About the Author

Yuri Feynberg was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. He is the son of a medical doctor who worked in a remote Siberian hard labor camp. Living among Stalin’s political prisoners, hardened criminals, and prison guards exposed the young Yuri to the Soviet Penal System commonly known as the GULAG. This unique childhood experience instilled in Yuri a remarkable personality and character that helped him to do great in the Soviet Special Forces, survive prosecution, and the devastatingly traumatic tragedies of the Second World War and its aftermath.

Since then, Yuri Feynberg has dedicated his life to helping young people with developmental disabilities. After earning his MA in Special Education and Speech Pathology in St. Petersburg Pedagogical University, he decided to teach special education and speech therapy to students with developmental disabilities in a residential school and later became its principal. Upon moving to America, he got his Doctoral Degree in Public Administration and in 1991, Dr. Yuri C. Feynberg founded the Life Adjustment Center. In May of 2017, Yuri finally published his masterpiece The Child of Gulag. Currently, Dr. Yuri C. Feynberg resides in fort Lee, New Jersey. He lives with his wife and daughter.

Synopsis of the  Book

The Child of Gulag is an autobiographical book written by Dr. Yuri C. Feynberg. It is based on the life of the author and the childhood he spent growing up behind the barbed wire fence where Stalin’s political prisoners, critics, and other enemies of the state are being imprisoned. Yuri’s mother is a medical doctor in a hard labor camp located in remote Siberia. As a child surrounded by these hardened criminals and political inmates, Yuri had an interesting childhood. This experience allowed him to grow into a firm and principled individual. The Book of Gulag is not only a recording of history but also a closer look of the Soviet Penal System through the eyes of an innocent child. That premise alone has earn The Child of Gulag our attention and its writer, as our Author of the Week.