From the Gulag to Ukraine: The Kyiv Independent exposes Russia’s culture of torture in new documentary
The Kyiv Independent’s War Crimes Investigations Unit will present a new documentary, “Torture Culture,” exposing the systematic torture of Ukrainian civilians in Russian captivity and highlighting Russia’s use of torture throughout history.
The film is available to watch here.
Through a series of interviews with survivors, alongside an examination of Russian torture practices across different historical periods and regions, including the Soviet Gulag system, Western Ukraine under Soviet occupation in 1939–1941, and Russia’s wars in Chechnya, the investigators reconstruct a system of violence that links past atrocities to Russia’s current war against Ukraine. One of the film’s contributors is a Chechen survivor of Russian detention, whose testimony underscores the persistence of these practices across generations.
“It’s, quite possibly, our War Crimes Investigations Unit’s darkest documentary. It’s full of testimonies that are almost physically hard to listen to. But it was important to us to explain the full truth behind those short news reports about Ukrainian prisoners: ‘in Russian captivity, they were tortured.’ To fill such sentences with the horrific reality,” says Danylo Morkyk, the author of the film.
Originally conceived as an effort to record as many victim testimonies as possible in detail with the goal of exposing Russian war crimes, the investigation led the War Crimes Investigations Unit to the discovery that torture is not just a tool of war but a cultural phenomenon. “Torture Culture” examines why these practices endure, how they are reproduced within the Russian penitentiary system, and what broader purpose torture serves.
The documentary features Ukrainian civilians from different regions and backgrounds — including government officials, a teacher, and a priest — who were detained at different times, held in various locations in occupied Ukrainian territories and in Russia itself, and subjected to similar patterns of abuse. Despite the differences in their experiences, their testimonies point to the same conclusion: torture in Russian captivity is systematic and widespread.
By combining firsthand survivor accounts with archival research, historical documents, expert commentary, and visual symbolism — including a string quartet performing music by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, often seen as emblematic of Russian high culture — “Torture Culture” confronts the contradiction between Russia’s cultural image and the brutality ingrained in its state practices.
“This documentary isn’t only about the sufferings of certain people,” Danylo says, “It’s about a system. It shows how torture really is a part of Russian culture. And the similarities between the testimonies we’ve gathered for this documentary and those we found in historical documents from decades ago are truly striking.”
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The team behind the film:
Investigative Reporter and Lead Producer: Danylo Mokryk
Film Director: Maksym Yakobchuk
Video Editor: Dmytro Chaika
Cinematographers: Oleh Halaidych, Andriy Roliuk, Kristian Alexander Gjørven Lundby
Researcher: Myroslava Chaiun
Executive Producer: Anastasiia Mozghova
Line Producer: Dmytro Tsapro
Head of War Crimes Investigations Unit: Yevheniia Motorevska
Editor-in-Chief of the Kyiv Independent: Olga Rudenko
