Un bagne russe: l'île de Sakhaline

by Paul Labbé

FR·~4 hours·21 chapters

Chapters

21 total

UN BAGNE RUSSE

0:02

PAUL LABBÉ - UN BAGNE RUSSE - L'ILE DE SAKHALINE - OUVRAGE ILLUSTRÉ DE 51 GRAVURES

0:05

LIBRAIRIE HACHETTE ET Cie PARIS, 79, BOULEVARD SAINT-GERMAIN 1903 - Droits de traduction et de reproduction réservés.

0:15

UN BAGNE RUSSE

0:01

CHAPITRE I Description et situation de l'île.—Généralités. Arrivée à Alexandrovsk.

26:19

CHAPITRE II Séjour à Alexandrovsk.—Le transport des condamnés d'Odessa à Sakhaline.—Bagnes et hôpitaux.

14:50

CHAPITRE III La vie des forçats emprisonnés.—Prison d'amélioration.—Peines et châtiments.—Malversations.

25:01

CHAPITRE IV Les villages.—La vie des forçats-colons.—Femmes et familles de forçats.

18:00

CHAPITRE V Les richesses de l'île.—Les mines.—Visite à un charbonnage.—Un type de forçat.

12:06

CHAPITRE VI La question des pêcheries.—Les pêcheries japonaises.—Leurs difficultés avec la Russie.—L'engrais et les conserves de harengs.—La faune marine de Sakhaline.

18:42

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Description

The opening pages draw you onto the rugged coast of Sakhalin, a remote island where ice can drift into June and winters plunge to minus thirty degrees. Through vivid geographic detail the author sketches a landscape of endless fog, treacherous straits and towering cliffs, setting the stage for a penal settlement that feels both isolated and unforgiving.

Within this harsh environment, thousands of convicts are ferried from Odessa to the bleak port of Alexandrovsk, their lives intertwined with the island’s native peoples and the austere military regime that governs them. The narrative paints a picture of daily survival—snow‑laden villages, cramped prison districts, and the ever‑present threat of the frozen sea—while hinting at the human stories that emerge amid such extreme conditions.

Details

Language

Duration

~4 hours (243K characters)

Release date

May 12, 2026

Rights

Public domain in the USA.

Source

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/78671

Subjects

Sakhalin (Sakhalinskaia oblastʹ, Russia)DK

About the author

Paul Labbé

1867–1943

A pioneering French linguist, ethnologist, and travel writer, he brought the peoples and landscapes of Russia and Siberia to a wider European audience. His vivid accounts combine firsthand exploration with cultural observation, making them compelling windows onto Central and East Asia at the turn of the twentieth century.

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