Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918–2008)

Overview:
The Soviet Russian authorities were brutal persecutors of their people. Those who fall into the gaze of the authority, are persecuted. None are spared. The arrested innocent cannot do anything except remain silent. Not even a pregnant woman’s life was spared when found to have committed criminal behavior. Even religious sites were plundered to hasten cultural change. When political plans conflicted with each other, any type of behavior, or work effort did not meet expectations, they quickly discovered people to blame. People were shot dead when they did not have enough faith in socialist physical structures, for the authorities refused to consider that enthusiasm of the personal was not enough. Persecuting people to destroy their power.

Fear and betrayal were ubiquitous. Death or the Gulag are the outcomes of anyone who the authorities choose as their enemy. As problems kept arising, they kept expanding the people who were to be blamed for the problems. The authorities were trained, to persecute and torture defenseless victims. The persecutors were not some fictitious evil people who know that they are evil. In reality, these people believe they were doing good. Justified in their actions by ideology that makes their acts appear beyond reproach. Terrible acts that are rewarded, supported by the silence of their opponents. Silence perpetuates evil, as people learn that the terrible acts are not going to be punished.

More Details On Persecutions:
Interrogators were able to game the system that they supported. Interrogators tortured people during the night, because they would be paid more. They even claimed more torture hours than they actually did. Confessors were rewarded with cigarettes.

The persecutions were happening during wars. During wars, the Red Army was not allowed to surrender. The soldier was meant to die, while those who asked them to die keep living. Should the soldier come back alive, no matter their state, they will be convicted. The only legal option for the soldier was to die.

There was a famine, in which people would think only about getting more food, no matter the source. Willing to have just a little bit of food, even if it meant death shortly after.

Truth and history are being forgotten. Overridden with lies repeated by public announcements. War and the Gulag dispel any joy of telling stories. No longer wanting to remember the stories, to not think about the trauma associated with the times.

History Of The Book:
The Gulag Archipelago was a famous and infamous book. It was the first and last book about the Gulag to be published by official Russian authorities. Popularity of the book rose, with its official ban. The book gained international fame after the author was expelled from the USSR.

Unlike other books which hide the repressions, Solzhenitsyn’s books directly relate the ways that the people have been repressed. This book represents the 1st attempt to put together the history of Gulag, using various sources. Even autobiographical details of the Gulag.

Caveats?
The book can be very difficult to read. Topics change quickly, and with poor transitions. Organized around various examples, without much systematic analysis.

The experiences during this era were traumatic. The author does not avoid or find ways to dampen the traumatic experiences. The reader needs to come emotionally prepared to handle the experiences.

There is a history of the USSR erasing and manipulating data, making this book a valuable source of information. This book brings with it a diverse set of sources, but not many official reports because they could not be accessed or were destroyed. Sources include law, history, interviews, and an autobiographical account.… (more)

Overview:
The death of Stalin did not end the Gulag. The political regime was no longer able to survive without the Gulag. Absolute power over people was not enough, the system required slander and propaganda as well. Perjurers, those who bear false witness, were supported. A culture was developed to serve oppression.

Gulag officials did not mind when guards killed prisoners. Instead, the guards were rewarded. This was a security system that needed death to operate. Without death, the guards would have been seen as not vigilant enough. Or, there would have been claims that those who they portrayed as savages were docile prisoners. Guards would have been embarrassed to show leniency to those they considered savages. The guards showing leniency would have been informed on.

Escapes from Corrective Labor Camps were seen as an unavoidable aspect of an overextended economic system. While escape from Special Camps were not possible, as these escapes would have been politically damaging. Should the prisoners survive and serve out their long sentence, they would be released. But after that many years, the individual would have been changed. They would have become unrecognizable to those who knew them before. Only their name remained the same. This made reunions not a necessarily welcoming event. Those who they would reunite with, have become strangers or even enemies.

Caveats?
This book is very difficult to read. Contains poor organizational structure. Most of the book is composed of examples, without much systematic analysis.… (more)

Overview:
The Gulag, as a concentration camp, began shortly after the rise of Soviet Russian power. Initially for POW’s and undesirable foreigners, that quickly expanded for citizens. The Gulag was used to develop the nation. A system designed to obtain free labor. The prisoners would not earn anything, while the state profited from their labor. This was a reintroduction of slavery in Russia. The work was degrading, carried out under harsh conditions, and without appropriate tools. Under socialism, no one else but slaves would have performed the work. The prisoners were barely fed, with the little food they did receive being of a very poor quality. The guards stole a lot of food. Guards even made the prisoners compete and fight to get the food.

To get labor for the Gulag, there was a low tolerance for deviating thoughts. Anyone who was overheard to speak anything against the socialist system, no matter the significance of what was said or even the privacy of the claim, were heavily punished with major charges against them with long sentences. The Soviet system was much harsher against dissenters than previous regimes. Under the Soviet system, it was not just the dissenters who were punished, but their entire family. Even children were given the full measure of punishment, without exception if their crimes were unintentional. The children were trained to hate.

The way the authorities themselves complied with the laws, was to use a language that prevented them from thinking about the consequences of their actions. Defending oneself against this system was impossible, and going on a strike was useless. What was left was to change fate, to break out. Some tried to invent something useful for the state, which would have given them a release.

Caveats?
This book is very difficult to read. Contains poor organizational structure, as related content can be found sporadically in the book. Most of the book is composed of examples, without much systematic analysis.… (more)

Note: This is my fourth review of a non-fiction book, first on good reads. As a policy I don't give ratings for non-fiction works, I'm perfectly happy to let my personal biases reflect my opinions of non-fiction work, but I'd rather reflect on non-fiction as it is, than let how much I agree with it impact how much I like it

I just got around to reading Solzhenitsyn's 'The Gulag Archipelago', I read the abridged because I'm too much of a pussy to read 3 volumes of this.

The more recent editions prologue is written by Jordan Peterson, I didn't hate the prologue, I actually largely like Peterson as controversial as that is, but I do think that took away from the rest of the book. Peterson was (unsurprisingly) far more political than the book intended to be and probably would have turned some readers off from an otherwise highly valuable book

I learned a lot more about the operations of secret police than I expected too.

On the treatment of people in gulags, in some ways, it was much better than I expected, in some ways it was worse. My expectations were pretty low so I guess that was unsurprising.

We then get to the line, Solzhenitsyn's most famous quote, one I was familiar with well before reading this book, it's poetic, and probably would have been even more profound in the unabridged than the abridged version. "In the intoxication of youthful successes I had felt myself to be infallible", I mean maybe I'm wrong but had I read more about Solzhenitsyn's backstory, much of which, as I've been told, was cut from the unabridged version that already powerful quote might have been even moreso

But one thing I didn't know before reading which I love even more now, was directly after that quote, Solzhenitsyn says something I've been echoing for years, the importance of the Nuremberg trials. Putting evil on trial and actually giving evil a fair trial when doing so

I actually view the Nuremberg trials alongside the US Constitution as two of the pinnacles of morality in human history, and I was really happy to see Solzhenitsyn had similar sentiments, especially because he's a much better person than I am… (more)