I read the first volume a year or so ago and it really enlightened me to the true nature and underlying themes of the society of the Soviet Union. Very insightful book and the second volume I think Alexander goes into more depth personally about his own thoughts in relation to what he experienced. The last two chapters were my favorite and his discussion of the soul ascending is something I have rarely heard addressed or spoken about. I can see how some people might think the book is a slog to get through but I thought it was a great documentary of a time period where we many never truly know the complete accurate history of. If you are interested in the depths of depravity that humanity can go to and also endure this is a good book to read. I plan on reading the third volume later this year. I’d recommend it to a specific niche of people but would not say it’s a light read or for everyone. Overall 9.3/10
Comments
[deleted] t1_jeg8zxf wrote
[removed]
emisneko t1_jefdcj8 wrote
Solzhenitsyn was a Nazi propagandist in the 1940s and affirmed that the war against Nazism was avoidable and a compromise with Hitler possible. That was why he was sent to a labor camp, for being a traitor.
His hatred for Jews that became public knowledge in recent years may explain his Nazi sympathies. Predictably, he was also a great fan of the Spanish fascist dictator Franco, whom he went to support when his regime began to totter. He appeared on Spanish TV to plead with Spaniards to remember the "freedom" they enjoyed under Franco while Soviet citizens were "enslaved" by socialism.
Solzhenitsyn was never a dissident but enjoyed the full support of Nikita Khruschev when he wrote the Gulag Archipelago, which Khrushchev used as propaganda material during his purge of Stalinists.
Nazi lover, Jew hater, monarchist: No wonder he became the darling of the West.
Solzhenitsyn's Ex‐Wife Says ‘Gulag’ Is ‘Folklore’, 1974:
>PARIS, Feb. 5 (Reuters)—Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn's controversial new book on Soviet prison‐camps was described as “folklore” by his former wife in an interview published here today.
>Natelya Reshetovskaya told the conservative newspaper Le Figaro that the book, “The Gulag Archipelago, 1918–1956,” was based on unreliable information:
>She also told the newspaper's Moscow correspondent that she was still living with Mr. Soizhenitsyn when he wrote the book and that she had typed part of it. They parted in 1970 and were subsequently divorced.
>She said: “The subject of ‘Gulag Archipelago,’ as I felt at the moment when he was writing it, is not in fact the life of the country and not even the life of the camps but the folklore of the camps.”
>In her 1974 memoir, ''Sanya: My Life with Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn'' (Bobbs-Merrill), she wrote that she was ''perplexed'' that the West had accepted ''The Gulag Archipelago'' as ''the solemn, ultimate truth,'' saying its significance had been ''overestimated and wrongly appraised.''
>Pointing out that the book's subtitle is ''An Experiment in Literary Investigation,'' she said that her husband did not regard the work as ''historical research, or scientific research.'' She contended that it was, rather, a collection of ''camp folklore,'' containing ''raw material'' which her husband was planning to use in his future productions.
CalvinSays t1_jefxzto wrote
Why believe the wife's testimony is more reliable than the books?
Legitimate_Policy2 t1_jefpglk wrote
Found the tankie
yeeiser t1_jegtzu9 wrote
Istg reddit communists have some sort bat-signal for whenever someone says something slightly critical of their ideology. They constantly come out of the woodworks in this sub
bookman1984 t1_jeg4kk9 wrote
Surely someone who often posts to r/InformedTankie is not a Tankie
emisneko t1_jefhq95 wrote
oh and btw once he was living in America he publicly urged the continuation of US bombing in Vietnam
> in decrying the “cruel mistake” of opposition to the Vietnam War, he warned: “If a full-fledged America suffered a real defeat from a small communist half-country, how can the West hope to stand firm in the future?”
123eyecansee t1_jeg6108 wrote
Need a better source to prove “urged… bombing.”
123eyecansee t1_jeg5vfq wrote
Well, since he cites VL and many sources I find your comment… odd. Why don’t you try a more discernible response instead of a one-sided one so we can take you more seriously
usernamedunbeentaken t1_jefyl4k wrote
Never read Gulag Archipelago but highly recommend August 1914.
123eyecansee t1_jeg64kl wrote
Sounds good. Any versions/translations to be aware of?
usernamedunbeentaken t1_jega1c6 wrote
Hmmm... perhaps. Didn't even check until now.
The version I read and liked was translated by Michael Glenny and published in paperback in the early 70s.
Another version I have (picked up at a library booksale because the Glenny is deteriorating and old) is from 1989 and translated by H.T. Willetts. It is longer as it has additional narrative written/added after AS had been expelled from Russia, dealing more with revolutionary activities before the war. I don't vouch for this version as I haven't read it.
decrementsf t1_jef9yob wrote
Grueling series everyone needs to read at least once.
It's easier to eat the cancellation and Stalinist show trial now before all the neighbors are taken. Your neighbors pick you back up as soon as the fickle energy gets bored and moves on to the next goring. It's harder after your neighbors have all been taken and it's just you now. You can be a Trotsky and the new world never arrives for you with callous disregard for all your dreaming. As soon as transfer of power hands off to Stalin, you, the person who knows how to organize the street protest, are the first short straw drawn to discard with. You're no longer useful. That radicalism is now a threat to the new princelings, the same princelings who had backed you a moment ago.
Better to build success skills. Use an operating system based on reciprocation and being useful to friends, neighbors, and community. It's slow and boring. Less emotionally pleasing work grinding out useful skills. You have nice things in your surroundings to show for it. Can actually enjoy the small things and leave more than you had behind for your children.
You may be in the education system right now and feel something doesn't feel right. Feel the compelled speech and games played to lie about the current thing of the moment to avoid harassment by peers. Gulag Archipelago is the book for you that lays out and explains your future. How that system always unfolds. Yes. I'm writing to persuade. With empathy. You deserve better systems, not assigned a mental prison as your operating system.
123eyecansee t1_jeg6bm3 wrote
Using an audio book at the moment to get through it. Love the psychological delve he takes in the first chapter to give the reader a sense of dread over the unknown, the paranoia that your end is not only nigh, but surprisingly so.
gramma_moses88 t1_jef5309 wrote
All 3 get a 10/10 from me. What a journey!