Kengir

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Kengir (Kazakh: Кеңгір, Keñgır) is a village in central Kazakhstan. During the Soviet era, a prison labor camp of Steplag division of Gulag in Kazakhstan was set up adjacent to it. The camp, which was situated near the central-Kazakhstan city of Dzhezkazgan, near the Kara-Kengir River, and held approximately 5,200[1] prisoners, was notable for the prisoner uprising that took place there in the summer of 1954. After the camp was closed, a big automotive depot was placed there.

The Kengir uprising was a prisoner uprising that took place in the Soviet prison labor camp Kengir in May and June 1954. Its duration and intensity distinguished it from other Gulag uprisings in the same period.

After the murder of some of their fellow prisoners by guards, Kengir inmates launched a rebellion and proceeded to seize the entire camp compound, holding it for weeks and creating a period of freedom for themselves unique in the history of the Gulag.