Final answer:
In Tsarist Russia, apart from criminals, political prisoners were a significant group sent to the katorga, which was a stringent penal labor regime.
Step-by-step explanation:
Other than convicted criminals, a significant group of people who often ended up in the Russian katorga were political prisoners. The katorga system was a severe penal labor regime used in Tsarist Russia that arguably served as a precursor to the later Soviet Gulag. While debtors and alcoholics were also punished through different forms of correctional labor, political prisoners, such as dissidents, revolutionaries, and those accused of anti-government activities, were frequently sent to katorgas where they endured harsh conditions and hard labor.
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