3-005-681 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Group of convicts ready to embark on a prison barge, Tiumin [ie, Tiumen], between 1885 and 1886. A group of convicts waiting to depart from a Tiumen forwarding prison to a prison barge. Convicts destined for Eastern Siberia were transported from Tiumen to Tomsk and other destinations on prison barges which plied the Ob River and its tributaries. The trip took from seven to ten days. Three prison barges worked the Ob River network, each making, on average, six trips during the navigation season from May to October, and each carrying approximately 586 convicts. The actual number of convicts on a barge varied, sometimes nearing 800 and making the trip unbearable.