S. A. (Sozerko Artaganovich) Malʹsagov

Born in the North Caucasus, Sozerko Artagovich Malʹsagov is generally identified in major reference sources as an Ingush officer of the Imperial Russian Army. After the Russian Revolution and Civil War, he was imprisoned in the Solovki camp complex in the far north, a place that later became infamous in the history of the Gulag.

Malʹsagov became known above all for his memoir An Island Hell: A Soviet Prison in the Far North, published in the 1920s after his escape. The book is valued as an early eyewitness account of Soviet prison-camp life, describing harsh conditions, violence, and the daily struggle to survive.

Some catalog records list his dates as 1893–1976, while widely used biographical references give 1895–1976, so his birth year is not completely consistent across sources. What is clear is that his writing remains important for readers interested in early Soviet history, political imprisonment, and firsthand survival narratives.