. The inmates were divided into four inhospitable sleeping barracks, where they were allowed seven hours sleep every night, the time spent freezing under thin blankets as arctic winds blasted through wide cracks in the wooden walls. Along with the barracks, the camp also had a headquarters building, a rudimentary hospital and a horrific punishment block, where dissidents were sent if the authorities felt that maybe they were enjoying their winter vacation a bit too much.

The reformatory camp had the most stringent work schedule of any of the Perm work camps. Prisoners were awakened each morning at six a.m. sharp, given a meager breakfast and then promptly marched an hour and a half to the forest to begin logging. There they were forced to cut down massive aspen and oak trees with hand saws and then cart the timber to the Chusovaya and Kama rivers, which floated the timber Southwest to the Volga. After nine hours of non-stop labor, the dissidents were marched back to camp, given dinner and then sent to the barracks. Rinse and repeat. It is unclear if this rigorous schedule actually helped reform anyone, as a great majority ended up dead and the remainder were permanently damaged both mentally and physically.

The Soviet government, on the other hand, was quite pleased with the results. Feeling they were really on to something here, they formally named Perm-36 the official residence of the worst Soviet political prisoners and, in 1972, converted the Gulag into a fully functioning, modernized prison camp. Enemies of the state continued to be sent here to work and rot away until 1987, when it was finally closed.

The most famous dissident to be sentenced to the Gulag prison system was writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn. After his arrest for writing critical comments about Joseph Stalin, he was sentenced to eight years of hard labor. This terrible experience formed the foundation for his critically acclaimed works One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich and The Gulag Archipelago, his searing account of Soviet labor camps.

THE AREA TODAY

Soon after Perestroika in the 1980’s, the labor camps were systematically dismantled and the door quietly shut on this dark period in Russian history. The one remaining camp is Perm-36, chosen for preservation by human rights activists in the former Soviet Union because of it’s particularly diabolical nature. The site is now the Memorial Center Museum for the History of Political Repression, with all the original fences and buildings intact. Frozen in time, it is a vivid reminder of what lengths governments will go to repress the human spirit.

Ironically, because of the Russian government’s practice of sending their best and brightest writers and artists to reside in the work camps, the nearby city of Perm has become a mecca for Soviet artists. Along with the prisoners, several theatrical companies also moved to the area during World War II to escape Soviet repression. This influx of creative individuals has turned Perm into a major center for the arts, hosting museums and galleries that rival those found in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

TRAVEL INFORMATION

You will need to book and international flight to either Moscow, Russia (DME) or to Nizhniy Novgorod, Russia (GOJ). From there, you will take a ninety minute flight to Bolshoye Savino Airport, located in Perm, Russia (PEE).

Car travel is the most expedient means of making your way to Perm-36. You can rent a car right at the Perm airport upon your flight arrival. Perm hosts modern hotel chains (such as the Hilton) for a comfortable stay in between your daily touring excursions. The Memorial Center Museum for the History of Political Repression is open every day from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and closed Mondays.

After your travels, I would enjoy hearing about your experiences, so feel free to contact me via the website below and send me and email.

Wearable Technology and Devices Gain Ground in Home Healthcare

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Patients and healthcare providers across the globe have come to the realization that depending solely on hospital systems will no longer be a viable option. Industry experts are of the opinion that ongoing advances in home healthcare devices and services will help alleviate the current pressure on the global healthcare system.

Technology has proven to be extremely critical to home healthcare. Current and upcoming advances in home healthcare technologies are not only designed for effective disease control but also encourage and enable individuals to live independently.

Technological interventions were complex and expensive in the past. However, growing need and demand for convenient and effective remote patient monitoring, development of new and innovative technologies, and availability of sufficient funding have led to increased accessibility to low-cost technologies and devices.

The new and affordable in-home gadgets are not just popular among geriatrics looking to age at home. The customer base has rapidly expanded to include new patient groups, such as those suffering from chronic illnesses, children, and diabetics. This is sure to pave the way for a brighter future for both patients and healthcare providers.

Growing Use of Biosensors to Monitor Geriatric Health

When it comes to home healthcare for the geriatric, there are several innovative technologies and gadgets that have been seamlessly integrated into the assisted living or senior living industry, or in what is more broadly referred to as geriatric care services. Speaking from a strictly medical perspective, recent technologies for monitoring the health of senior citizens include blood pressure monitoring devices, oxygen therapy devices, patient temperature management devices, and cardiac monitoring and cardiac rhythm management (CRM) devices.

An article by NBC News sheds light on the growing adoption of sensor technology in the U.S., especially for senior living. Allowing for improved estimation of a patient or individual’s metabolic state at a remote location, biosensors enable constant monitoring of those seniors who suffer from a number of different ailments but choose to live independently, out of hospitals and nursing homes. The NBC article discusses the use of such sophisticated sensors to track an elderly couple’s walking speed, heart rates, and even sleep patterns. This unobtrusive technology also sends alerts in case of emergencies, allowing timely intervention of family members or caregivers. Like several medical device companies, research organizations, and medical universities, ElderTech, Missouri, has been studying the significance of environmentally-embedded in-home sensor networks and their relevance in detecting health changes in older adults.

Development of Portable Digital Devices to Remotely Track Heart Conditions

As the medical devices industry undergoes a tectonic shift with the advent of telemedicine, the field of cardiology has also felt its ensuing benefits. Soaring incidence of cardiovascular disorders and the subsequent need for constant monitoring of outpatients have resulted in demand for cardiac monitoring and cardiac rhythm management (CRM). Home healthcare is a leading end user of these devices, with demand for ECG and cardiac monitors, Holter monitors, event monitors, and ILR (implantable loop recorder) continuously rising.

Interviewing the founders of Eko Devices, The New York Times talks about growing competition in the telemedicine business. Eko is one of the many cardiovascular care companies that has been capitalizing on the home healthcare industry.

In a recent development, the company developed a digital stethoscope specifically catering to cardiac patients at home. This innovative palm-sized device, called DUO, has the potential to alter the way heart patients are monitored. Combining electrocardiogram or EKG and electronic stethoscope in just one device, DUO provides unprecedented insight into cardiac functions. This includes tracking and quickly reviewing heart rhythms and sounds to enable advanced bedside analysis and, if required, remote care.

Need for Constant Glucose Monitoring Driving Demand for Diabetes Devices

With medical devices becoming increasingly interconnected thanks to rising penetration of the Internet, growing use of smartphones and a slew of other medical devices, and expanding hospital networks, detecting and managing diabetes at home has become not only convenient but rather effective. Today, there are a wide range of diabetes devices available, promising quick and accurate results. User-friendly designs of most devices and increasing awareness levels among the diabetic population across the globe has resulted in a rather massive market for self-monitoring devices to be used in home settings.

A recent research article sponsored and reviewed by Avantes BV – a prominent innovator in the development and application of miniature spectrometers, focuses on the need for non-invasive diabetes diagnosis and monitoring. In order to detect and treat diabetes before it gets out of hand, constant glucose monitoring and maintenance is crucial, and for the longest time, existing diagnostic standards and therapies were immensely invasive. Moreover, managing this disease out of hospital settings was extremely difficult. However, advanced medical sensing technologies have enabled easy and non-invasive blood glucose monitoring and diabetes testing. Latest innovations have also ensured convenient and user-friendly insulin self-administration devices.

Wearable technology has been one of the most prominent innovations to benefit and empower diabetics around the world. These devices have been allowing diabetics to take charge of their own health outside the doctor’s clinic and effectively manage the condition. Smartwatches, interestingly, have shown immense potential to enable needle-less glucose monitoring with time. Apple Inc. is reportedly working on developing sensors for monitoring of blood sugar levels, an advancement that could turn devices such as the Apple Watch into a means of monitoring important vitals. The aim is to develop sensors that can non-invasively and regularly monitor blood sugar levels to help diabetics treat the condition from the comfort of their homes.

Conclusion

An article in The New York Times recently shed light on the shrinking community of home health aides or personal care attendants in the U.S. According to Paul Osterman of the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, if the number of workers in this field of home healthcare continues to fall, the country will be faced with a shortage of around 350,000 paid care providers by 2040. This alarming fact makes the development of advanced remote patient monitoring devices even more crucial.

Keeping this need in mind, companies are looking to devise technologies that will, in a way, replace human service providers with digital home healthcare assistants. To put this into perspective, home health aides are now testing Amazon’s Echo platform as a home healthcare assistant. Researchers hope that the companion online app will be increasingly responsive to clients’ needs, keep family caregivers in the loop at all times, and effectively streamline alerts, reminders, and functions.

This opportunity is sure to capture the interest of tech giants such as Google, Apple, and Amazon, giving them an opportunity to emerge as trailblazers in home healthcare.

Wedding Photography And Videography

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When planning your Wedding there is so much to think about. Thinking and planning for the Wedding with things like the food, the place to have the Wedding and the place to have the Reception, the decorations, the people to invite, and all the little details in between. So much energy and effort is put into planning a Wedding and then, all at once, the Wedding day is upon you, now what? Get married, yes, but how do you make sure that this wonderful carefully thought out and planned out day is remembered forever?

That’s where Videography and Photography come in. First, with Photography, which is something that most people are familiar with. Photography has been around for a very long time. Making sure that you have not just a Photographer, but a Photographer that has a style that you love and that you know will capture the beautify from this day is very important. Photographs last forever and because of that you want to make sure that your Photographs that will be seen for generations to come is pictures of things you want to remember for generations to come.

Second, Videography, which is the newest thing in the Wedding industry. At first it was something that all the stars, famous and rich people had at their Wedding because, mostly, they could afford it when it was the newest thing. Well now everyone can have a Professional Videographer at their Wedding. You just need to know where to look. Many computer programs have made it possible for not just Hollywood filmmakers but for normal people to make awesome Wedding Videos/Videography of Weddings. This is an advantage to those getting married. Although Wedding Videography is fairly new still, which makes a greater demand for Videographers, the cost is pretty decent from what it used to be.

So, why is Videography so important? Well, Videography has many important factors as Photography has. Photography is important for the fact that you can print out a picture and hang in on the wall. You can put the pictures in a book and look at it whenever you want. That is all very important. With Videography however, instead of looking at a book of pictures, you watch a DVD. Photography can only capture the still shots of the event, but Videography; well… it can capture the emotion.

With Wedding Videography you can capture laughing, toasts, vows, speaking, dancing in motion, etc. It’s about all those small thing and those things in motion that Videography has over Photography. Videography keeps a moment in time by not holding it still, but by preserving a time in motion.

After the Wedding Videographer at your Wedding finishes filming, they take the camcorders footage to their computer and they cinematically stylize it to create and emotion recount of their Wedding Day and their memories.

So whether it is a simple bare foot beach style Wedding, or a glamorous event at the Ritz, make sure that your precious memories are never forgotten. Live like the stars and have amazing professional Wedding Videographers and Photographers at your Wedding.