Belbaltlag (Russian names: Белбалтлаг, БелБалтлаг, ББЛ, Беломорско-Балтийский ИТЛ) was the Soviet Gulag forced labor camp whose main purpose was manning the construction of the White Sea–Baltic Canal. It was established on November 16, 1931 from the Solovki prison camp and closed on February 26, 1941. Most of the time its headquarters were in Medvezhyegorsk. The number of inmates varied between about 58,000 and 99,000. After the construction of canal was finished the inmates were tasked with logging, various other constructions, fishing and manufacturing of various consumer foods.[1]
