In the Claws of the GPU

In the Claws of the GPU (Belarusian: У капцюрох ГПУ, romanized: U kapciuroch HPU; Polish: Siedem lat w szponach GPU) is an early book-length eyewitness account of the Soviet Gulag. It was written by Francišak Aljachnovič, a Belarusian playwright, nationalist, and citizen of the Second Polish Republic (in Polish documents, his name is spelled Franciszek Olechnowicz). After his release from Gulag and return to Poland in 1933, Aljachnovič immediately wrote the book in three language versions, namely, in Belarusian, Polish, and Russian. In 1934 the Polish version was serialized in the daily Słowo, published in Wilno. In 1934-1935 the Russian-language version (in pre-1917 orthography) was serialized in the White émigré newspapers Vozrozhdenie in Paris, and in Nash put' in Harbin, Manchukuo.