The Gulag (Russian: ГУЛАГ, IPA: ( listen); acronym of Главное Управление Лагерей, Glavnoye Upravleniye Lagerej, Main Camps' Administration or Chief Administration of [Corrective Labor] Camps) was the government agency in charge the Soviet forced labor camp system which reached its peak during Joseph Stalin's rule from the 1930s to the 1950s.