by George Kennan (Author), George Frost (Illustrator), Graeme Newman (Introduction)

SIBERIA AND THE EXILE SYSTEM — VOLUME TWO
By George Kennan
Extensively Illustrated
Designed, Modernized and Edited with an Introduction by Graeme R. Newman

The journey becomes an indictment.

In Volume One, George Kennan crossed the immense Siberian frontier, increasingly questioning the Russian Empire's system of exile and punishment. In Volume Two, those doubts disappear forever.

Travelling thousands of miles farther into Eastern Siberia, Kennan reaches the most feared destinations of Imperial Russia—the remote prisons, penal settlements, and infamous katorga mines of the Trans-Baikal. Here he encounters political prisoners, hardened convicts, prison officials, and ordinary Siberians whose lives have been shaped by one of history's harshest systems of punishment.

What he witnesses is both shocking and meticulously documented. Kennan examines overcrowded prisons, disease, forced labour, administrative exile without trial, brutal punishments, and the daily struggle for survival endured by men and women banished to the edge of the known world. Drawing upon official government records, personal interviews, and his own observations, he constructs a devastating portrait of a penal system that profoundly altered Western understanding of Tsarist Russia.

Yet Volume Two is more than an exposé. Kennan remains a gifted travel writer whose vivid descriptions of Siberia's mountains, forests, rivers, settlements, and extraordinary people transform this work into one of the greatest travel narratives ever written. The breathtaking beauty of the landscape stands in haunting contrast to the suffering concealed within it.

This new 2026 edition has been carefully designed and extensively edited for the modern reader while preserving Kennan's original voice and historical integrity. OCR errors have been corrected, typography modernized, and the narrative presented in a clear, readable format, while retaining the rich illustrations that accompanied the original publication.

More than a century after its first appearance, Siberia and the Exile System remains one of the most important eyewitness investigations ever published—a work of journalism whose influence reached far beyond Russia and helped expose a penal regime that much of the world preferred not to see.

Together, Volumes One and Two form one of the greatest works of investigative travel writing and prison history ever written—an unforgettable journey into the frozen heart of the Russian Empire.

Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2026. 284p.

by George Kennan (Author), George Frost (Illustrator), Graeme Newman (Introduction)

SIBERIA AND THE EXILE SYSTEM — VOLUME ONE
By George Kennan. Extensively Illustrated. Designed, Modernized and Edited with an Introduction by Graeme R. Newman

In 1885, American journalist and explorer George Kennan journeyed deep into the Russian Empire intending to investigate—and, in many respects, defend—the notorious Siberian exile system. What he discovered changed his mind completely.

Siberia and the Exile System became one of the nineteenth century’s most influential works of investigative journalism: a firsthand account of prisons, convict transports, political exile, arbitrary banishment, and life on the immense Siberian frontier. Kennan entered Russia initially skeptical of reports of government brutality. Eighteen months later, after visiting prisons, traveling with convicts, examining official records, and speaking privately with political exiles, he emerged as one of the system’s most formidable critics.

Volume One follows Kennan and artist George A. Frost from St. Petersburg across the Urals and into Siberia. Their journey takes them through the Tiumen forwarding prison, aboard a Siberian convict barge, across the vast Kirghis steppe, into the Altai, and through settlements populated by men and women banished by administrative order—sometimes without trial or even a formal criminal charge. It concludes with Kennan’s investigations in Tomsk and his increasingly disturbing encounters with the machinery of exile.

Yet this is far more than a catalogue of suffering. Kennan was an accomplished travel writer with an extraordinary eye for landscape and character. Siberian villages, endless roads, river journeys, frontier inns, officials, peasants, prisoners and revolutionaries emerge vividly from his narrative. Humor and adventure repeatedly interrupt the darkness, making the eventual revelations about imprisonment and exile all the more powerful.

Of particular importance is Kennan’s changing perspective. He began his investigation believing that Russia and its penal system had been unfairly represented and that many revolutionaries were simply dangerous fanatics. His own observations progressively undermined those assumptions. The result is the unusual spectacle of an investigator changing his conclusions because the evidence before him demanded it.

This new 2026 edition has been designed and extensively edited for the contemporary reader while preserving Kennan’s narrative voice and historical testimony. It is extensively illustrated, drawing the reader visually into the extraordinary landscapes, journeys, prisons, settlements and people Kennan encountered.

At once travel narrative, prison exposé, political history and eyewitness investigation, Siberia and the Exile Systemremains a disturbing examination of what happens when punishment is removed from public view and political authority acquires the power to make inconvenient people disappear.

Volume One begins the journey. Volume Two carries Kennan deeper into Eastern Siberia and toward the dreaded katorga mines of the Trans-Baikal.

Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2026. 284p.

By Terra Wiens  

  KEY FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS KEY FINDINGS ■ In 2023, more than 5,700 Hispanics were killed by guns. That year, 3,284 Hispanics died in gun homicides, 2,198 died in gun suicides, 63 died in unintentional shootings, and 202 died in other circumstances (including legal interventiona and undetermined intent). ■ More than 83,000 Hispanics were killed by guns between 2002 and 2023. During this period, 51,780 Hispanics died in gun homicides, 27,160 died in gun suicides, and 1,220 died in unintentional shootings. ■ Most Hispanic murder victims are killed with guns. In 2023, guns were used in more than three-quarters of the homicides where the victims were Hispanic. The latest data show that for homicides where the victim was Hispanic and a gun was used, 53.0 percent of these shootings involved a handgun. ■ The homicide victimization rate for Hispanics in the United States is higher than the homicide victimization rate for whites. The Hispanic homicide victimization rate in 2023 was 6.3 per 100,000. In comparison, the homicide victimization rate for whites was 2.9 per 100,000. ■ As a result of the limitations in current data collection, the total number of Hispanic victims is almost certainly higher than the reported numbers suggest. Government agencies often report data on race but not on ethnic origin. Recognizing the changing demographic landscape in the United States, it is clear that fully documenting such victimization is a crucial step in preventing it. RECOMMENDATIONS Governmental agencies that collect data on death and injury should obtain complete information on the ethnic origin of individuals in addition to their race. This will ensure complete and accurate data collection on Hispanic victims of lethal violence. ■ Individual-level ethnic origin information should be captured by all governmental agencies, regardless of department, and at all levels — local, state, and national — for all pertinent users and subjects of agency services. ■ Individual-level ethnic origin information should be self-reported and not based solely on a person’s surname or other measure. ■ All public access data and published reports issued by governmental agencies should include information on ethnic origin in addition to race. ■ The U.S. Department of Justice should issue periodic or special reports on Hispanic victimization. ■ States with a substantial proportion of Hispanic residents should issue periodic or special reports on Hispanic victimization and deaths due to all causes, including violence. Improved data collection is essential to fully understanding the scope of lethal firearms violence against Hispanics and helping develop effective measures to reduce such violence. At the same time additional efforts, both supporting current programs and activities as well as identifying new violence-reduction opportunities and approaches, should include the following: ■ Support for community-based violence intervention programs that are holistic and encourage participation by all stakeholders. ■ Educational efforts to better inform Hispanics of the risks associated with bringing a firearm into the home as measured by increased risk for homicide, suicide, and unintentional firearm deaths compared to how rarely guns are used in justifiable homicides. This is especially important in the face of current coordinated efforts by the gun industry targeting Hispanics as potential first-time gun buyers.b ■ Improved access to resources for victims and survivors of domestic violence. ■ Identification of anti-trafficking measures that could help interrupt the flow of illegal firearms into impacted communities   

By Theodore E. Trigylidas  , Patricia G. Schnitzer  , Heather K. Dykstra  , Gia M. Badolato  , Robert McCarter, Jr. , Monika K. Goyal and Richard Lichenstein 

We sought to compare risk factors contributing to unintentional, homicide, and suicide firearm deaths in children. We conducted a retrospective review of the National Fatality Review Case Reporting System. We included all firearm deaths among children aged 0–18 years occurring from 2007 to 2016. Descriptive analyses were performed on demographic, psychosocial, and firearm characteristics and their relationship to unintentional, homicide, and suicide deaths. Regression analyses were used to compare factors contributing to unintentional vs. intentional deaths. There were 6148 firearm deaths during the study period. The mean age was 14 years (SD ± 4 years), of which 81% were male and 41% were non-Hispanic White. The most common manners of death were homicide (57%), suicide (36%), and unintentional (7%). Over one-third of firearms were stored unlocked. Homicide deaths had a higher likelihood of occurring outside of the home setting (aOR 3.2, 95% CI 2.4–4.4) compared with unintentional deaths. Suicide deaths had a higher likelihood of occurring in homes with firearms that were stored locked (aOR 4.2, 95% CI 2.1–8.9) compared with unintentional deaths. Each manner of firearm death presents a unique set of psychosocial circumstances and challenges for preventive strategies. Unsafe firearm storage practices remain a central theme in contributing to the increased risk of youth firearm deaths. 

By Kaitlin Forsberg, Kameron J Sheats, Janet M Blair, Brenda L Nguyen, Esther Amoakohene, Carter J Betz, Bridget H Lyons

Problem/Condition: In 2022, approximately 24,000 persons died of homicide and approximately 49,000 persons died of suicide in the United States, according to the National Vital Statistics System. This report summarizes data from CDC’s National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) on suicides, homicides, legal intervention deaths, unintentional firearm injury deaths, and deaths of undetermined intent that occurred in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico in 2022. Results are reported by sex, age group, race and ethnicity, method of injury, type of location where the injury occurred, circumstances of injury, and other selected characteristics. In contrast to the 2021 NVDRS report, which collected data from a subset of states and included suicide data for persons aged ≥10 years, this report includes data from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, and includes suicide data for all ages.

Period Covered: 2022.

Description of System: NVDRS collects data from death certificates, coroner and medical examiner reports, and law enforcement reports. This report includes data collected for violent deaths and suicides that occurred in 2022. Data were collected from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. A total of 47 states had statewide data, three states had data from counties representing a subset of their population (32 California counties, representing 68% of its population; 32 Florida counties, representing 70% of its population; and 13 Texas counties, representing 63% of its population), and the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico had jurisdiction-wide data. NVDRS collates information for each death and links deaths that are related (e.g., multiple homicides, homicide followed by suicide, or multiple suicides) into a single incident.

Results: For 2022, NVDRS collected information on 72,127 fatal incidents involving 74,148 deaths that occurred in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. In addition, data were collected for 727 fatal incidents involving 809 deaths in Puerto Rico, which were analyzed separately. Of the 74,148 deaths that occurred in 50 states and the District of Columbia, the majority (60.6%) were suicides, followed by homicides (30.2%), deaths of undetermined intent (7.1%), legal intervention deaths (1.4%) (i.e., deaths caused by law enforcement and other persons with legal authority to use deadly force acting in the line of duty, excluding legal executions, without denoting the lawfulness or legality of the circumstances surrounding the death), and unintentional firearm injury deaths (<1.0%). Of the 809 deaths that occurred in Puerto Rico, 73.9% were homicides and 23.5% were suicides.