Alexandr Solzhenitsyn was born in Kislovodsk Russia on December 11th, 1918. His father died on the German front in WW1 which left his mother to raise him all alone in a small town in Southwest Russia. He was a very obscure child, even a a young child he knew he wanted to become a writer. It became his early passion and before he attended college he tried to have some of his writings published but no one was willing to do it. Discouraged he decided to study math at the Department of Mathematics at Rostov University. Although easy for him he never loved it like he did writing. He studied some literary classes but he graduated from the Department of Math and Physics in 1941 just a few days before war broke out. He was drafted in the war but due to poor health he was tasked to driving horse drawn carts carrying supplies. After regaining some health he was transferred to an artillery division due his knowledge of math and physics. He flew through the training program and was put in charge of an artillery search division right on the front lines. He was even promoted to atitle similar to Captain. He even won the Order of the Patriot War Class 2 and the Order of Red Star. He served for three years until he was arrested by the Russian officials in East Prussia for his disdain of Stalin and his policies.
The extreme popularity of One day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich along with extremely successful books about his time in a cancer ward secured his Nobel Prize for literature. The most prestigious award to be given to an author. But he couldn't attend the ceremony in Stockholm for fear if he left Russia he wouldn't be allowed to return into Russia. A few years later he published another book about Gulags in Russia and Paris. But the KGB the Russian FBI confiscated his manuscripts. He was again charged with treason and exiled from Russia. He moved to Vermont and a year later attended his Nobel Prize ceremony. In 1989 Solzhenitsyn wrote his first Russian government approved Gulag book. A year later his citizenship was reinstated but didn't return until Russia had gotten itself back together 2 years after the fall of the U.S.S.R. Even while back in Russia he continual criticized Russia politics and relations. One of his last books was made into a movie in Russia in 2006. He passed away at the age of 89 in Moscow. His death caused significant mourning throughout the country and he was given a state funeral and buried in a state cemetery. He was certainly one Russia's greatest figures who fought for rights but mostly he fought for the truth. Solzhenitsyn was a remarkable figure who was jailed and exiled twice for what he believed in.
The link below is a PBS Special on him.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/remember-july-dec08-solzhenitsyn_08-04
Work Cited
"Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2014. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.
Alexandr Solzhenitsyn - Biographical". Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2014. Web. 12 Dec 2014.
"Aleksandr Isajevitš Solzenitsyn in a Gulag." Wikipedia. Wikimedia, n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.
"Alexandr Solzhenitsyn Time Magazine." Danlambaovn. Dân Làm Báo, n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.
Aikmen, David. Great Souls: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. Youtube. Youtube, 13 Jan. 2012. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.
Russian Author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Dies at 89. PBS. NewsHour Productions, 4 Aug. 2008. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.
Sipa Press. "Solzhenitsyn receives his Nobel prize for literature." The Gaurdian. Guardian News, n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.
"Alexandr Solzhenitsyn." Quote Says. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.
I like how you put the video about Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn in the beginning of your blog because it gives the reader a overview about the author before you continue with the blog. Because the video is so long it may have been helpful if you wrote a certain time in the video of where to watch. When you mention how he was arrested by Russian officials I find it interesting how they found out that he and his friend had talked negatively about Stalin. This showed how much control and knowledge the Russians had over their people and the consequences that they would face. After his sentence ended it and he was sent to exile it shows how no one is ever really free. This kind of relates to the book because when the inmates discuss their sentences and how much longer they will be in there, they say how you never really know because they may add on years.
ReplyDeleteThe video before the rest of the blog was helpful so that we had a greater understanding of what the blog was later going to expand upon. It is really amazing that just talking poorly about stalin can come with such intense consequences. It is just as amazing the lack of privacy and how anyone around you could report you to the authorities for using such language. It is so sad that even though he had cancer he was still forced to work in gulag until the cancer really got bad. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn clearly lead an impressive life. Even after his time in labor camps he taught and wrote books. I liked how you included how much of a gamble it was for him to present his book to the congress because it really shows how brave he was. It also shows how careful you had to be with your writing if it had anything to do with Russia's current or previous government. Its a shame he had to go underground with A day in the life of Ivan Denisovich because of the way the labor camps were portrayed but luckily he was able to overcome that obstacle later.
ReplyDeleteI find it really interesting how Alexander Solzhenitsyn was another example of how Stalin controls his people. He was arrested because he didn't like Stalin's policies. People always talk about how Stalin used fear to control the people, and this is evident in that Alexander Solzhenitsyn was so afraid of going back into a gulag that he wrote books under false names. Its cool how he didn't write One day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich about himself, but it was based off of real experiences that he came across in the gulag. Its amazing that he got a Nobel Prize for literature because of this book. Although the video is really long and I didn't get to see the whole thing, I found the part that I did watch really interesting and how Alexander Solzhenitsyn had such influence on so many people. Nice blog all around.
ReplyDeleteI liked the layout of this blog and I really appreciated the pictures. I also thought the quote at the bottom was very meaningful and thought provoking. I also thought the blog was really well done in the sense that the important parts of Alexander's life were put in and the non important information was left out. I also thought that the ending paragraph was well written. I think Alexander represents freedom and specifically the freedom of speech. He wanted people to know how poorly he and so many others were mistreated. It must have taken so much courage to go against the government.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was pretty interesting how he was drafted for the war but because he had poor health, they put him to work driving the horse-drawn carriages carrying the supplies. Pretty interesting how he passed quickly through training school and was put in charge of a artillery search division right on the front lines. Cool how he earned a title similar to Captain. I learned that and found it pretty interesting that he was sentenced to 8 years of labor just for talking about how Stalin didn't use the best language to describe himself. 8 years seems a little harsh. I think its pretty cool how he won the Nobel Peace prize for literature for his book and actually experiencing all of that himself.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most interesting facts in your blog is the fact that Solzhenitsyn was sentenced to hard labor for 8 years, just because he voiced his views about Stalin to a friend.I also enjoyed the video but did not have time to watch the whole thing. In order for you audience to get a overview of the video you could have but some major ideas or bullet point from the video that would be helpful to your readers. It was sad that Solzhenitsyn had to publish some of this works under a fake name. However, it was inspirational that he finally took a risk and tried to publish his book under his own name, even tough he knew there were risks that could end his career. I also really enjoyed the ending picture with the quotation because it addressed evil as a part of human nature, which is a sad but honest idea.
ReplyDeleteI really liked this blog JFJ, I'm glad I learned so much about Solzhenitsyn. Its interesting to learn so much about the author of a book you just read. Your blog shows how brave he was to try publish the book. It also explains how tough his life really was.
ReplyDeleteI did not know that Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was in the military or that he studied math. I think that it is interesting that even though Solzhenitsyn was in charge of an artillery division and won medals for his service that he would be put into a gulag just for talking badly about Stalin. It is amazing how Solzhenitsyn kept on criticizing the his country in his books and kept writing them even after he had been exiled. Solzhenitsyn clearly led a hard but successful life fighting for what he believed in. Solzhenitsyn is an example of how much control the Russians had over people and how strict they were about censorship.
ReplyDeleteprof premraj pushpakaran writes -- 2018 marks the 100th birth year of Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn!!!
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