The Long Bridge

Urszula Muskus (1903-1972) spent eighteen years as a prisoner in the Gulag Archipelago. Gradually travelling eastwards on long train journeys into Siberia she was first separated from her husband and later from her two children. Before being finally freed she entered into a state of ‘eternal exile’ at Krasnoyarsk, the Long Bridge of the title. Her book is rich in stories of other prisoners, guards, work on the steppe, bandit molls, escapees and their fate. In the course of these travels she learned the fate of those who had been left behind including her husband. Her story has been translated and pieced together from the many fragments she left behind. It comes from a generous spirit who looked on the world with a uniquely accurate and unselfpitying eye. Urszula’s is a unique voice speaking of terrible times that are still close to our own.