In 1947 David Dallin and Boris Nicolaevsky published their book Forced Labor in Soviet Russia. In this book they tell the horrific story of how 12,000 gulag prisoners perished on the SS Dzhurma after it became trapped in the pack ice near Ostrov Vrangelya on transit from Vladivostok to Amborachik.

However, the validity of this story has recently been questioned and this article endeavours to question why this story was circulated and what really happened.

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The spiritualist movement

In the early 1900s the public interest in the occult had considerably grown in its following since the first spark of attention in 1848 by the Hydesville incident in New York (Upton. History of Spiritualism.) Pseudo-mysticism was well-received among emerging middle and established upper class enthusiasts in Russia. It became regarded as a very stylish and upscale status symbol implying a degree of social bearing. Mediums and healers provided inspiration and beguilement for the cream of Russian society, jaded by and seeking divine liberation from the religious and social incoherence resultant from the industrial upheaval (Rosenthal. The Occult in Russian and Soviet Culture. 137.)

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