1The White Sea
Approaching Solovetsky Island
May 1906
The cold sea winds bit into Stephen Morrison’s face as the prison boat headed eastward across Onega Bay in the White Sea. Dead ahead, he could barely see their destination — Solovetsky Island. The desolate island was the home of the monastery that served as a labor camp for convicted criminals and political enemies of the Tsar. Morrison felt glad to be finally going there, after having spent several months in the port city of Kem, which served as the debarkation point for the island prison. He had been imprisoned in a detention prison used mostly for prisoners bound for Solovetsky Island. “Enjoy your stay here this winter,” his jailers taunted him. “The bay is basically impassable from October until May due to ice and treacherous sea
