This is a map of Russia. Shalamov was born and raised in Vologda which is about 600 miles northeast of Moscow.

The Map below is a map of Asiatic Russia which shows the "corrective labor camps" known in 1947; it is probably not exhaustive. The Dalstroy region was where the Kolyma camps were located. The Kolyma region is the shaded area in the upper right hand corner. Shalamov spent 17 years in Kolyma.

Solovki,the Island where Shalamov spent his first sentence, is pictured in the center of this map.