The Akmoļinska camp housed around 4,500 women in 1946, of whom 102 were from Latvia, whose only crime was being the wives of so-called "traitors" - a catch-all description of anyone not blindly obeying Stalin.
A memorial sign dedicated to the women was unveiled by Ušakovs who said: "Almost every Lavian family has been affected by the Stalinist repressions. That is why we believe it is so important to honor the victims of Stalin's criminal regime. This is a reminder that we must do everything possible so that such things are never accepted."
The visit to the Gulag camp came a day after around 40 Latvian businesses plus officials participated in a Kazakh-Latvian business forum to promote trade links between the two countries.
