Political and church convicts were kept there. Only 1 of 4 was a criminal. The administration of the camp was based in Svirstroy (Svir Construction Directorate) on the Svir River. The convicted inmates worked in mines extracting mica, stone and clay. Sampson Sievers – hieromonk (born of English mother) of Saint Petersburg's Alexander Nevsky Lavra was imprisoned and tortured in this camp (from 1932, what is witnessed by archival documents and personal testimonies), though survived. Among other inmates who were imprisoned or executed in SvirLAG were:   Archival statistics tells that only in one year of 1932 1,569 died or were executed in Svirlag and in 1935 3,887 inmates more died or were killed in Svirlag, this makes total of 5,456 victims just in two years of 1932 and 1935.