THROUGH THE RED GATE Documentary

Can you imagine life in a Russian prison camp under Joseph Stalin? Peter Bargen was just seven years old when he and his family narrowly escaped the Russian Gulag and an almost certain death. The rest of his relatives were not so fortunate. During Stalin's reign (1922-53), thousands of Mennonites, along with 45-60 million people perished through enforced exile, execution, famine, and resulting disease. Now, in a story that crosses continents and binds together generations, a rare and long forgotten cache of letters reveals the terrifying details of his family’s fate. This documentary was created by Ruth Derksen Siemens, a first-generation Russian Mennonite, instructor of Rhetoric and Writing at the University of British Columbia, a researcher and historian. Find out more here: http://www.gulagletters.ca