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The Gulag Archipelago: 1918-1956 Paperback – February 1, 2002

by Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn (Author)

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Drawing on his own incarceration and exile, as well as on evidence from more than 200 fellow prisoners and Soviet archives, Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn reveals the entire apparatus of Soviet repression -- the state within the state that ruled all-powerfully.

Through truly Shakespearean portraits of its victims -- men, women, and children -- we encounter secret police operations, labor camps and prisons; the uprooting or extermination of whole populations, the "welcome" that awaited Russian soldiers who had been German prisoners of war. Yet we also witness the astounding moral courage of the incorruptible, who, defenseless, endured great brutality and degradation. The Gulag Archipelago 1918-1956 -- a grisly indictment of a regime, fashioned here into a veritable literary miracle -- has now been updated with a new introduction that includes the fall of the Soviet Union and Solzhenitsyn's move back to Russia.

Book 3 of 3

The Gulag Archipelago
Print length

512 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Harper Perennial Modern Classics
Publication date

February 1, 2002
Dimensions

5.31 x 1.15 x 8 inches
ISBN-10

0060007761
ISBN-13

978-0060007768
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Best Nonfiction Book of the Twentieth Century" -- Time magazine

About the Author

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was born in Kislovodsk, Russia, in 1918. A twice-decorated captain in the Soviet Army, he was stripped of his rank, arrested, and convicted in 1945 for privately criticizing Stalin. Exiled from the USSR in 1974, Solzhenitsyn eventually settled in the United States before returning to his homeland twenty years later. Among his other acclaimed works are the novels One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich and The First Circle. His literary awards include the Nobel Prize for Literature and the Medal of Honor for Literature.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper Perennial Modern Classics; Reprint edition (February 1, 2002)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 512 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0060007761
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0060007768
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.2 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.31 x 1.15 x 8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #791,158 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #217 in History & Criticism of Russian & Soviet Literature
- #337 in Historical Russia Biographies
- #4,001 in Author Biographies

Customer Reviews:
4.9 685 ratings

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H.T. Willetts
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Thomas P. Whitney
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Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
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Aleksandr Isayevich[a] Solzhenitsyn (/ˌsoʊlʒəˈniːtsɪn, ˌsɔːl-/; Russian: Алекса́ндр Иса́евич Солжени́цын, pronounced [ɐlʲɪˈksandr ɪˈsaɪvʲɪtɕ səlʐɨˈnʲitsɨn]; 11 December 1918 – 3 August 2008) (often Romanized to Alexandr or Alexander) was a Russian novelist, historian, and short story writer. He was an outspoken critic of the Soviet Union and its totalitarianism and helped to raise global awareness of its Gulag forced labor camp system. He was allowed to publish only one work in the Soviet Union, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (1962), in the periodical Novy Mir. After this he had to publish in the West, most notably Cancer Ward (1968), August 1914 (1971), and The Gulag Archipelago (1973). Solzhenitsyn was awarded the 1970 Nobel Prize in Literature "for the ethical force with which he has pursued the indispensable traditions of Russian literature". Solzhenitsyn was afraid to go to Stockholm to receive his award for fear that he wouldn't be allowed to reenter. He was eventually expelled from the Soviet Union in 1974, but returned to Russia in 1994 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Verhoeff, Bert / Anefo [CC BY-SA 3.0 nl (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/nl/deed.en)], via Wikimedia Commons.
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Edward E. Ericson
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麦俊儒

Must read for all! the slippery slope of despotism is steep and paved with the echo chamber of self-validation.

Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2023

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In this age of hero worship, Aleksandr stands as a giant among us. Tyrants in waiting will dismiss and discredit him, but truth shines like a beacon leading to liberty.

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P.K. Ryan

The nail in the coffin of the Soviet State

Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2008

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"A stone is not a human being, and even stones get crushed."

This was an absolutely brutal, yet enlightening read. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was a young, decorated Red Army officer who served bravely during the war, only to be arrested, tortured, and sent to the Gulag Archipelago (the forced labor camp system) to do a ten year sentence, followed by permanent internal exile. This book is a combination of his own personal experiences, and a general history of the gulag system which he has gathered from research as well as other personal stories sent to him by other inmates.

For privately criticizing Stalin, the author was clearly guilty of being a dangerous "enemy of the people" worthy of torture and death,(Solzhenitsyn writes with a brilliant sense of sarcasm) but the fact is, many were arrested quite arbitrarily, many simply because of a need to fill quotas. I'm reminded of a quote by Stalins right hand man Molotov, when speaking about the randomness of arrests, years after the war: "a man could have been a right-winger, and not realized he was a right-winger. We had to be sure." Or something to that effect. These enemies of the people would feed the "sewage disposal system" of the Soviet state.

In his sarcastic, metaphorical writing style, the author describes all the horrors of the system, beginning with arrest and torture, *ahem* interrogation, and all through the stages of the camp system where death and cruelty became the only certainties. Ruthlessness, Solzhenitsyn writes, was the measure of a Bolsheviks worth. The more single-mindedly cruel he was, determined his dedication to the state. Any form of kindness toward the accused was seen as a sign of weakness and lack of zeal. Most disturbing was his descriptions of the torture, he claims that there were 52 different methods at the interrogators disposal, to ensure they don't become bored of course! 14 hour work days in subzero temperatures with inadequate clothing and pitiful food rations were also the norm. People were often beaten, terrorized and shot out of hand for the smallest infractions, or occasionally for the mere amusement of the guards. Such is life in the Archipelago!

Although some have accused Solzhenitsyn of throwing the baby out with the bathwater, i.e. condemning communism as a whole because of Stalinism, he is absolutely right when he claims that the brutality and terror were started under Lenin and Trotsky. While one can split hairs and argue that things might have turned out differently without Stalin, I see no reason to believe that things would have been THAT different. He also makes a consistent point of comparing the Soviet state to that of the Tsars, claiming that whatever their faults, life in Imperial Russia was never even close to this harsh. I specifically appreciated how he pointed out how easy the Bolshevik revolutionaries had it when they were arrested under the Tsar. Two, maybe three years in lenient exile for trying to overthrow the state! Yet under the Soviets, you would get 10, maybe 25 years of hard labor for practically nothing, which you would probably not survive anyway. All in all, this is a disturbing but brilliant and essential read for understanding the Soviet state. 5 stars.

52 people found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

Devastating

Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2023

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This should be required reading to anyone who wants to give the government in any country too much power. "Absolute power corrupts absolutely"

2 people found this helpful

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Kennen Haas

A human perspective

Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2007

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Often when one reads about an outrage of history the account is dry, numerical, and one sided. What is truly unique about Gulag is that it takes us inside the the minds of the victims and the perpetrators, revealing the central yet unspoken theme of the book. This is a story of human nature, revealed in the most extreme circumstances imaginable. As you read ask yourself, "What would I have done?" The answers may horrify you.

On the political side of things Gulag reveals that the Soviet system elucidated the evil in people. Gulag is a call for us to see politics in a different way. Beware of those advancing class envy/warfare. The Soviets adjusted their definition of "rich" down as the people became poorer. The freedom possessed does not seem near as valuable as freedom lost.

Gulag demonstrates that faith is the only useful possession that can not be taken. Gulag cites many examples of superhuman courage, toughness, and triumph by those of deep religious devotion. An unspoken theme is that the Soviet system could not exist amongst nation of the faithful.

Read this book.

I would recommend these books a well for the reader interested in Communism.
The Case For Democracy: The Power Of Freedon to Overcome Tyranny And Terror
The Road to Serfdom Fiftieth Anniversary Edition

8 people found this helpful

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Dana F. Geiger

communism, stalinist russia

Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2007

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What an eye opener! It describes the dispair and horror of stalin's russia. If you want an insight as to why the USA is so staunchly and fanatically anti-communist, read this book! Stalin and his communists tried to build their workers paradise through slavery. Millions were arrested and sent to labor camps because the commies needed slaves, so they arrested them and condemned them for at least 10 years ('a tenner').

A stunning, very well written, page turner that shows there are things worse than death! They crammed 40 people into cells designed for 2 people. Torture, arbitrary doubling of your sentence (from 10 to 20 years), sadistic guards, all for no crime whatsoever! Makes the West look like heaven on earth.

And Solzhenitsyn keeps it interesting, even humorous. Like when a crowd was applauding Stalin, and everyone was afraid to be the first one to stop applauding because they knew they would be arrested! So the applause went on for 1/2 hour, with nobody daring to stop! Finally, a brave soul stopped, and he was arrested and sent away the next day.

It's a great book. I highly recommend it, especially to lefties who need to see what marxism turns into.

8 people found this helpful

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Lewis Bennington

Phenomenal lesson guide

Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2022

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If you want to know how to have and maintain freedom, never allow a small yet violently determined group of socialists gain any type of power. If you do, then you will soon be living this book instead of reading it.

16 people found this helpful

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BeaRug58

Frightening Revelations

Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2007

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As I read "Gulag. . . " I kept thinking of the old cliche, "those who do not study history, are doomed to repeat it." It has been difficult to read of a society so evil, so base that it views human beings as mere things--disposable assets. It is an amazing story that any human being has experienced this and lived, and smiled. I find it incredible that Solzhenitsyn still loved his Russia despite his imprisonment. This is an excellent book, difficult to read at times, but well worth the effort. It should be on the required reading list for every high school-aged child. It should be required reading by every senator, congressman, etc. This book is too valuable to simply be placed on the back of a shelf.

4 people found this helpful

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