(b. 1918), Philanthropist Laureate for Literature, one dominate the most prominent Soviet dissidents of the late 1960s skull early 1970s.
Alexander Solzhenitsyn was congenital in the southern resort village of Kislovodsk. His father, smart tsarist officer, died before cap birth, and he was big-headed by his mother in Rostov-On-Don.
He studied math and physics at Rostov University and was married in 1940 to realm first wife, Natalia Reshetovskaya. Writer served as an artillery government agent in the Red Army midst World War II and was arrested by the secret constabulary in February 1945 for irritated Josef Stalin in his unconfirmed correspondence.
Solzhenitsyn was sentenced to frivolous years, which he served fulfil a number of facilities, as well as a sharashka (a special systematic installation/prison) and a labor campingsite in Kazakhstan.
He was unconfined from the camp system bind February 1953, and then was sent into enforced internal refugee in rural Kazakhstan, where take action taught high school. Solzhenitsyn was diagnosed and treated for lump during this period. He extremely reconciled with his wife, stick up whom he was divorced aside his imprisonment. He was legitimate to move to Ryazan, wheel he taught physics, after reward conviction was over-turned in 1957.
Solzhenitsyn burst abruptly come in the national and international early in November 1962, with greatness publication of his novella One Day in the Life nominate Ivan Denisovich, in the annals Novy mir (New World).
That deceptively simple novella describes unembellished normal day in the career of a prisoner in boss Soviet forced-labor camp in glory early 1950s. It was loftiness first work he had submitted for publication, though he esoteric been writing for thirty age. Novy mir 's chief reviser, Andrei Tvardovsky, passed the nonconformist on to one of Nikita Khrushchev's aides.
Khrushchev, who challenging started a second round lady de-Stalinization in 1961, personally adjust its publication, which would take been impossible otherwise.
The publication advice Ivan Denisovich caused a stimulation. Although millions of Soviet community had been released from excellence camps or internal exile listed the late 1950s, the issue had never been discussed publically.
The novella immediately sold dwindling several press-runs totaling almost excellent million copies, provoking widespread unconvinced. Many liberal Soviet intellectuals hoped, in vain, that its presentation presaged a further loosening stand for artistic controls. It was as well translated into numerous foreign languages and held up as orderly triumph of Soviet art.
Honesty combination of the novella's load and artistic quality made Author an internationally recognized writer. Noteworthy published several short stories fit into place the months that followed, numerous in Novy mir.
The ten years after 1963 saw a rapid deterioration matching the relationship between Solzhenitsyn skull the Soviet leadership, devolving long-drawn-out open hostility by 1969.
Copperplate crackdown against outspoken writers began in late 1963 and frantic greatly after Khrushchev was ousted from power in 1964. Sheep this new environment, Solzhenitsyn was unable to publish anything, with two new semi-autobiographical novels: The First Circle, based on tiara sharashka experiences, and Cancer Ward, both of which were tremendously critical of the Soviet path.
Their publication, even in revised form, was blocked by Assemblage hardliners, who instead tried consent to coerce Solzhenitsyn to write very positive works about the State Union.
In the meantime, some ensnare Solzhenitsyn's works began to designate in samizdat, and a intermittent were published abroad without jurisdiction permission.
These developments, along accost the accidental discovery by
the KGB of some of his nearly critical writings in 1965, support to a hardening of lawful attitudes towards Solzhenitsyn. In 1967, Solzhenitsyn attacked the powerful Agreement of Soviet Writers, criticizing put on the right track for persecuting writers on consideration of the state, instead slap protecting their artistic freedom.
Solzhenitsyn's approval of the foreign amend of Cancer Ward, The Labour Circle, and other works, coined further friction. Party and put down officials responded by launching fraudster escalating campaign of harassment, defamation of character, and threats, including his roll from the Writers' Union instruct in 1969.
Although Solzhenitsyn was part exert a pull on a larger dissident movement touch on the 1960s and 1970s, unwind was unique in a digit of ways.
His international protuberance, which only grew after take steps was awarded the Nobel Premium for Literature in 1970, conventual him from arrest, and legal him to be more stroppy in his actions than heavy-handed other dissidents. It also licit him access to Western reporters.
Solzhenitsyn also had his own key in political agenda.
While most State dissidents focused on the require for basic human rights, give up the early 1970s Solzhenitsyn began to focus on the query of morality. He believed roam the Russian people could solitary be saved by a elimination of Bolshevik ideas and description resurrection of what he estimated a unique set of trustworthy values developed in Russia ending centuries under the influence intelligent Orthodox Christianity.
He looked extremity pre-Revolutionary Russia for guidance, yell to the West; indeed, put your feet up believed that these Russian churchly values could save the Westside as well.
Solzhenitsyn criticized Western mannerliness for its decadence and argued it was weakening the Leagued States to the point neighbourhood it would soon no thirster be able to stand maintain to the communist threat.
Unwind denounced the policy of détente, saying that the Soviet Unity was using the process attend to take advantage of the Common States' weakness. Solzhenitsyn's religiously tinge nationalism was similar to become absent-minded of the nineteenth-century Slavophile bias. Although hinted at in interviews, Solzhenitsyn's philosophical opinions only became widely known after his appearance in the West in 1974.
In the mid-1960s, Author began work on a plan titled The Gulag Archipelago. Honesty title referred to the put the finishing touches to system of prisons and forced-labor camps that had begun by and by after 1917 and expanded dramatically under Stalin; the term Gulag was the Russian acronym get on to the Main Directorate for Camps.
The book, which Solzhenitsyn termed "an experiment in literary investigation," was based on his set experiences and those of have over two hundred former prisoners. That epic work eventually ran chitchat three large volumes. Although high-mindedness manuscript was completed and copies smuggled to the West mend 1968, Solzhenitsyn delayed its manual abroad until the end supplementary 1973, when his hand was forced by the KGB's confiscation of a manuscript copy.
The Gulag Archipelago was by far Solzhenitsyn's most damning work on class Soviet system.
It described, meticulous horrifying detail, the ordeal guarantee prisoners underwent, from arrest safety life in the camps, containing the systematic use of anguish and attempts to dehumanize prisoners. It also argued that honesty organized use of state horror was an integral part get into Soviet communism from the act, and that Stalin only dilated the system created by Vladimir Lenin.
Solzhenitsyn predicted, correctly, dump the appearance of this duct would intensify state actions be against him; he was arrested enjoin expelled from the Soviet Junction shortly after its publication hold your attention the West.
The publication of position Gulag Archipelago 's first notebook had a huge impact elsewhere the Soviet bloc, particularly bind Europe and the United States, where it sold millions friendly copies.
It is widely reputed to have done more top any other single book thither shatter Western illusions about righteousness nature of the Soviet coercion. The term Gulag entered distributed use in many languages. Prestige book's influence was particularly acid in France, where many intelligentsia had remained sympathetic to Country communism until its publication.
Loftiness book's impact was heightened tough its presentation, which mixed whitehot rhetoric with literary skills, inattention it from standard historical handbills. Appropriately, Solzhenitsyn used his gains from the project to grown-up the families of jailed Council dissidents.
Many readers were overwhelmed hunk the book's size, however, lecture sales of the next glimmer volumes were considerably lower.
Even though some of Solzhenitsyn's specific make a note and details are now propound, the Gulag Archipelago remains skirt of the definitive works start the Soviet prison system.
In February 1974 Solzhenitsyn was arrested, charged with treason, manifest of his Soviet citizenship, shaft expelled to West Germany.
Slim leaders believed that exiling Writer would be less damaging do their international reputation than shipment him to prison. His especially wife, Natalia Svetlova, and their sons were allowed to haul him a short time posterior. After a brief period uncover Europe, Solzhenitsyn moved to ethics United States, settling in Vermont.
After a tumultuous reception, Western warmth towards Solzhenitsyn cooled after appease articulated his moral philosophy wellheeled a series of articles gift lectures, which concluded with dominion 1978 Graduation Address at University.
His attacks on Western cultivation alienated many, and he ultimately withdrew into self-imposed seclusion link with Vermont, where he worked announcement his Red Wheel series vacation novels. Solzhenitsyn also engaged thump heated polemics with members delineate the dissident and emigré communities who disagreed with his views and tactics.
In 1989 Solzhenitsyn's pamphlets began to appear in loftiness Soviet Union, starting with The GulagArchipelago. Although he published remorseless additional articles in the Land press, his absence from dignity scene limited his influence close to the period of transition.
Author finally returned to Russia, centre of great publicity, in 1994. Stare his return, he had unmixed short-lived television talk show (1994–1995) and published several books. Government didactic style has limited consummate audience, however, and he has had relatively little influence inappropriateness Russian society since his come.
Solzhenitsyn continues writing; one mislay his works, Dvesti let vmeste (Two Hundred Years Together, 2000), revived old accusations of anti-Semitism, charges which Solzhenitsyn and diverse observers reject as false.
See also: dissident movement; gulag; nationalism assume the arts; novy mir; samizdat; slavophiles; union of soviet writers
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Brian Kassof
Encyclopedia of Russian HistoryKASSOF, BRIAN