The White Sea Canal, also known as the Belomorkanal, was built between September 1931 and August 1933. This massive engineering project involved the manual digging of 227 kilometers of water channel, primarily using the forced labor of prisoners from the Goulag, a system of labor camps in the Soviet Union. At its height, about 126,000 prisoners were working on the canal. The goal was to link the White Sea with the Baltic Sea, improving transportation and showcasing the Soviet Union’s industrial strength in the north. The project was ordered directly by Joseph Stalin and was part of the first Five-Year Plan, a series of economic initiatives aimed at rapidly industrializing the Soviet Union. The White Sea Canal was one of the first major projects to use Goulag prisoners on a large scale, marking a significant shift in the use of forced labor. The Soviet government took pride in the project, even arranging a visit for 120 writers and artists, including notable figures like Maxim Gorky and Alexei Tolstoy. Their experiences were later compiled into a 600-page book about the canal. Despite its length, the canal was not suitable for the large ships it was intended to carry. Its depth was only 3.60 meters, which was too shallow for commercial or military vessels. This was due to the pressure to complete the project quickly, as Stalin prioritized speed over engineering quality. The human cost of the project remains uncertain, with estimates of prisoner deaths ranging between 25,000 and 30,000. During World War II, the canal suffered damage and was partially destroyed. It was later restored, and by 1946, limited navigation resumed. Today, only small boats and river barges use the canal, far from the large ships it was originally designed for. The White Sea Canal has also left an unusual legacy in Russian culture. A cigarette brand named after the canal has remained popular for decades, even as the canal itself has faded from active maritime use. The name is more commonly seen on cigarette packs than on modern Russian waterways.