ABSTRACT
The lived experience of penal journeys to exile in late Imperial Russia is the focus of this chapter, which draws on archival research undertaken in the National Archive of the Republic of Sakha and the State Archive of Irkutsk region, alongside published memoir materials. It argues that movement was an integral part of the exile experience and formed part of a penal arc from imprisonment, through travel, to exile. The chapter explores three facets of this narrative. First, the place of stasis and incarceration in the process of movement is considered. Second, the relationships and networks that developed among prisoners are explored, as these relationships provided a complex and formative social space for many exiles. Finally, the relationship between state agents and prisoner experience is evaluated, to draw out the ways in which individual state employees defined prisoner experience and the extent to which prisoner suffering was an incidental or an intended outcome of State policies. The representations and experiences of women prisoners and voluntary followers are interrogated within this discussion.
