Gulag/Talk

Gulag is an English language word. It's origins as a Russian acronym are of interest, but now it is simply an English language word. - Tim

Well, that's true, but the English usage is inprecise (as far as I understand, it is used as a countable noun for "a concentration camp", while GULAG is the name of a system. So a gulag is not GULAG - these are 2 different things, and I think that they should be differentiated. --Uriyan

I think 'gulag' is used either to refer specifically to the Soviet camp system, or is used metaphorically in reference to some other camp system, in order to emphasize a similarity with the Soviet system. So I don't think there is any need for two articles, since the word and the acronym have the same referent. And to fall back on convention, the book 'The Gulag Archipelego' is always spelled with 'Gulag' the word, not 'GULAG' the acronym - suggesting that the word is correct even when referring specifically to the system. - Tim