ALEXANDER SOLZHENITSYN'S NOVEL

THE FIRST C I R C L E

by

JOHN NICHOL McKAY

B.A., U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a , 196£

A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF

THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF

MASTER OF ARTS

in the Department

of

Slavonic Studies

We accept t h i s thesis as c o n f o r m i n g t o t h e

required standard

THE UNIVERSITY OF B R I T I S H COLUMBIA

September, 1971
In p r e s e n t i n g t h i s thesis in p a r t i a l f u l f i l m e n t o f the requirements f o r

an advanced degree at the U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia, I agree that

the Library shall make i t f r e e l y a v a i l a b l e for r e f e r e n c e and study.

I f u r t h e r agree t h a t p e r m i s s i o n f o r e x t e n s i v e copying o f t h i s thesis

for s c h o l a r l y purposes may be granted by the Head of my Department o r

by h i s representatives. It i s understood that copying o r p u b l i c a t i o n

of this thesis f o r f i n a n c i a l gain s h a l l not be allowed without my

written permission.

Department of Slavonic Studies

The U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h Columbia
Vancouver 8, Canada

Date 15 S e p t e m b e r 1 9 7 1
 ERRATA

p. 5> L i n e 13 f r o m top: read "dictatorship."

p. 8 F o o t n o t e s : An e r r o r h a s o c c u r r e d i n t h e f i n a l t y p e -
s c r i p t . The r e a d e r w i l l o b s e r v e t h a t f o o t n o t e s have
b e e n numbered c o n s e c u t i v e l y f r o m t h e b e g i n n i n g o f
t h e INTRODUCTION t h r o u g h CHAPTER I I . CHAPTER I I I and
t h e CONCLUSION have f o o t n o t e s numbered i n s e p a r a t e
series.

p . 12 Final line of text: read "stable" for "static."

p . 21+ I n t h e q u o t a t i o n t h e word " c h r e z v y c h a i n y k h " should

be so s p e l l e d w i t h a s i n g l e " n " .

p. 33 Line 12 f r o m t o p : r e a d "class" f o r "category."

p . 3° I n the f i r s t quotation read "prisel" for "pricel."

p. 37 L i n e 1: r e a d "variant" f o r "variation."

p . 39 L i n e 2: o m i t "spetsodezhda."

p . 71 L i n e 7 from bottom: r e a d "Marxian" f o r "Marxist."

 ABSTRACT

The Russian n o v e l V k r u g e pervom (The F i r s t Circle)

shows i t s a u t h o r , Alexander I s a y e v i c h S o l z h e n i t s y n , t o be a

socially conscious w r i t e r and a man who i s a c u t e l y aware o f

the s p i r i t u a l dilemmas o f modern man. The e t h i c a l questions

to w h i c h he d e v o t e s himself i n t h i s novel are placed w i t h i n

the context o f a moral p h i l o s o p h y which d e r i v e s i t s essence

from the S l a v o p h i l e s o f the n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y . As a critic

of modern t e n d e n c i e s , S o l z h e n i t s y n i s a g i t a t e d about a lack

of interest i n man a s a n i n d i v i d u a l . The e s s e n t i a l message

c o n v e y e d by t h e n o v e l i s t h a t man i s i n a m a t e r i a l i s t i c im-

passe, and t h e way o u t o f t h a t i m p a s s e resides i n a greater

understanding o f h i s f u n c t i o n s as a human b e i n g . The author

deprecates any s y s t e m o f t h o u g h t and o r g a n i z e d mode o f l i f e

which tends t o take a mechanistic v i e w o f man and t o d e p e r -

sonalize t h e b a s i s o f human r e l a t i o n s . As t h e s y m b o l i c con-

science o f m o d e r n R u s s i a , he r e s t o r e s t o R u s s i a n literature

t h e humanism and m o r a l u n i v e r s a l i s m w h i c h c h a r a c t e r i z e d t h e

tradition of c r i t i c a l r e a l i s m o f the p r e v i o u s century.

For S o l z h e n i t s y n freedom i s a s p i r i t u a l m a t t e r . The

right t o speak f r e e l y and t o p u b l i s h one's t h o u g h t s i s not,

for him, j u s t as i t was n o t f o r t h e S l a v o p h i l e s b e f o r e h i m ,

a political r i g h t , b u t a n a t u r a l endowment. H i s courageous

defence of t h i s p r i n c i p l e and h i s u n w a v e r i n g l o y a l t y t o a n d

p u r s u i t o f T r u t h have won h i m i n t e r n a t i o n a l r e s p e c t , which

culminated i n t h e award o f t h e N o b e l P r i z e i n 1970. In i t s

literary a n d p h i l o s o p h i c a l q u a l i t i e s , The F i r s t C i r c l e ( a n d

a l l h i s published work) d i s t i n g u i s h e s S o l z h e n i t s y n from h i s

c o n t e m p o r a r i e s as t h e l e a d i n g p r o s a i s t o f t h e S o v i e t Union.

The First Circle i s genuine r e a l i s m , the very a n t i t h e s i s of

the contrived novels w h i c h dominate S o v i e t prose under that

ruinous prescription of " s o c i a l i s t realism."

This t h e s i s i s presented i n an i n t r o d u c t i o n , t h r e e

central chapters and a c o n c l u s i o n . The INTRODUCTION traces

t h e b a c k g r o u n d and s e t t i n g o f t h e n o v e l . CHAPTER I t u r n s t o

its s t r u c t u r e and s t y l e . CHAPTER I I t r e a t s t h e l a n g u a g e o f

the camps and p r i s o n s . The F i r s t C i r c l e i s a rare source of

this s l a n g d i c t i o n and i s t h e r e f o r e a valuable contribution

to l i n g u i s t i c s . CHAPTER I I I e x a m i n e s t h e p r o b l e m s o f e t h i c s

w h i c h d i s t u r b t h e a u t h o r and w h i c h a r e c o n s i d e r e d t o be t h e

most i m p o r t a n t s i d e o f h i s n o v e l . The CONCLUSION summarizes

Solzhenitsyn's s i g n i f i c a n c e a s a m o d e r n a u t h o r and comments

on h i s d e f e n c e o f f r e e d o m o f s p e e c h and t h e c r e a t i v e w o r d .
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

ABSTRACT i i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT v

INTRODUCTION 1

Chapter

I. PROBLEMS OF STRUCTURE AND STYLE 9

II. THE LANGUAGE OF THE CAMPS 30

III. THE ETHICAL PROBLEM £0

CONCLUSION 77

BIBLIOGRAPHY 83

APPENDIX 1 91

APPENDIX I I 92
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

To Professor V a l e r i a n D m i t r i y e v i c h Revutsky, whose

intimate knowledge o f R u s s i a n literature was of inestimable

value t o me i n preparing this thesis, I extend my sincerest

gratitude. His counsel, a s s i s t a n c e and e n c o u r a g e m e n t were a

continual source of inspiration.

I am much i n d e b t e d a l s o to P r o f e s s o r Zbigniew F o l e -

j e w s k i , who assumed w i t h g o o d g r a c e the task of reading the

manuscript in its final stages and suggested key revisions.

I take this opportunity also to record particularly

my profound g r a t i t u d e t o Dr Cyril Bryner, Mr A l e c Wainman,

Mrs. Irene Reed and M i s s Irene R e b r i n , u n d e r whose g u i d a n c e

I r e c e i v e d my undergraduate and graduate courses i n various

branches of S l a v o n i c s t u d i e s .

Finally, I express my s i n c e r e thanks t o the faculty

and staff of the Department of S l a v o n i c S t u d i e s at the Uni-

versity o f B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a f o r t h e i r h a v i n g made my period

of study there a fruitful and pleasant experience.

 INTRODUCTION

This t h e s i s i s a study o f the R u s s i a n novel V kruge

pervom (The F i r s t Circle) by Alexander I s a y e v i c h S o l z h e n i t -

syn. This novel, and most o f t h e a u t h o r ' s work p u b l i s h e d t o

date, c a n o n l y be a p p r e c i a t e d against the background o f the

tragic events which engendered i t , f o r S o l z h e n i t s y n s 1

works

are intensely autobiographical.

During the Konigsberg (now K a l i n i n g r a d ) hostilities

t o w a r d s t h e end o f t h e S e c o n d W o r l d War, S o l z h e n i t s y n , then

an artillery captain, was summoned by t h e commander o f h i s

division, s t r i p p e d o f r a n k and d e c o r a t i o n s and a r r e s t e d . He

explains:

I was a r r e s t e d b e c a u s e o f my n a i v e and c h i l d i s h
i d e a s . I knew t h a t i t was f o r b i d d e n t o w r i t e o f
m i l i t a r y m a t t e r s i n l e t t e r s from the f r o n t , b u t
I t h o u g h t i t was p e r m i t t e d t o t h i n k and r e f l e c t
on e v e n t s . F o r a l o n g t i m e I h a d b e e n s e n d i n g a
f r i e n d l e t t e r s c l e a r l y c r i t i c i z i n g S t a l i n though
w i t h o u t m e n t i o n i n g h i s name. I t h o u g h t he had
b e t r a y e d L e n i n i s m and was r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e
d e f e a t s o f t h e f i r s t p h a s e o f t h e war, t h a t he
was a weak t h e o r e t i c i a n and t h a t h i s l a n g u a g e
was p r i m i t i v e . I n my y o u t h f u l r e c k l e s s n e s s I p u t
a l l t h e s e t h o u g h t s down on p a p e r . l

The correspondence o f w h i c h he s p e a k s was i n t e r c e p t e d b y an

a g e n c y known as SMERSH, whose o p e r a t i v e s took him i n t o c u s -

1
L e o p o l d Labedz ( e d . ) , S o l z h e n i t s y n : A Documentary
R e c o r d , L o n d o n : A l l e n Lane The P e n g u i n P r e s s , 1 9 7 0 , p . $,
tody. He was confined i n t h e L u b y a n k a p r i s o n i n Moscow and,

in July 191^5, sentenced without t r i a l t o an e i g h t - y e a r term

of imprisonment i n the c o r r e c t i v e - l a b o u r camps b y the OSSO,

Stalin's notorious tribunal attached t o t h e NKVD. At first

he was e m p l o y e d on c o n s t r u c t i o n b u i l d i n g an a p a r t m e n t block

for s e c r e t p o l i c e o f f i c i a l s . When i t was discovered that he

h e l d a u n i v e r s i t y d e g r e e i n m a t h e m a t i c s and p h y s i c s , he was

sent to a s p e c i a l s c i e n t i f i c research institute.

I t was this first experience w i t h the h e l l i s h world

o f GULAG- t h a t i n s p i r e d The F i r s t C i r c l e . The n o v e l was nine

years i n the composing (1955-19614.) , b u t made i t s a p p e a r a n c e

in t h e West o n l y i n 1968. The m a n u s c r i p t was confiscated by

t h e KGB i n 1965, w h i c h S o l z h e n i t s y n b o l d l y condemned i n h i s

now famous l e t t e r t o the F o u r t h Congress of S o v i e t W r i t e r s .

The a v a i l a b l e e d i t i o n s of S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s novels The

First Circle and C a n c e r Ward ( R a k o v y i k o r p u s ) were prepared

from c l a n d e s t i n e manuscripts r e c e i v e d through samizdat, the

l i t e r a r y underground. These n o v e l s have n o t been published

in the S o v i e t U n i o n , where a ban on h i s w o r k b e g a n i n 1966.

Even h i s f i r s t published s t o r y , O d i n den' Ivana Denisovicha

(One Day i n the L i f e of Ivan D e n i s o v i c h ) , which brought him

i n t e r n a t i o n a l fame when i t a p p e a r e d i n 1962, has been w i t h -

drawn from S o v i e t l i b r a r i e s . Soviet readers have a c c e s s to

S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s w o r k s o n l y i n t y p e s c r i p t f o r m as t h e y circu-

l a t e throughout the underground.

 S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s works a r e no l o n g e r p u b l i s h e d i n h i s

own c o u n t r y b e c a u s e t h e y do n o t t e a c h t h e P a r t y l i n e . Since

they are c r i t i c a l of Soviet l i f e and g o v e r n m e n t a l policies,

too outspoken i n t h e i r appraisal of the r e v o l u t i o n , and a s k

more p r o b i n g q u e s t i o n s about the " e r r o r s " of the S t a l i n e r a

than the present l e a d e r s h i p c a r e s t o answer, t h e y draw fire

from the conformist critics. Solzhenitsyn's vigorous battle

for creative f r e e d o m i s now a m a t t e r of record. Following a

series of slanderous a t t a c k s on h i m by t h e S o v i e t p r e s s , he

was e x p e l l e d f r o m the W r i t e r s ' Union i n 1969.

Comparing the s e t t i n g s o f S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s works with

those o f T o l s t o y and D o s t o y e v s k y , t h e c r i t i c K. P o m e r a n t s e v

observes:

T o l s t o y ' s world i s the normal world of normal people.

D o s t o y e v s k y ' s w o r l d i s a l s o t h e n o r m a l w o r l d , b u t ab-
normal people l i v e i n i t . The w o r l d o f S o l z h e n i t s y n ,
however, i s an a b n o r m a l w o r l d i n w h i c h n o r m a l p e o p l e
must l i v e . 2

I n The F i r s t Circle this abnormal w o r l d i s the sharashka at

Mavrino. Here i n s u b u r b a n Moscow t h e MG-B h a s e s t a b l i s h e d a

clandestine scientific research institute operating within

a spetstyur'ma w h i c h accommodates 2 8 l i n m a t e s . One o f t h e s e

p r i s o n e r s r e m a r k s : " I f a war s t a r t s , t h e y ' l l mow u s down en

masse o r i n f e c t o u r k a s h a w i t h p l a g u e . " ( 3 : 9 2 ) ^ T h i s was n o t

^See h i s a r t i c l e : "Dobro i z l o u S o l z h e n i t s y n a , " i n

Novyi Z h u r n a l (The New R e v i e w ) . No. 95 ( J u l y 1 9 6 9 ) , p . 1^9.

-^The method o f q u o t i n g i s explained below.

 - k -
mere o s t e n t a t i o u s contempt f o r t h e Soviet government of the

time. I n 1914-7 S t a l i n p e r s o n a l l y ordered that the political

offenders be collected into osoblagi i n order to facilitate

t h e i r being put to d e a t h i n the event of another war.^

I n The First Circle Solzhenitsyn has metaphorically

recaptured the artistic vision of the Inferno, wherein the

souls of the pre-Christian philosophers are doomed t o eter-

nal o b l i v i o n i n L i m b o , the F i r s t of the Nine C i r c l e s in the

conical s t r u c t u r e of H e l l conceived by D a n t e . The analogies

are striking. Solzhenitsyn's conception of a paranoid, vin-

dictive, yet pathetic evil genius of penology (Stalin) i s a

cunningly wrought r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of the sinister and writh-

i n g Satan, the Emperor o f D a n t e ' s Realm o f S o r r o w . The wise

men of a n t i q u i t y were c o n f i n e d i n a " N o b l e C a s t l e , " and the

elite of Soviet science are exploited intellectually in the

"Enchanted C a s t l e , " the Mavrino I n s t i t u t e . D a n t e ' s Limbo i s

a home f o r the u n s a n c t i f i e d , while Mavrino accommodates the

initiates of the "cult of p e r s o n a l i t y . "

The intellectual competence o f the pagan scientists

may have i n f l u e n c e d D a n t e ' s e p i c judgment, f o r Limbo i s the

most c o m f o r t a b l e o f h i s C i r c l e s . The better treatment given

the M a v r i n o p r i s o n e r s , however, i s m o t i v a t e d by expediency:

^See Max Hayward's " I n t r o d u c t i o n " t o A n a t o l y Mar-

c h e n k o , My T e s t i m o n y , t r a n s . M i c h a e l S c a m m e l l , L o n d o n : P a l l
M a l l P r e s s , 1 9 6 9 , p. x v .
 - 5 -

a sense o f w e l l - b e i n g i s the s i n e qua non of a concentrated

and sustained mental e f f o r t which, i n t u r n , i s v i t a l to the

success o f the l a b o r a t o r y p r o j e c t s at the I n s t i t u t e . Or, as

the f a c e t i o u s Pryanchikov expresses i t , " I t has been proved

that a l a r g e wool clip d e p e n d s upon t h e f e e d i n g and care of

the sheep." (3:15)

The s t a t u s of S o l z h e n i t s y n * s "ovine" collective may

be less humble t h a n t h a t o f I v a n D e n i s o v i c h Shukhov and his

innocent labour-camp comrades, b u t as so-called "enemies of

the p e o p l e , " they bear the same mark o f d i s g r a c e imposed by

Article 58, t h e most n o t o r i o u s s t a t u t e i n the C r i m i n a l Code

of the RSFSR, as t h a t code stood u n t i l repealed i n December

1958. These u n f o r t u n a t e v i c t i m s o f the S t a l i n distatorship

have b e e n r o u n d e d up f o r the engineering tasks a t hand from

the lower circles o f the infernal GULAG r e a l m , whither most

o f them w i l l be d i s p a t c h e d when t h e job i s completed, which

in itself signals their redundancy. Such i s the setting.

The u n d e r l y i n g theme i s human s u f f e r i n g , w h i c h runs

through much R u s s i a n fiction of recent years. B o r i s Paster-

nak's Doctor Zhivago and L i d i y a Chukovskaya's O p u s t e l y i dom

(The Deserted House) are eminent illustrations. The bitter-

ness of suffering through injustice does n o t m e r e l y connect

the n o v e l w i t h S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s p r i v a t e w o r l d ; i t becomes the

cornerstone of a s t r u c t u r a l l y complex work o f a r t . T h i s a r t

form p e r m i t s the author to delve into the p e r s o n a l w o r l d of

 - 6 -

each o f h i s characters. I t conforms t o t h e r e q u i r e m e n t s o f

Solzhenitsyn's f a v o u r i t e genre - the "polyphonic" novel, i n

which there a r e no h e r o e s i n t h e t r a d i t i o n a l s e n s e . F o r , as

S o l z h e n i t s y n p o i n t s o u t , "Every character becomes m a i n when

the a c t i o n r e v e r t s t o him."^

Solzhenitsyn's e a r l y s t o r i e s were k e e n l y criticized

for the alignment o f t h e f o r c e s o f good and e v i l w h i c h were

represented by the c h a r a c t e r s . Although t h i s alignment of

forces e x i s t s (and j u s t i f i a b l y ) i n The F i r s t Circle, such a

neat division o f i t s completely "Stalinized" world i n t o two

a n t a g o n i s t i c g r o u p s w o u l d be a r b i t r a r y and s u p e r f i c i a l , f o r

the characters are not simply either "righteous" or " e v i l . "

The deuteragonist, Lev Rubin, i s portrayed sympathetically,

although his materialist ideology i s alien to Solzhenitsyn.

M o r e o v e r , t h e s i t u a t i o n s o f f r e e and u n f r e e , t o r m e n t o r s and

tormented, manipulators and m a n i p u l a t e d , g u a r d s and p r i s o n -

" K a z d a o s o b a s a s t a v a h l a v n o u , ked s a j e j d o t k n e
d e j . " See "Jedneho dfla u A l e x a n d r a I s a j e v i c a S o l z e n i c y n a , "
i n K u l t u r n y g i v o t . 31 M a r c h 1967, p . 10.

^By V. Chalmayev i n " ' S a i n t s ' and ' D e v i l s ' , " t r a n s ,

i n P r i s c i l l a J o h n s o n , K h r u s h c h e v and t h e A r t s : The P o l i t i c s
of S o v i e t C u l t u r e 1962-196!+., C a m b r i d g e , M a s s a c h u s e t t s : The
M.I.T. P r e s s , 1965, p . 272. [The o r i g i n a l a r t i c l e appeared
i n R u s s i a n i n O k t y a b r , No. 10, 1963.] Chalmayev o b s e r v e s :
" I n t h e w o r l d o f A. S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s c h a r a c t e r s two
i d e o l o g i c a l and m o r a l p o l e s and two s e t s o f c h a r a c t e r s
corresponding t o these p o l e s stand out q u i t e d i s t i n c t -
l y . I n one o f them t h e w r i t e r i n v a r i a b l y c o n c e n t r a t e s
h u m i l i t y and m e e k n e s s , r i g h t e o u s n e s s t h a t as a r u l e i s
i m p o t e n t i n p r a c t i c e , and i n t h e o t h e r he c o n c e n t r a t e s
a l l - p o w e r f u l e v i l , o v e r b e a r i n g c r u e l t y , and b l i n d
obedience."
ers, victors and v i c t i m s , a r e t r u l y relative.' This i s the

effect created by the s h i f t i n g scene: the a c t i o n oscillates

between t h e s h a r a s h k a and Moscow a t l a r g e . The i m p l i c a t i o n

is that Solzhenitsyn considers t h e d i f f e r e n c e between these

two w o r l d s one o f d e g r e e , n o t o f k i n d .

This t h e s i s does n o t e n t e r i n t o d i s c u s s i o n o f those

elements o f p o l i t i c a l criticism contained i n Solzhenitsyn's

works. A l t h o u g h t h i s aspect of h i s novels i s important in a

complete exegesis, the h i s t o r i c a l c o n d i t i o n s w h i c h prompted

it will alter, and h i s work w i l l be j u d g e d i n t h e f u t u r e b y

literary criteria alone. Therefore this essay concentrates

on the l i t e r a r y qualities o f The F i r s t Circle. But i t t r i e s

also to assess Solzhenitsyn's p h i l o s o p h i c a l point o f view.

The t h e s i s i s presented i n three principal chapters

and a conclusion. CHAPTER I t r e a t s some o f t h e p r o b l e m s o f

structure and a n a l y z e s t h e dominant characteristics of Sol-

z h e n i t s y n ' s prose method. The e m p h a s i s i s on t h e s y n t a c t i c

devices and f i g u r a t i v e turns o f speech which are considered

t o be t h e d i s t i n g u i s h i n g c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f h i s mode o f e x -

p r e s s i o n . CHAPTER II collects and c l a s s i f i e s the s l a n g dic-

t i o n o f the c o n c e n t r a t i o n camps and p r i s o n s and comments on

the problem o f o b s c e n i t y . CHAPTER I I I a p p r o a c h e s t h e m o r a l

philosophy which runs through the novel and w h i c h separates

H e i n r i c h B o l l , "Die verhaftete Welt: In S o l s h e n i -

7

zyns E r s t e m K r e i s d e r H o l l e , " M e r k u r , X X I I I : $ (May 1 9 6 9 ) ,

p. 1+78.
 - 8 -

S o l z h e n i t s y n from h i s S o v i e t c o n t e m p o r a r i e s . The CONCLUSION

summarizes S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s i m p o r t a n c e as a modern writer.

There a r e two appendices. I n APPENDIX I t h e trans-

literation system used i n transcribing the R u s s i a n i s g i v e n

in t a b u l a r form. APPENDIX I I i s a g l o s s a r y o f w o r d s , terms

and c o n t r a c t i o n s w h i c h have b e e n u s e d i n the t h e s i s without

explanation, including those i n the INTRODUCTION.

The f o o t n o t e s a r e numbered c o n s e c u t i v e l y t h r o u g h o u t

each chapter. For convenience t h e n o t e s have b e e n p l a c e d a t

the f o o t o f the same page on w h i c h t h e superscript appears.

The SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY l i s t s t h e most u s e f u l and

r e l e v a n t m a t e r i a l s f o r a study of S o l z h e n i t s y n . I t excludes

the slanderous j o u r n a l i s t i c articles w h i c h a r e no more than

invective and w h i c h t h e r e f o r e have l i t t l e academic v a l u e .

All q u o t a t i o n s are t a k e n from the f o l l o w i n g edition

of Solzhenitsyn's f i c t i o n : Sobraniye sochinenii [Collected

Works], 6 volumes, F r a n k f u r t / M a i n : Possev, 1970. Fictional

references are i n d i c a t e d p a r e n t h e t i c a l l y w i t h i n the t e x t of

the t h e s i s t h u s : (3:92) r e f e r s t o Volume 3, Page 9 2 . Cita-

tions of n o n f i c t i o n a l sources i n c l u d e d in this same edition

are g i v e n i n t h e f o o t n o t e s u n d e r t h e h e a d i n g W o r k s. A l l t h e

q u o t a t i o n s are t r a n s c r i b e d i n the o r i g i n a l R u s s i a n i n those

s e c t i o n s which t r e a t diction and style. I n the o t h e r p a r t s

of the t h e s i s t h e e x c e r p t s have b e e n r e n d e r e d i n t o English.

For the accuracy of t r a n s l a t i o n I bear f u l l responsibility.

 CHAPTER I

PROBLEMS OP STRUCTURE AND STYLE

The artistic c o n c e p t i o n o f The F i r s t Circle i s very-

impressive: i t works a t many l e v e l s and r a n g e s i n space and

time. Superficially, i t examines t h e p r i s o n e x p e r i e n c e and

the r e a c t i o n s and a d j u s t m e n t s o f s e v e r a l men t o i t s r e g i m e .

This i s the n o v e l of a humanist and h u m a n i t a r i a n . With the

force of the nineteenth-century critical realists, i t seeks

truth, social justice and a p h i l o s o p h i c a l p o i n t o f s u p p o r t ,

and evinces a profound sympathy w i t h t h e human c o n d i t i o n . A

critical appraisal of Soviet r e a l i t y i n the S t a l i n e r a con-

stitutes y e t another level. Such a v a s t u n d e r t a k i n g raises

serious artistic difficulties: looseness of n a r r a t i v e , lack

o f p l o t u n i t y , and t h e g e n e r a l u n f i n i s h e d a p p e a r a n c e o f t h e

form a r e some o f t h e i m p e r f e c t i o n s w h i c h have b e e n observed

by critics.

Unlike C a n c e r Ward, w h i c h i s u n i f i e d by the c e n t r a l

problem o f the d i s e a s e i t s e l f , The F i r s t Circle h a s no con-

centrated plot to which e v e r y t h i n g i s c o n t r i b u t i v e and sub-

o r d i n a t e . The o n l y t r u e p l o t i s t o be f o u n d i n the separate

 - 10 -
thread of the novel devoted t o I n n o k e n t i l V o l o d i n . But this

t h r e a d embraces o n l y n i n e chapters and h a s the c h a r a c t e r of

a short story i n i t s e l f . For a e s t h e t i c a p p r e c i a t i o n of The

First C i r c l e A r i s t o t e l i a n p r e j u d i c e s m u s t be a b a n d o n e d ; the

work i s b e s t examined without reference t o any f i x e d struc-

t u r a l p r i n c i p l e s w h i c h m i g h t be t h o u g h t t o c h a r a c t e r i z e t h e

novel as an i n d i v i d u a l l i t e r a r y genre.

S o l z h e n i t s y n compensates f o r the absence o f a m a j o r

plot with mutually r e i n f o r c i n g themes w h i c h combine to pre-

sent a comprehensive p i c t u r e of l i f e i n Stalin's Russia. In

t h i s sense the p a r t s of the n o v e l a r e c o n t r i b u t i v e and sub-

o r d i n a t e to the author's i n t e n t i o n . Obviously, i n The First

C i r c l e S o l z h e n i t s y n i s l e s s concerned w i t h design than with

content (concerning the i d e a s and e m o t i o n s c o n v e y e d ) , w h i l e

his skilful c o m b i n i n g o f r e a l i s m and s y m b o l i s m and language

mastery are a e s t h e t i c a l l y p l e a s i n g aspects of the n o v e l .

T h i s i s not t o say t h a t there i s a complete absence

of a r t i s t i c d e s i g n , b u t t h a t The F i r s t Circle i s fragmented

in s t r u c t u r e . There i s coherence, f o r the c e n t r a l m o t i v e i s

never l o s t to v i e w . There are elements o f u n i t y e x t e r n a l t o

considerations of p l o t : as Deming B r o w n p o i n t s o u t , struct-

ural c o h e r e n c e r e s i d e s i n p a r t i n t h e c o n s i s t e n t l y downward

impulse i n the f a t e of the p r i n c i p a l characters. There i s

Deming B r o w n , " C a n c e r Ward and The F i r s t C i r c l e , "

S l a v i c R e v i e w . X X V I I I : 2 ( J u l y 1 9 6 9 ) , p p . 311-12.
 - 11 -

a r t i s t i c u n i t y a l s o i n the portrait g a l l e r y which i s "care-

fully designed and meticulously integrated," ^ although the

surfeit of d e t a i l s compressed i n t o a seventy-hour time span

has the effect of complicating the reader's perception, and

the characters o c c a s i o n a l l y seem t o have submerged i n t o the

amorphous mass o f sub-plot i n c i d e n t s .

The v e r y magnitude of S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s self-appointed

task prevents the f u s i n g o f h i s h e t e r o g e n e o u s themes i n t o a

unified whole. The more t h a n f i f t y c h a r a c t e r s who comprise

the dramatis personae represent a wide v a r i e t y of p o i n t s of

view. These c a n n o t be examined i n d e t a i l i n this fragmented

s t r u c t u r e . Yet i n this connection too the n o v e l i s redeemed

in p a r t by the fervour and the historical and human authen-

ticity o f the n a r r a t i v e .

The First C i r c l e may be compared t o a cinematograph

projecting a sequence o f "stills" i n rapid succession. This

technique i s an i n h e r e n t feature of Solzhenitsyn's literary

m e t h o d . The fragmentary presentation to which i t gives rise

in t h i s novel c o n s i s t s of approximately seventy scenes. The

scenic effect does not allow f o r the complete psychological

and p h i l o s o p h i c a l i l l u m i n a t i o n of c h a r a c t e r w h i c h i s one of

the d i s t i n g u i s h i n g features of Russian classical literature

in general and o f T o l s t o y ' s method i n p a r t i c u l a r . And while

I b i d . , p. 309.
 - 12 -

Solzhenitsyn r i v a l s h i s predecessor i n his ability to apply

the p s y c h o l o g i c a l method - and, on o c c a s i o n , even surpasses

him, The First Circle i s not a s u c c e s s f u l work i n t h i s way.

The second n o v e l C a n c e r Ward i s a g a i n s u p e r i o r i n i t s exam-

ination o f man in crisis.

One important exception i s Solzhenitsyn's portrayal

o f the simple Russian peasant: S p i r i d o n Yegorov i s a living

r e s u r r e c t i o n of P l a t o n Karatayev o f T o l s t o y ' s n o v e l War and

Peace. Each i s a " j a c k of a l l t r a d e s " (like I v a n Shukhov i n

the concentration camp), and r e a c t s to s i t u a t i o n s spontane-

o u s l y ; e a c h has an i n n o c e n t and youthful expression, and is

portrayed i n the light of t h a t p e c u l i a r u n f a t h o m a b i l i t y and

instinctive behaviour w h i c h have a l w a y s p u z z l e d the Russian

intellectual and w h i c h have b e e n a t the same t i m e the cause

of h i s great admiration. Platon's p r o v e r b i a l "Where there's

judgment, t h e r e there's f alsehood,"- - 1 0

sounds l i k e Spiridon's

"That's why there's a devil - t o judge the priests."(3:189)

And T o l s t o y ' s d e s c r i p t i o n of P l a t o n as an " e v e r l a s t i n g per-

sonification o f the spirit of simplicity and truth" is just

as a p p l i c a b l e t o S p i r i d o n , and e v e n t o I v a n Shukhov."'"" " 1

The First Circle i s peopled by static, consistently

l O c o u n t Leo T o l s t o y , War and Peace,trans. Constance

G a r n e t t , New Y o r k : Random House (The Modern L i b r a r y ) , n.d.,
p . 902.

1 1
Ibid., p. 906.
 - 13 -

motivated i n d i v i d u a l s . E a c h one i s described physically and

given a biography. The reader observes e a c h one's behaviour

in the (predominantly male) c o l l e c t i v e and his relationship

with h i s f e l l o w s . Yet i t i s only the p r i n c i p a l s who are re-

vealed fully and realized as i n l i f e . The group of rounded

characters includes Nerzhin, h i s w i f e Nadya, R u b i n , Stalin,

Volodin and Yegorov. T h o s e who m i g h t be considered "flat,"

were i t n o t f o r some i n d i v i d u a l i z i n g m a r k s , i n c l u d e t h e two

kumy o r o p e r a t i v e s ( S h i k i n and Myshin), the Party Secretary

(Step anov), the Head o f t h e Prison ( K l i m e n t i e v ) , the Junior

Lieutenant (Nadelashin), the Serbian Marxist (Radovich),the

Prosecutor (Makarygin), and the p r i s o n e r s P o t a p o v , Adamson,

Kondrashev-Ivanov and K a g a n . Between t h e s e categories there

is a third group i n c l u d i n g the prisoners Sologdin, Doronin,

and G-erasimovich, the Head and D e p u t y Head o f t h e Institute

Yakonov and Roitman, the w r i t e r Galakhov, the Prosecutor's

d a u g h t e r K l a r a M a k a r y g i n and the M i n i s t e r V i c t o r Abakumov.

If the s e c o n d a r y and tertiary characters often seem

transitory, as Brown has suggested, i t may be due i n part

t o the l a c k of a prominent p l o t to which they could relate.

But i t i s also attributable t o the fact that each character

is a thematic embodiment o f an i d e o l o g i c a l or p h i l o s o p h i c a l

point o f v i e w , and the space o f a c h a p t e r (or p a r t thereof)

Brown, op. c i t . , p. 3H»

 - 11+ -

does n o t f a c i l i t a t e complete i l l u m i n a t i o n . Ivan D y r s i n , f o r

example, i s a s s i g n e d no f i c t i o n a l role. His sole purpose i s

to r e v e a l the a b s u r d i t i e s and i n c o n s i s t e n c i e s o f the e n t i r e

era. (The a d m i n i s t r a t i o n r e q u e s t s him t o w r i t e a "cheerful

reply" (bodryi otvet) to the p e s s i m i s t i c l e t t e r s o f h i s now

despondent w i f e , and e v e n t o a d v i s e her to believe i n God!)

But this looseness of structure h a s one a r t i s t i c advantage:

r e m o v a l o f one o r a n o t h e r " c h a r a c t e r - t h e m e " does n o t r e d u c e

the stylistic effectiveness o f the n o v e l . But the e f f e c t o f

the finished picture of Soviet life p r e s e n t e d by t h e a u t h o r

would have b e e n m a r k e d l y diminished.

In terms o f s t r u c t u r e t h e most significant parts of

the novel a r e C h a p t e r 1, C h a p t e r 55 ( a p p r o x i m a t e l y central)

and the concluding lines o f the e p i l o g u e .

The first chapter i s a prologue which serves t o s e t

the atmosphere o f s u s p i c i o n and f e a r w h i c h g r i p s Moscow and

to i n i t i a t e t h e a c t i o n o f the framework s t o r y o f I n n o k e n t i i

Volodin. This dramatic story constitutes the n a r r a t i v e fabr

ric o f the n o v e l . In h i s o f f i c i a l capacity as a d i p l o m a t i n

the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Volodin has l e a r n e d o f the

danger t h r e a t e n i n g h i s mother's former p h y s i c i a n , Dr Dobro-

umov, who h a s c a r e l e s s l y p r o m i s e d t o share a recent medical

discovery with foreign colleagues. Volodin warns him on t h e

telephone, and t h e c a l l i s recorded on t a p e . (The d o c t o r i s

under s u r v e i l l a n c e . ) Volodin's a c t enhances the importance

 - 15 -

of t h e l a b o r a t o r y w o r k a t M a v r i n o , where a t t e m p t s a r e b e i n g

made t o r a i s e p h o n o s c o p y t o t h e l e v e l o f a s c i e n c e w i t h t h e

same r e l i a b i l i t y as d a c t y l o s c o p y . The s u b s t a n c e o f t h e Mav-

r i n o a c t i o n t r a c e s the e v o l u t i o n of a v o i c e - e n c o d i n g d e v i c e

w h i c h has been o r d e r e d by S t a l i n , and w h i c h i s b r o u g h t into

p l a y i n the e f f o r t t o d i s t i n g u i s h the c a l l e r from the o t h e r

suspects.

The s t o r y - l i n e i s a c t e d out i n about s e v e n t y h o u r s .

The t i m e i s t h e C h r i s t m a s p e r i o d o f 1914-9: f r o m l4.:05 p.m. on

Saturday (2I4. December) t o a r o u n d n o o n on T u e s d a y (27 Decem-

ber). Prom t h e i n i t i a t i o n o f t h e a c t i o n t o t h e c l i m a x w i t h

V o l o d i n ' s a r r e s t , t h e i n c i d e n t s i n b r i e f a r e as f o l l o w s . At

a r o u n d l4_:l5 p.m. on C h r i s t m a s Eve V o l o d i n p h o n e s Dobroumov.

The call i s r e c o r d e d . A t m i d n i g h t Abakumov m e e t s w i t h O s k o -

l u p o v , S e v a s t y a n o v and Y a k o n o v t o d i s c u s s t h e M a v r i n o w o r k .

A t t e n o ' c l o c k on C h r i s t m a s Day R u b i n h e a r s t h e t a p e d call,

and r e c e i v e s t h e l i s t of f i v e suspects. Around s i x o ' c l o c k

V o l o d i n c a l l s Makarygin's apartment; s i n c e he i s one of the

five s u s p e c t s , h i s t e l e p h o n e i s b e i n g t a p p e d . The recording

is d e l i v e r e d t o R u b i n f o r c o m p a r i s o n w i t h t h e f i r s t one. At

3:15 p.m. on 26 December R u b i n d e c l a r e s t h a t p h o n o s c o p y h a s

a "rational c o r e , " and he e x c u l p a t e s t h r e e o f t h e s u s p e c t s .

V o l o d i n i s a r r e s t e d around s i x o ' c l o c k .

It i s i n C h a p t e r 55 t h a t V o l o d i n u s e s h i s t e l e p h o n e

to call the Makarygin apartment. His s i s t e r - i n - l a w , Klara,

 - 16 -
who i s a f r e e employee i n t h e vacuum l a b o r a t o r y at Mavrino,

answers the telephone. At this point, with the coincidence

of Dickens, a few threads of the p l o t converge. K l a r a i s i n

love with the p r i s o n e r R u s k a D o r o n i n who, hating privilege,

has aroused her social consciousness and turned her against

her own "class." She realizes t h a t her f a t h e r has convicted

(on o r d e r ) a number o f i n n o c e n t men. And, finally, there is

the seemingly absurd " i n t e r f e r e n c e " of the convict Rubin in

the life of the d i p l o m a t . These "coincidences" are regarded

by Heinrich Boll as the device of a m a t h e m a t i c i a n . He calls

it " a macabre t r i b u t e t o the classical novel."^3

The closing lines o f the novel provide some i n s i g h t

into Solzhenitsyn's attitudes. A French correspondent, see-

ing a d e l i v e r y van i n s c r i b e d MEAT i n f o u r l a n g u a g e s , remem-

bers having seen o t h e r s throughout the day. He jots down i n

h i s n o t e b o o k t h a t Moscow i s w e l l p r o v i s i o n e d . The van is a

camouflaged B l a c k M a r i a i n which twenty p r i s o n e r s are being

transported f r o m the sharashka back to the camps. I t seems

significant that Solzhenitsyn chose t o end his novel with a

" w h o l e s a l e box on the ear for Occidental stupidity.

..lij. T h l s

"^He w r i t e s : "Nur i n d i e s e n b e i d e n [ s i c ] K a p i t e l n ,
d i e genau i n d e r M i t t e des Romans l i e g e n , und das i s t b e i
e i n e m M a t h e m a t i k e r gewiB k e i n Z u f a l l , w i r d dem k l a s s i s c h e n
Roman e i n m a k a b r e r Z o l l g e z a h l t , w i r d S c h i c k s a l 'zusammen-
g e f u h r t ' . " B o l l , op. c i t . , p . 1+00.

1 [ j
- I b i d . , p. bj6.
 - 17 -

tongue-in-cheek i n c i d e n t advertises the s u p e r - s e c r e c y which

enveloped S t a l i n ' s operations. But i t s e r v e s a second pur-

pose: i t assembles t h e t h r e a d s o f the S l a v o p h i l e p h i l o s o p h y

which c o u r s e s t h r o u g h the novel.

If the n a r r a t i v e l o o s e n e s s o f The F i r s t Circle is a

source of a e s t h e t i c dissatisfaction, the s t y l e o f the n o v e l

redeems i t . This s e c t i o n examines S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s character-

i s t i c mode o f e x p r e s s i o n , w h i c h h a s won him critical respect

as t h e l e a d i n g stylist o f contemporary Russian prose. This

problem i s t o o complex t o d e a l w i t h i t f u l l y . The aim here

is to survey the syntactic d e v i c e s and f i g u r a t i v e system of

h i s work. Though t h e f u n d a m e n t a l point of reference i s the

novel.The F i r s t Circle, the d i s c u s s i o n i s supplemented with

examples f r o m o t h e r w o r k s . I n t h i s way i t i s hoped t o avoid

superficiality.

Several scholarly articles have b e e n d e v o t e d t o the

problem at hand. These are a l l l i n g u i s t i c a l l y oriented and

mixed i n c h a r a c t e r , d e a l i n g w i t h problems of both s t y l e and

diction. It i s useful t o summarize v e r y b r i e f l y the c o n t e n t

of each. The Soviet linguist, T. G. V i n o k u r , i n h i s p a p e r ,

"0 y a z y k e i stile povesti A . I . S o l z h e n i t s y n a O d i n den' Ivana

D e n i s o v i c h a , " has treated the v a r i o u s speech l e v e l s of this

n o v e l l a and some o f i t s s k a z e l e m e n t s i n an a t t e m p t t o show

 - 18 -
I'D

the I n n e r u n i t y of i t s v e r b a l - f i g u r a t i v e composition. The

b r i e f r e v i e w a r t i c l e by L u d m i l a K o e h l e r , " A l e x a n d e r Solzhe-

n i t s y n and R u s s i a n L i t e r a r y T r a d i t i o n , " compares L e s k o v and

S o l z h e n i t s y n and i n t r o d u c e s some o f t h e l i n g u i s t i c and syn-

-i L

t a c t i c devices of h i s e a r l y s t o r i e s . Leonid Rzhevsky has

c o n t r i b u t e d two p a p e r s t o t h e d i s c u s s i o n . The first, "Obraz

r a s s k a z c h i k a v p o v e s t i S o l z h e n i t s y n a H d i n den' Ivana Denis-

o v i c h a , " examines the language o f b o t h n a r r a t o r and central

c h a r a c t e r o f t h e s t o r y and shows where S o l z h e n i t s y n d e p a r t s
17

from the skaz. The second, "Tvorcheskoye slovo u Solzhe-

n i t s y n a , " i s a g e n e r a l d i s c u s s i o n o f some o f S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s

successes and f a i l u r e s as he searches f o r expressive forms.

The article s t r e s s e s the R u s s i a n f o l k speech and colloquial

s p o n t a n e i t y of h i s p r o s e . F i n a l l y , i n h i s paper "'Lager-

n y i yazyk' po p r o i z v e d e n i y a m A. I . S o l z h e n i t s y n a , " E. Shil-

yayev p r o v i d e s an i n t r o d u c t o r y d i s c u s s i o n o f c e r t a i n m o r p h -

ological c a t e g o r i e s o f camp l a n g u a g e and classifies various

grammatical forms. 7
W h i l e a l l t h e s e s t u d i e s have produced
"'"-'in V o p r o s y k u l ' t u r y r e c h i , V y p u s k 6, M o s k v a :
I z d a t e l ' s t v o "Nauka," 1 9 6 5 , pp. 1 6 - 3 2 .
l 6
T h e R u s s i a n R e v i e w , X X V I : 2 ( A p r i l 1967), PP.I76-8I4..
17
See S t u d i e s i n S l a v i c L i n g u i s t i c s and P o e t i c s i n
Honor o f B o r i s 0. U n b e g a u n , e d . R o b e r t M a g i d o f f e t . a l . ,
New Y o r k : New Y o r k U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1968, pp. 165-78.
l 8
Novyi Z h u r n a l , No.96 ( S e p t e m b e r 1969), pp. 76-90.
1 9
Novyi Z h u r n a l , No.95 (June 1969), pp. 232-I4.7.
 - 19 -

valuable results, the question of s y n t a x and figurative de-

vices requires further investigation.

The stylistic f e a t u r e which d i s t i n g u i s h e s the prose

under examination here i s i t s straightforward quality. The

labour-camp t a l e particularly i s a controlled, ascetically-

executed report on human f o r t i t u d e in a hostile milieu. In

Solzhenitsyn's reproduction o f the camp t r a g e d y there is no

cry of outraged dignity. The extremely subtle irony i s ev-

ident only i n the t w i s t s and turns of the f a t e of the cent-

ral character. I n the l a t e r novels Solzhenitsyn i s less re-

strained: i r o n y abounds i n v a r i o u s shades o f i n t e n s i t y , and

20

"the element of combative abusiveness" i s more m a r k e d .

The characteristic property o f the syntactic design

is l a c o n i c i s m . The conciseness which can be observed in the

chapters and p a r a g r a p h s o f The First Circle i s also typical

of i t s sentences. Each statement conveys o n l y the e s s e n t i a l

information. T h i s procedure i s followed whether the comment

renders a personal o p i n i o n on a life phenomenon o r a social

or p o l i t i c a l judgment. Strict avoidance of e l a b o r a t i o n and

the striving f o r c a n d o r impose a search for stylistic means

whereby e m o t i o n c a n be communicated. E x c l a m a t i o n s and verb-

o m i s s i o n s , which are d i s t i n c t i v e marks of e l l i p t i c a l syntax,

are commonly e m p l o y e d . Some e x a m p l e s a r e the following:

Brown, op. c i t . , p. 307.

 - 20 -

Summa summarum s t a l i n s k o g o p r a v o s u d i y a l (i+t512)

Budushcheye o b s h c h e s t v o l 0 nyom govorili

tak legkol ik'k3S)
Eto b y l pocherk S t a l i n a J - t o velikolepnoye
uravneniye druzei i vragov, kotoroye vydelyalo
yego i z o v s e i c h e l o v e c h e s k o i i s t o r i i l (3:223)

This e l l i p t i c a l construction i s particularly adapt-

able to the mental a c t i o n o f the characters,where i t serves

in the immediate transmission o f a thought o r an i d e a . For

example: " G o s p o d i i S v o i m i nogami - da na v o l y u , a?" (1:52)

In the f o l l o w i n g passage (from Cancer Ward), t h i s technique

has facilitated the author's compressing of several actions

into one; t h e e f f e c t i s n o t s e r i o u s l y r e d u c e d by t h e i n t e r -

posed p a r e n t h e s i s : " T e p e r ' t k l e i - d e v u s h k e , meshok - v ruki

(on mezhdu nogami v s y o v r e m y a , c h t o b ne u p e r l i ) , pis'ma - v

yashchik, a samomu - b e g o m l " (2:5^7)

Ellipsis i s one o f t h e p r o p e r t i e s w h i c h g i v e to the

prose o f the labour-camp story i t s distinguished character.

To achieve the d e s i r e d a r t i s t i c effects, t h e s y n t a x must be

subordinated t o the p o p u l a r - f o l k o r i e n t a t i o n o f the v i l l a g e

speech o f the main c h a r a c t e r . T h e r e f o r e d e v i a t i o n s from the

PI
normal syntax occur. The s e n t e n c e may l o s e a conjunction
or g a i n an i n t e r j e c t i o n :

V i d i t Shukhov - z a m e t a l s y a T s e z a r ' , tyk-myk, d a

p o z d n o . (1:121+)

These a r e t r e a t e d by L . Rzhevsky i n "Obraz r a s -

skazchika . . . ," op. c i t . . p . 1 6 9 .
 - 21 -

V o s e m n a d t s a t y m i Shukhov v t i s n u l s y a . Da begom k
s v o y e i v a g o n k e , da n a p o d p o r o c h k u nogu z a k i n u l -
s h a s t ' l - i u z h n a v e r k h u . (1:132)

A n o t h e r d i s t i n c t i v e mark o f S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s laconic-

ism i s i t s p r o v e r b i a l b e n t . The concentration-camp story i s

i n s p i r e d by t h e wisdom o f s a y i n g s and by-words w h i c h convey

the rudimentary Weltanschauung o f the u n p r e t e n t i o u s peasant

and h i s o b s e r v a t i o n s on t h e conditions of p r i s o n l i f e . Here

the c o n c i s e n e s s o f the syntax has t h a t q u a l i t y which Burton

22

Rubin describes as " s t a c c a t o b r e v i t y . " T h i s i s the effect

p r o d u c e d by judgments delivered i n p a s s i n g . S i n c e the point

of view i s t h a t of a simple peasant, genuine proverbiality

is a c h i e v e d by r e n d e r i n g the v e r b i n f i n a l position. After

the method o f Rzhevsky, three fundamental c a t e g o r i e s may be

distinguished.^ Two b o r r o w i n g s from V l a d i m i r D a i ' s P o s l o v -

itsy russkogo naroda (Moskva: G-IKhL, 1957) are i n the first

class:

Kryakhti d a g n i s ' . A u p r y o s h ' s y a - p e r e l o m i s h ' s y a . (1: )

Bryukho - zlodei, s t a r o g o d o b r a ne p o m n i t . • . .(1:112)

The members o f t h e s e c o n d g r o u p are v a r i a t i o n s of types a l -

ready e x i s t i n g i n the language:

I s p y t o k ne u b y t o k . . . . (1:7)
2 2
" H i g h l i g h t s o f t h e 1 9 6 2 - 1 9 6 3 Thaw," i n S o v i e t
L i t e r a t u r e i n t h e S i x t i e s : An I n t e r n a t i o n a l Symposium, e d .
Max Hayward and Edward L. C r o w l e y , New Y o r k : P r a e g e r , 196I4-,
p. 90.
23
Rzhevsky, op. c i t . , pp. 168-9.
 - 22 -

Tyoplyi zyablogo r a z v e kogda poimyot? (1:20)

Bitol sobake t o l ' k o p l e t ' pokazhi. d:im

K t o kogo smozhet, t o t togo i g l o z h e t . (1:56)

G r e t o m u m y o r z l o g o ne ponyat'. (1:88)

Stylistically,the third c a t e g o r y i s the most i m p o r t a n t , f o r

its components t e s t i f y t o S o l z h e n i t s y n s o r i g i n a l i t y i n the

1

field of p o p u l a r - f o l k phraseology. The following aphoristic

j u d g m e n t s on t h e phenomena o f camp l i f e show t h a t t h e n a r r -

a t o r has p e n e t r a t e d c o m p l e t e l y the mind o f the c e n t r a l fig-

ure:

V k a l y v a i na s o v e s t ' - odno s p a s e n i y e . (1:7)

Dlya l y u d e i delayesh' - kachestvo d a i ,

d l y a duraka delayesh' - d a i pokazukhu. (1:13)

Ne v y k u s i s h ' - ne v y p r o s i s h ' . (1:[|_2)

D v e s t i gramm z h i z n ' y u p r a v y a t . (1:1+7)

Mi ski nesti - ne rukavom t r y a s t i . (1:110)

Khuzhe n e t , kak b r y u k h o r a s t r a v i s h ' , da popustu.(1:117)

nKak
a g vr oe tb e bs hy os kt r ap yo ap avdoasyhekta. v s e g d a pervaya (1:122)

S o l z h e n i t s y n o c c a s i o n a l l y employs the proverb as a didactic

vehicle. While the t r a n s p o r t from Mavrino i s getting under

way, Khorobrov's comment a f f i r m s t h e m o r a l Tightness o f the

p r i s o n e r s ' r e f u s a l s to cooperate i n t h e l a b o r a t o r y schemes:

"Net, r e b y a t a - l u c h s h e k h l e b s v o d o i , chem p i r o g s bedoi."

(l+:803) And S p i r i d o n Yegorov's i n s t i n c t i v e r e a c t i o n to the

problem o f g o o d and e v i l i s a r e p r o d u c t i o n o f t h e f o l k a t t -
 - 23 -

itu.de: " V o l k o d a v - prav, a lyudoyed - netl" (I4.S^61)

Solzhenitsyn's chosen u n i t o f r e s p o n s i b i l i t y i n The

First Circle i s the sentence rather t h a n t h e p a r a g r a p h . The

sentence i s d e s i g n e d t o f o c u s t h e r e a d e r ' s a t t e n t i o n o n one

thing a t a t i m e . T h e r e f o r e a l l t h e n e c e s s a r y i n f o r m a t i o n on

the m a t t e r a t h a n d i s g i v e n a t t h e same t i m e . I f a d d i t i o n a l

i n f o r m a t i o n i s r e q u i r e d , i t i s u s u a l l y r e p o r t e d i n a paren-

thesis; S o l z h e n i t s y n r a r e l y puts i t i n a separate sentence.

The m u l t i p l i c i t y o f single-sentence paragraphs i n The F i r s t

C i r c l e may be a t t r i b u t e d to this device.

To promote i n t h e p a r a g r a p h s the l a c o n i c properties

of the s e n t e n c e s , v a r i o u s t e c h n i q u e s are u s e d . F o r example,

Solzhenitsyn b r i l l i a n t l y exploits the p r e d i l e c t i o n f o r par-

ticipial constructions i n colloquial speech. The f o l l o w i n g

nonperiodic sentence-paragraph drawn f r o m the i n i t i a l scene

of t h e n o v e l i s an e x c e l l e n t illustration:

Wezatumanennyye d v o i n y y e s t e k l a v y s o k o g o o k n a ,
n a c h i n a y u s h c h e g o s y a o t samogo p o l a , o t k r y v a l i g l a z u
gde-to v n i z u t o r o p l i v o y e snovaniye u l i t s y i d v o r n i -
kov, s g r e b a v s h i k h t o l ' k o c h t o v y p a v s h i i , no u z h e
o t y a z h e l e v s h i i , k o r i c h n e v o - g r y a z n y i sneg i z - p o d n o g
p e s h e k h o d o v . (3*5>)

Common f e a t u r e s o f t h e l o n g e r s e n t e n c e s are s t r i n g s

of v e r b f o r m s and r e p e t i t i o n s . These d e v i c e s a s s i s t i n the

characterizing o f A n d r e i Potapov, where t h e r e p e t i t i o n s l a y

stress on h i s m o r n i n g habits:

Potapov i z pervykh v s t a l , g u l y a l , i z p e r v y k h po-

z a v t r a k a l , uzhe p o p i l i chayu, uzhe z a p r a v i l k o i k u v
 - 214. "

z h y o s t k i i p a r a l l e l e p i p e d , s i d e l c h i t a l g a z e t u - no
d u s h o i r v a l s y a n a r a b o t u (yemu p r e d s t o y a l o s e g o d n y a
g r a d u i r o v a t ' i n t e r e s n y i p r i b o r , im samim s d e l a n n y i ) .
(1^:770)

This passage a l s o e x e m p l i f i e s Solzhenitsyn's i n c l i n a t i o n to

substitute an i n d e p e n d e n t p r o p o s i t i o n f o r a c a u s a l clause.

The complex syntactic period i s f r e q u e n t l y a source

of a e s t h e t i c pleasure. The p r o p e r t y which c h a r a c t e r i z e s the

excerpt introduced below i s i t s double i n t o n a t i o n , i n which

the parenthesis does s e r v i c e as a r h y t h m i c p a u s e t o b a l a n c e

the logically s t r e s s e d members o f t h e s e n t e n c e .

On d o l o z h i l , c h t o n o c h n o y e d e z h u r s t v o p r o s h l o v
polnom p o r y a d k e , n a r u s h e n i i n i k a k i k h ne b y l o , c h r e z -
v y c h a i n n y k h zhe p r o i s s h e s t v i i d v a : odno i z l o z h e n o v
raporte (on p o l o z h i l p e r e d K l i m e n t ' y e v y m r a p o r t n a
u g o l s t o l a , no r a p o r t t o t c h a s zhe s o r v a l s y a i po z a -
m y s l o v a t o i k r i v o i s p l a n i r o v a l p o d d a l ' n i i s t u l . Nade-
l a s h i n k i n u l s y a za nim tuda i snova p r i n y o s na s t o l ) ,
v t o r o y e zhe s o s t o y a l o v v y z o v e z a k l y u c h y o n n y k h B o b i -
n i n a i P r y a n c h i k o v a k m i n i s t r u G o s b e z o p a s n o s t i . (3:210)

The scene h a s two l e v e l s o f a c t i o n w h i c h o p e r a t e simultane-

ously: while Nadelashin d e l i v e r s the r e p o r t , t h e a u t h o r , as

the omniscient narrator, a t t r a c t s the reader's a t t e n t i o n by

interjecting. The p a r e n t h e t i c humour d o e s d o u b l e d u t y : i t

makes a show o f N a d e l a s h i n ' s d i s c o m p o s u r e and u t t e r inepti-

tude i n the presence of h i s superior, and i t s u b t l y derides

the whole b u r e a u c r a t i c proceeding.

Solzhenitsyn's penchant f o r b r e v i t y g u i d e s the f i g -

urative s y s t e m o f h i s work. He does n o t e x p e r i m e n t i n this

field,and as a r e s u l t h i s comparisons are o f t e n commanding.

 - 25 -

L i k e T o l s t o y , he does not resort to f i g u r a t i v e language f o r

aesthetic effects. Instead, these are c r e a t e d by eloquence.

H i s m e t a p h o r s a r e d i s t i n g u i s h e d by o r i g i n a l i t y , a n d t h e more

e x p r e s s i v e o f them a r e u n d e r l a i n by coarse humour. The camp

story c o n t a i n s the f o l l o w i n g examples:

namordnik d o r o z h n y i . In p r i s o n j a r g o n the namordnik i s

a "muzzle," a s c r e e n p l a c e d over the c e l l window t o conceal

t h e v i e w , y e t admit l i g h t . In the combination here i t sig-

nifies a b i t of rag to "muzzle" the prisoner's face against

the b i t t e r cold as he goes out t o work b e y o n d t h e camp con-

fines: "Namordnik d o r o z h n y i , tryapochka, za dorogu vsya ot-

mokla ot dykhaniya i koi-gde morozom p r i k h v a t i l a s ' , korkoi

stala ledyanoi." (1:35)

bushlat derevyannyi. T h i s e x p r e s s i o n , w h i c h comes f r o m

Russian t h i e v e s ' cant, f i n d s i t s E n g l i s h counterpart i n the

"wooden o v e r c o a t " of underworld slang. "Doktora e t i v bush-

lat derevyannyi l e c h a t . " (1:93)

A final example i s t h e f o l l o w i n g metonymical d e s c r i p t i o n of

the lOl+th b r i g a d e as " b r y u k h i pustyye poyasami brezentovymi

zatyanuty." (1:14-5)

The Bolshaya L u b y a n k a p r i s o n i n Moscow i s d e s c r i b e d

in such a way as t o c o n t r i b u t e t o t h e atmosphere o f impend-

ing doom w h i c h p r e v a i l s around V o l o d i n . The combination of

v

m e t a p h o r and simile imparts to i t a threatening aspect and,

it seems, p r e s e n t s i t as a symbol o f S t a l i n ' s T e r r o r : "Eta

 - 26 -

s e r o - c h y o r n a y a d e v y a t i e t a z h n a y a t u s h a b y l a l i n k o r , i vosem-

nadtsat' p i l y a s t r o v kak vosemnadtsat' o r u d i i n y k h bashen vy-

silis' po pravomu y e y o b o r t u . " (3:8)

Solzhenitsyn's metaphors are o f t e n employed f o r the

purpose of i r o n y . The d e s c r i p t i o n of the novel F a r From Us

is s a r c a s t i c i n the extreme and has the e f f e c t of excluding

socialist realism from l i t e r a t u r e : "Eta kniga byla - pirog

bez nachinki, yaitso s vytekshim soderzhimym, chuchelo ot

ubitoi ptitsy. . . ." (3:3214.)

Similes a r e much more numerous i n h i s w o r k s . These

too are precise and simple, and are particularly successful

in conveying the harshness of p r i s o n l i f e . I n many o f them

Solzhenitsyn e x p l o i t s pathos. The v i s u a l i m a g e r y and sense

appeal are poignant i n the following examples:

. . . kozha na litse - kak k o r a dubovaya. (1:36)

. . . o k r u z h i l i t u p e c h k u , kak babu, vse

obnimat' l e z u t . (1:51+-)

. . . k a s h i t s u i . . . k n e i so s v y a s h c h e n -
nym t r e p e t o m p r i o b r a s h c h a y e s h ' s y a , p r i c h a -
s h c h a y e s h ' s y a l - kak k t o i p r a n e i o g o v l (3:l+-9)

Solzhenitsyn has a keen s e n s i b i l i t y t o the ordinary

phenomena o f l i f e . His d e s c r i p t i o n o f the young K l a r a Maka-

r y g i n i n the hands o f d e s t i n y reveal that d e l i c a c y of feel-

ing: "Ona ne byla vinovata, chto n a s t u p i l o yeyo posledneye

predel'noye sozrevaniye i neumolimym zakonom p r i r o d y ona

d o l z h n a b y l a , kak sentyabr'skoye yabloko, upast' v r u k i to-

 - 27 -

mu, kto yeyo p o d k h v a t i t . " ([).:528-9)

Soviet officials are t r e a t e d w i t h the contempt they

deserve. At the b e g i n n i n g o f The First Circle the m i n i s t e r s

of the government are s u i t a b l y d i m i n i s h e d f o r the amusement

o f the r e a d e r : "Znaya nochnyye povadki v l a d y k i , vse shest'

desyatkov ministrov, kak s h k o l ' n i k i , bdyat v ozhidanii vy-

zova." (3:6)

The C h r i s t i a n resonance which u n d e r l i e s the f o l l o w -

ing simile from C a n c e r Ward i s p a r t i c u l a r l y striking. Here

S o l z h e n i t s y n mentions the ease w i t h which e x i l e s and former

camp m a r t y r s recognize each other: " K h o t y a ne b y l o im uch-

rezhdeno sredi o s t a l ' n y k h n i pogon, n i y a v n o i formy, n i na-

rukavnoi povyazki, - a oni legko o p o z n a v a l i drug druga: kak

b u d t o po kakomu-to s v e t y a s h c h e m u s y a z n a k u vo l b u ; kak budto

po stigmatam na kostyakh ladoni i plyusny." (2:525) It i s ,

perhaps, a tribute to the artistry t h a t the symbolism needs

no e l a b o r a t i o n .

The r h y t h m o f t h e l o n g e r p a s s a g e s i n The First Cir-

cle i s attributable i n large part to Solzhenitsyn's f a c u l t y

for finding the correct combination of words. T h i s felicity

can be seen i n h i s choice of e p i t h e t s . There i s n o t h i n g un-

expected or s u r p r i s i n g i n h i s s e l e c t i o n of metaphorical ad-

jectives i n the f o l l o w i n g e x t r a c t ; indeed, their particular

aptness resides i n t h e i r very usualness ( i f their frequency

i n p o e t i c d i c t i o n i s c o n s i d e r e d ) : ". . . moskvichi, priyez-

 - 28 -

z h a y u s h c h i y e po v o s k r e s e n ' y a m v roshchu, ne m o g l i b y p r e d -

stavit', skol'ko nezauryadnikh zhiznei, rastoptannykh pory-

vov, vzmetennykh s t r a s t e i i gosudarstvennykh t a i n b y l o sob-

rano, stisnuto, s p l e t e n o i d o k r a s n a n a k a l e n o v etom podgo-

rodnem odinokom starinnom z d a n i i [My i t a l i c s ] . " (3:280) The

effectiveness of the f i r s t three elements i n the i t a l i c i z e d

sequence above i s e n h a n c e d by t h e i r b e i n g p l a c e d syntactic-

ally parallel w i t h the f o u r t h e x p r e s s i o n , the a n t i c l i m a c t i c

"gosudarstvennyye tainy."

Passages o f pure d e s c r i p t i o n o f t e n have t h e q u a l i t y

of p r o s e p o e t r y . The v i v i d imagery o f the phrase " s h c h e d r y i

tsarstvennyi inei" (3:183), f o r e x a m p l e , h a s t h e same fine-

ness of p e r c e p t i o n which distinguishes t h e p r o s e poems, t h e

Krokhotnyye r a s s k a z y . And, whatever the purpose, the e p i t h -

ets applied t o the d e s c r i p t i o n o f Yakonov's o f f i c e have t h e

distinctive signs of poetic e x p r e s s i o n : ". . . v b a r k h a t i s -

toi tishine i polirovannom uyute kabineta. . . . " (3:271)

When t h e scene changes from the sanctuary o f nature

to the i n f e r n a l S i b e r i a n "underworld," the language o f poe-

try i s , a p p r o p r i a t e l y , f o r s a k e n . The e p i t h e t s , however, r e -

m a i n p e r t i n e n t . F o r example: "V etom ledyanom mire, kotoryi

. . . otshtampoval Olegu dushu. . . ," (2:52!+) " v o l ' c h i z a -

kony GULAGa" (3:95) and many others.

Solzhenitsyn's prose i s never formal or o r a t o r i c a l ;

embellished language f i n d s no p l a c e i n his style. His prose

 - 29 -

is candid, sincere and h o n e s t ; i t does n o t have t h e s o p h i s -

tication o f much W e s t e r n l i t e r a t u r e . The s i n c e r i t y resides

in his striving f o r the spontaneity of c o l l o q u i a l and popu-

lar phraseology. H i s s k i l f u l u s e o f new g r a m m a t i c a l forms,

dialectal and a r c h a i c e x p r e s s i o n s and n e o l o g i s m s (including

s l i g h t l y m o d i f i e d borrowings from V l a d i m i r D a l ' , words and

phrases used w i t h semantic change and o t h e r s c o n s t r u c t e d b y

affixation) a c t s as a r e s t o r a t i v e and makes a v a l u a b l e con-

tribution t o the contemporary literary language.

It has n o t been p o s s i b l e i n this essay to deal with

all problems of s t y l e . Those q u e s t i o n s which still require

investigating include dialogue structure (which contributes

in i m p o r t a n t m e a s u r e t o t h e drama o f t h e n o v e l ) , the use of

symbol, the r e l a t e d problem of i r o n i c t o n e , and t h e e f f e c t s

o f v o c a b u l a r y and p h r a s e o l o g y on s y n t a c t i c structure.
 CHAPTER I I

THE LANGUAGE OF THE CAMPS

The primary purpose o f t h i s chapter i s to deal with

the diction of the p r i s o n s and c o n c e n t r a t i o n camps as i t i s

s e t down b y S o l z h e n i t s y n . H i s two works One Day i n t h e L i f e

of Ivan D e n i s o v i c h and The F i r s t Circle are r i c h sources of

the vocabulary i n question. The r e t i c e n c e o f t h e g o v e r n m e n t

about the system o f compulsory l a b o u r impedes i n v e s t i g a t i o n

in t h i s branch of l i n g u i s t i c s . Perhaps understandably, the

censors do n o t p u b l i s h w o r k s t r e a t i n g p o l i t i c a l l y s e n s i t i v e

themes. E x c e p t i o n a l l y , a few s t o r i e s and a r t i c l e s appeared

during t h e s o - c a l l e d "thaw" o f t h e e a r l y 1 9 6 0 s . T h e s e works

(including Solzhenitsyn's first story) a r e an embarrassment

to the present leaders of the S o v i e t Union.

Since S o l z h e n i t s y n was i m p r i s o n e d under A r t i c l e $8,

he served h i s sentence i n s p e c i a l institutions reserved f o r

political offenders: four years i n a special p r i s o n s u c h as

Mavrino, four years i n a special camp. T h e r e f o r e h i s novels

do not f u r n i s h the l i n g u i s t with a complete l e x i c o n o f camp

l a n g u a g e . The w r i t t e n t e s t i m o n y of former inmates i n d i c a t e s

t h a t word u s a g e v a r i e d r e g i o n a l l y , and S o l z h e n i t s y n s 1
works

do n o t i n c l u d e some o f t h e v a r i a n t s . N e v e r t h e l e s s , h i s con-
 - 31 -

t r i b u t i o n i s of considerable value.

The i n h a b i t a n t s of the penal institutions came f r o m

diverse social e n v i r o n m e n t s and different walks of l i f e and

were o f v a r i o u s political and r e l i g i o u s persuasions and ed-

ucational levels. I t i s not s u r p r i s i n g that the language of

the camps d e v e l o p e d i n t o a p e c u l i a r l i n g u i s t i c conglomerate

which d e r i v e d i t s components f r o m t h e jargon of professions

and trades, official nomenclature, the slang of the "under-

world" (the t h i e v e s ' cant known as b l a t n a y a muzyka) and the

slang elements which evolved i n s i d e the barbed wire itself.

Prison-camp slang proper and the popular-vulgar elements of

e v e r y d a y s p e e c h a r e no doubt m o b i l e and mutually replenish-

ing categories; therefore t h e y c a n n o t be distinguished with

c e r t a i n t y . T h i s e s s a y employs the m e t h o d o f classifying and

exemplifying Solzhenitsyn's use of various word groups.

!• Nouns and Substantives

Camp j a r g o n has been h i g h l y p r o d u c t i v e i n the field

of noun f o r m a t i o n . The l a r g e number o f n e o l o g i s m s t h a t have

d e v e l o p e d i n the e r a of the camps shows t h e tendency of the

R u s s i a n l a n g u a g e g e n e r a l l y t o p r o d u c e words by suffixation.

I n p r i s o n u s a g e many o f t h e s e words have d i s p a r a g i n g conno-

t a t i o n s , though the suffixes i n question are not those which

are u s u a l l y p u t to producing p e j o r a t i v e s . The suffix -ishka

(-ishko), f o r example, i s r a r e l y e n c o u n t e r e d . Instead, an-

 - 32 -

imal imagery plays a considerable part i n producing disdain

or contempt. To t h i s category belong the f o l l o w i n g : shakal

( c a d g e r ) , popka (sentry i n the tower), and v o l k ( i n f o r m e r ) .

The last term i s ambiguous; i n t h e e x p r e s s i o n l a g e r n y i volk

it refers t o a hardened p r i s o n e r . The f o l l o w i n g quotations

reveal the ambiguity and c l a r i f y t h e u s a g e :

A Shukhovu k r e p k o z a p o m n i l i s ' s l o v a yego p e r v o g o

b r i g a d i r a Kuzyomina - s t a r y i b y l l a g e r n y i v o l k ,
s i d e l k d e v y a t ' s o t s o r o k t r e t ' y e m u godu u z h e d v e -
n a d t s a t ' l e t . . . . (1:5-6)

. . . i kogda N e r z h i n s t a l n a k h a z h i v a t ' k S p i r i -
donu - S p i r i d o n i yego s o s e d i po k o i k a m d r u z h n o
o p r e d e l i l i , c h t o N e r z h i n - v o l k i r y s k a y e t z a do-
by c h e i d l y a kuma. (1+: 5J+I4.)

The abusive v o c a t i v e forms o f the f i g u r a t i v e slang are also

u n d e r l a i n by animal imagery, but these are n o t neologisms.

The process o f s u f f i x a t i o n has produced a number o f

nouns w h i c h d i s t i n g u i s h t h e v a r i o u s r a n k s and l e v e l s of the

prison society o r name t h e i t e m s of penal paraphernalia. I t

is convenient t o group these nouns by suffix.

1. Terminations i n - i k , - n i k , - c h i k . -shchik are q u i t e

common and f a l l into two g r o u p s . Those which b e l o n g t o the

camp j a r g o n p r o p e r , w i t h an a p p r o x i m a t e English equivalent,

are:, l a g e r n i k ( a camp i n m a t e ) , b y t o v i k (a p r i s o n e r c o n v i c -

ted f o r a domestic c r i m e ) . d v o i n i k ( i n S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s usage,

a "double agent"), povtornik (recidivist), namordnik(either

a screen over the c e l l window o r u s e d synonymously w i t h the

phrase po rogam - v . i n f r a ) , krestik (a p e r s o n c o n v i c t e d on

 - 33 -

religious grounds), ukazchik (a p r i s o n e r convicted for vio-

lating a government d e c r e e o r u k a z ) , otkazchik (one who re-

fuses to work), predzonnik (the pre-zone area). The second

group c o n t a i n s the words i n t r o d u c e d i n t o the camp l a n g u a g e .

Those which are well-known beyond the prisons include: nor-

mirovshchik (norm-setter), desyatnik (job foreman), naryad-

chik (work a s s i g n o r ) , b e z d e l ' n i k (loafer, idler), brigadnik

(a member o f a b r i g a d e o r w o r k - g a n g ) , and nachal'nik (boss,

chief, commander, etc.).

2. Terminations i n -ka. - o v k a , - y a s h k a compose a l a r g e

class. It i s impossible to separate the n e o l o g i s m s i n this

category from the terms i n use i n pre-revolutionary prisons

and forced-labour institutions. I t i s reasonable to suggest

that vol'nyashka (a d e p r e c i a t o r y v a r i a n t o f v o l ' n y i and the

slang vol'nyaga, designating a civilian h i r e d by the prison

authorities) i s a n e o l o g i s m of the S t a l i n era. Zanachka (a

"fence") i s c l e a r l y d e r i v e d from t h i e v e s ' cant. The origin

o f the n e o l o g i s m s h a l a s h o v k a (a woman p r i s o n e r o f e a s y vir-

tue) has been e x p l a i n e d by S h i l y a y e v . ^ " The

2
word comes f r o m

shalash, a temporary s h e l t e r f o r s u c h women. Popka (parrot)

has been mentioned above. P a i k a and p o l p a i k a are references

to the bread r a t i o n . The minimum g u a r a n t e e d r a t i o n i s also

known as the garantiika. The p r i s o n b u n k s , made o f planks,

2
^ S h i l y a y e v , op. c i t . , p . 2I4.O
 - 3h -
were a r r a n g e d i n t i e r s of four; e a c h was c a l l e d a vagonka.

an e x p r e s s i o n which also designates a group o f f o u r prison-

ers. Other terms a r e : p r o z h a r k a (roaster - f o r disinfecting

clothes), zapretka (forbidden zone), razdatka (distribution

premises), komandirovka (a p l a c e o f t e m p o r a r y work - an ex-

ample o f s e m a n t i c change f r o m t h e m i l i t a r y u s a g e ) , posadka

(both a prison sentence and t h e a c t o f i m p r i s o n i n g ) , kormu-

shka (feeding slot i n a cell door - a semantic e x t e n s i o n o f

"feeding trough"), shestyorka (a p r i s o n e r i n the service of

the administration and a t t a c h e d to the serving c l a s s i n the

mess-hall), and d e s y a t k a (a ten-year term - p r o b a b l y a neo-

logism o f the S t a l i n era). Mostyrka (simulation or faking)

is one o f many t e r m s s i g n i f y i n g fakery: " . . . Rus'ka . . .

rasskazyval . . . k a k on d o k h o d i l v syroi shakhte, kak s t a l

delat' sebe m o s t y r k u - yezhednevnuyu temperaturu, nagrevaya

obe podmyshki kamnyami o d i n a k o v o i massy. . . ."(3:361) The

word s h a r a s h k a , t h e p r i s o n e r s ' d i s d a i n f u l name f o r t h e Mav-

rino Institute, i s an i n s t a n c e o f s e m a n t i c change; t h e word

derives from a S o v i e t slang expression signifying a deceit-

ful, sinister enterprise. Finally, t h e word z e c h k a (female

prisoner) i s the counterpart of zek.

3. T e r m i n a t i o n s i n - a g a (-yaga) i n c l u d e a small number

o f words w h i c h , a p a r t from b l a t y a g a ( c r i m i n a l a l s o known a s

blatar' and b l a t n o i who l i v e s b y b l a t o r "connection"), are

all f i r m l y associated with t h e camps and p r i s o n s . T h e y a r e :

 - 35 -
vol'nyaga (v. supra), bedolaga ( t h e most u n f o r t u n a t e or un-

l u c k y o f men), r a b o t y a g a (an o r d i n a r y p r i s o n e r who i s doing

general assignment h a r d l a b o u r i n the zone), and d o k h o d y a g a

(a r a b o t y a g a i n the f i n a l stages o f p h y s i c a l exhaustion who

is facing death).

1+.. Collectives and p l u r a l s a r e r a r e . Among t h o s e which

occur i n S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s works a r e t h e f o l l o w i n g : sidki is a

general plural f o r p r i s o n e r s s e r v i n g a sentence; i t derives

from the verb sidet' (to s i t ) ; peresidki a r e t h o s e who have

"oversat," t h a t i s , s e r v e d more t h a n t h e a l l o t t e d sentencej

' ^
fc ie
pridurnya or p r i d u r k i are the " t r u s t i e s " who constitute

the s e r v i n g c l a s s . S o l z h e n i t s y n d e s c r i b e s them as f o l l o w s :

No e t o b y l i ne s e r y y e z e k i , a t v y o r d y y e l a g e r n y y e
p r i d u r k i , pervyye s v o l o c h i , s i d e v s h i y e v zone. Lyu-
d e i e t i k h r a b o t y a g i s c h i t a l i n i z h e der'ma (kak i t e
s t a v i l i r a b o t y a g ) . No s p o r i t ' s n i m i b y l o b e s p o l e z -
no: u p r i d u r n i mezh s o b o i s p a i k a i s n a d z i r a t e l y a m i
t o z h e . (1:103)

The s u b s t a n t i v e b l a t n y y e i s t h e p o l i t i c a l prisoners' desig-

n a t i o n o f t h e common c r i m i n a l s who call themselves urki.

5. M i s c e l l a n e o u s t e r m i n a t i o n s . The s u f f i x -stvo occurs

in the f a m i l i a r dezhurstvo (duty) and n a c h a l ' s t v o (adminis-

tration) . A third, gadstvo (approximately e q u i v a l e n t to ga-

dost'), a p p e a r s t o be one o f S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s n e o l o g i s m s . The

disdainful suffix -yak o c c u r s i n dezhurnyak (dezhurnyi nad-

ziratel'). A few nouns e n d i n -ok: p r i d u r o k i s t h e s i n g u l a r

°f P r i d u r k i ; potok (wave o f p r i s o n e r s ) ; g l a z o k (peephole i n

 - 36 -

a cell d o o r ) ; and v o r o n o k (diminutive of voron, the R u s s i a n

equivalent o f B l a c k M a r i a ) . The t e r m i n a t i o n -ach appears in

the forms stukach ( i n f o r m e r ) and strogach ( s t r i c t solitary,

a l s o d e s i g n a t e d by the a d j e c t i v e strogii).

S e v e r a l nouns w h i c h are c l o s e l y a s s o c i a t e d w i t h the

concentration-camp period c a n n o t be classified i n this way.

Three w h i c h have u n d e r g o n e semantic shift a r e : shmon (body-

search) , parasha (rumour), and kum ( t h e p r i s o n e r s ' name f o r

the secret police operative). Parasha c o n t i n u e s t o be used

in t h e meaning " s l o p - b u c k e t , " but a shmon i s much more than

an o b y s k . The following extracts illustrate the usage:

K r a s n o g u b e n ' k i i o t k r y l p o r t s i g a r , t o l » k o c h t o po-
d a r e n n y i Potapovym, p o s m o t r e l m u n d s h t u k i v s e k h p a p i -
r o s , n e z a p r y a t a n o l i c h t o v n i k h , p o k o v y r y a l s y a mezh
s p i c h e k v k o r o b k e , n e t l i pod n i m i , p r o v e r i l r u b c h i k i
n o s o v o g o p l a t k a , ne z a s h i t o l i c h t o - i n i c h e g o d r u -
gogo v karmanakh ne o b n a r u z h i l . T o g d a , p r o s u n u v r u k i
mezhdu n i z h n e i r u b a s h k o i i r a s s t y o g n u t y m p i d z h a k o m ,
on o b k h l o p a l v e s ' k o r p u s N e r z h i n a , n a s h c h u p i v a y a , n e t
l i chego z a s u n u t o g o pod r u b a s h k u i i i mezhdu r u b a s h -
k o i i m a n i s h k o i . Potom on p r i c e l n a k o r t o c h k i i t e c -
nym obkhvatom d v u k h g o r s t e i p r o v y o l s v e r k h u v n i z po
o d n o i noge N e r z h i n a , potom po d r u g o i . (3:268)

C h t o b n a p u g a t ' v s e k h , nado b y l o k h o t ' c h a s t ' o t p r a -

v i t ' . Po l a g e r y a m p o l z l i g r o z n y y e p a r a s h i o s k o r y k h
e t a p a k h n a S e v e r . (3:293)

B y l kum - l a g e r n y i o p e r s t a r s h i i l e i t e n a n t Kamy-
s h a n , o d i n n a d t s a t ' m e s y a t s e v k r e s t i v s h i i yego n a
v t o r o i s r o k , n a n o v u y u d e s y a t k u . (3:21+5)

The prison jargon, h a s s e v e r a l methods o f e x p r e s s i n g f a k e r y .

The nouns employed are: mostyrka (v. s u p r a ) , chernukha, and

t u k h t a . T h e i r meanings are shown i n t h e f o l l o w i n g examples:

 - 37 -

A mezhdu tern v s y o e t o b y l a c h e r n u k h a ( p u t a n i -
t s a ) , N e r z h i n t e m n i l po v e c h e r a m n a s l u c h a i z a -
khoda n a c h a l ' s t v a . (3:30)

Potom on s i d e l , otkryv d l y a chernukhi spravoch-

n i k i poglyadyvaya, c h t o d e l a y e t s y a s yego l i s t o r a
d a i ' s h e . (i+:608)

Pro s e b y a S p i r i d o n , y e s h c h y o kogda g o v o r i l o
g e n e r a l e Yegorove, uzhe prekrasno d o g a d a l s y a , chto
v y z v a l i yego ne i z - z a k a k o l G e r m a n i i , c h t o f o t o -
g r a f i y a b y l a t u k h t a , kum t e m n l l , a v y z v a l iraenno
i z - z a t o k a r n o g o s t a n k a . . . . (l+:676)

E x t e r n a l evidence suggests that tukhta i s a regional v a r i a -

tion. I n U n t o P a r v i l a h t i ' s memoirs t h e m e a n i n g g i v e n t o the

word i s much w i d e r . ^ T h e r e i t i s a g e n e r a l term for fraudu-

lence. Parvilahti's e x p l a n a t i o n of tukhta corresponds pre-

c i s e l y w i t h what E l i n o r L i p p e r c a l l s t u f t a . She writes:

T u f t a i s f a k e r y o f a l l k i n d s . . . . A man who
u n d e r s t a n d s t h e a r t o f t u f t a can a l w a y s t u r n o u t
s a t i s f a c t o r y work, a l t h o u g h i n r e a l i t y h i s work
s h o u l d n o t p a s s . I n t h e e v e n i n g , f o r example, two
wood c h o p p e r s show t h e i r p i l e o f wood t o t h e f r e e
b r i g a d i e r . He c h e c k s i t and n o t e s down: t w e l v e c u -
b i c yards. That i s a r e s p e c t a b l e performance.
N e v e r t h e l e s s , t h e two wood c h o p p e r s a r e n o t n o t i c e *
a b l y t i r e d . I n a c t u a l i t y t h e y have f e l l e d j u s t en-
ough wood t o c a m o u f l a g e a r t f u l l y a p i l e o f b r u s h .
That i s t u f t a . 2 6

Lipper served her sentence i n Kolyma, P a r v i l a h t i h i s i n the

T e m n i k o v s k y Camp i n t h e autonomous M o r d v i n i a n Republic, and

2
^ U n t o P a r v i l a h t i , B e r i a ' s G a r d e n s : T e n Y e a r s ' Cap-
t i v i t y i n R u s s i a and S i b e r i a , t r a n s , f r o m F i n n i s h b y A l a n
B l a i r , L o n d o n : H u t c h i n s o n , 1959. See pp. 99-100.

E l i n o r L i p p e r , Eleven Years i n S o v i e t P r i s o n
Camps, t r a n s , f r o m German b y R i c h a r d and C l a r a W i n s t o n ,
L o n d o n : H o l l i s and C a r t e r , 1951. See pp. 11+9-50.
 - 38 -

hence c l o s e r t o the scene o f S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s imprisonment in

K a z a k h s t a n . T h i s may account f o r the v a r i a n t spelling.

Other nouns i n t h i s class are v e r t u k h a i (camp over-

seer) , s f i n k s (sphinx, a guard), fitil' (a m o r a l l y and phy-

sically exhausted prisoner) and fraier (a t e n d e r f o o t - usu-

ally a "political" and an o b j e c t o f e x p l o i t a t i o n b y the or-

dinary criminals)•

The neologism zek i s of i n t e r e s t . In several places

i n S o l z h e n i t s y n the word i s w r i t t e n i n the form ze-ka; this

indicates i t s origin. The official d e s i g n a t i o n of prisoner

(zaklyuchyonnyi) was inscribed z/k (read: ze-ka). Solzheni-

tsyn's novels show t h a t b y the time o f h i s imprisonment the

neologism had a c q u i r e d b o t h gender forms (zek, zechka), the

plural zeki, (and e v e n an adjectival form z e k o v s k i i ) , which

all f o l l o w the r e g u l a r d e c l e n s i o n a l paradigm f o r t h e i r res-

pective classes.

To a special category belong t h e nouns w h i c h d e r i v e

from the p r o c e s s of c o n t r a c t i o n . The bucolic-sounding camp

names a r e m o s t l y complete syllabic c o n t r a c t i o n s . These are:

Osoblag, Rechlag, Dubrovlag, Ozerlag, Steplag, and Peschan-

lag. The only exception i s Luglag, i n w h i c h the first syll-

a b l e i s a complete word. Other toponymies are derived from

the g e o g r a p h i c a l l o c a t i o n o f the camps: S e v u r a l l a g , I v d e l ' -

lag, Kargopollag. There are two kinds of combined contrac-

t i o n . The first follows Luglag, the second r e v e r s e s the or-

 - 39 -

d e r o f word and syllable. Selections: kontslager. lagpunkt,

vagonzak, spetsbarak, spetstyur'ma, spetsodezhda, spetstema

( o f Nadya's u n i v e r s i t y d i s s e r t a t i o n ) , s p e t s z a d a n i y e , and on

trie r o o t oper the s u b s t a n t i v e operupolnomochennyi. The lit-

eral contractions, like the combined contractions, are also

subordinated to the grammatical r u l e s . The common ones a r e :

BUR, b u r o v e t s ; VOKhR, v o k h r o v e t s ; URCh, u r c h e v t s y . In con-

clusion, i t n e e d s t o be n o t e d that S o l z h e n i t s y n uses only a

s m a l l number o f s y l l a b i c c o n t r a c t i o n s ; most o f t h e ones n o t

listed above e x i s t beyond the camps and are w e l l known.

2. Verbs

In t h i s s e c t i o n an a t t e m p t i s made t o c l a s s i f y some

of the slang verbs which occur i n S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s usage. The

list i s supplemented i n the next s e c t i o n of the essay. Even

so, i t remains i n c o m p l e t e ; t h e number o f v e r b s i s t o o g r e a t

to give a f u l l a n a l y s i s h e r e . The origin o f many o f them i s

obscure; t h e r e f o r e the classification i s t e n t a t i v e . Most of

t h e q u o t a t i o n s b e l o w have b e e n t a k e n f r o m The First Circle.

Of the five passages w h i c h come f r o m One Day i n the L i f e of

I v a n D e n i s o v i c h , one i s u n a v o i d a b l e , and the o t h e r s prefer-

able .

1. "Blat" verbs. The verbs z a n a c h i t ' (to f i l c h ) , stu-

c h a t ' ( t o denounce) and temnit' (to b l u f f ) c a n be classified

with conviction. They t r a c e their origin to thieves' cant,

 - 1+0 -

and t h e i r m e a n i n g s have b e e n known f o r many y e a r s , even be-

yond p r i s o n w a l l s . 2 7

M a s t e r k a tak p r o s t o b r o s i t ' n e l ' z y a . Mozhet, z a v t r a

Shukhov ne v y i d e t , m o z h e t , b r i g a d u n a S o t s g o r o d o k z a -
t u r n u t , m o z h e t , s y u d a y e s h c h y o p o l g o d a ne p o p a d y o s h '
- m a s t e r o k p r o p a d a i ? Z a n a c h i t ' t a k z a n a c h i t ' I (1 :l83-l|.)

V l a g e r e vot kto pogibayet: kto m i s k i l i z h e t , kto na

s a n c h a s t ' n a d e y e t s y a da k t o k kumu k h o d i t s t u c h a t ' .
(1:6)
V A k u s t i c h e s k o i tern vremenem, k h o t y a v s e uzhe z n a l i o
p r i y e z d e n a c h a l ' s t v o , r e s h i t e l ' n o ne m o g l i v sebe p r e -
o d o l e t ' m u c h i t e l ' n o i i n e r t s i i b e z d e i s t v i y a , poetomu
t e m n i l i , l e n i v o k o p a l i s ' v yashchikakh s radiolampami,
p r o d l y a d y v a l i skhemy v z h u r n a l a k h , z e v a l i v okno.(3:261)

2. N e o l o g i s m s . The verbs shesterit' ( t o work as a camp

servant, i . e . a shestyorka), osharashit'sya ( t o become u s e d

t o the life o f the sharashka), and raskurochit' (to deprive

someone o f h i s p r o p e r t y ) have b e e n n e w l y c o i n e d i n the camp

period.

K t o v zone o s t a y o t s y a , y e s h c h y o t a k s h e s t e r y a t :
p r o c h t u t n a d o s h c h e c h k e , komu p o s y l k a , v s t r e -
c h a y u t yego t u t , n a l i n e i k e , s r a z u i nomer soob-
s h c h a y u t . (1:100-1)

S p a s i b o , s t a r i k , no t y t a k o s h a r a s h i l s y a , c h t o
z a b y l l a g e r n y y e p o r y a d k i . K t o zhe v l a g e r e d a s t
mne b r i t ' s y a samomu? (L|.:785)

. . . O r o b i n t s e v . . . v b o g a t o i shube i s h a p k e , v
k o t o r y k h k h o d i l n a v o l e (on ne p o b y v a l dazhe n a
p e r e s y l k a k h , i yego ne u s p e l i y e s h c h y o r a s k u r o c h i t ' .
(lj.: 652-3)

3. V e r b s showing s e m a n t i c change are e s p e c i a l l y numer-

ous. To t h i s group belong: vkalyvat' ( t o work intensively),

zalupat'sya ( t o tempt f a t e , to i n v i t e t r o u b l e ) , kapnut' (to

See Vinokur, op. c i t . , p. 27.

 - kl -

let fall Information), zakosit 1

( t o g e t by ruse),razmenyat'

(to put i n time), zagnut'sya (to d i e ) , z a t s e p i t ' s y a (to get

a good j o b ) , z a v a l i t ' (to inform).

T u t kak: i i i vsem d o p o l n i t e l ' n o y e , i i i vsem pody-

k h a i t e . T y ne r a b o t a y e s h ' , g a d , a y a i z - z a t e b y a
g o l o d n y m s i d e t ' budu? N e t , v k a l y v a i , p a d l o i (1:1+6)

I l ' y a T e r e n t ' i c h l Zabyvayesh' vtoruyu arestantskuyu

z a p o v e d ' : ne z a l u p a i s y a . ( 3 : 2 2 9 )

No on sam o s t e r e g a l s y a s v o i k h s o b s t v e n n y k h n a d z i r a -
t e l e i i sobstvennykh zaklyuchyonnykh - inyye i z n i k h
s o s t o y a l i na o s v e d o m i t e l ' n o i sluzhbe i m o g l i na K l i -
m e n t ' y e v a zhe k a p n u t ' . (3:313)

. . . vozmozhno d a z h e , c h t o on z a k o s i l l i s h n i y e khlo-
pchatobumazhnyye b r y u c h k i . . . . (l+:77l+)

No r e s h i t e l ' n o s t ' z e k a tern b o l e y e p a d a y e t , chem men'-

she yemu o s t a y o t s y a do o s v o b o z h d e n i y a . D y r s i n zhe
r a z m e n y a l p o s l e d n i i g o d . (11:61+5)

. . . on b y l d o v o l e n i e t o i s v o y e i r a b o t o i v p o d v a l e ,
g o v o r y a , c h t o v l a g e r e davno by uzhe z a g n u l s y a . . . .
(1+:1+13)

H i yemu p o s c h a s t l i v i t ' s y a d a t l a p u , v s t r e t i t ' zna-

1

komogo - i u o n z a t s e p i t s y a d n e v a l ' n y m , s a n i t a r o m i i i
dazhe pomoshchnikom k a p t y o r a ? (l+:775)

Ona d e r z h a l a s 1
s zekami p r e z r i t e l ' n o , v y s k a z y v a l a s ' ,
c h t o i k h n a d o p e r e s t r e l y a t * . . . i sama z a v a l i l a
d v o i k h - odnogo n a s v y a z i s d e v u s h k o i , d r u g o g o - n a
i z g o t o v l e n i i chemodana i z k a z e n n y k h m a t e r i a l o v .
(3:361+-5)

The r o o t morpheme shmon i s t h e semantic v e h i c l e f o r

a group of verbs which present a s p e c i a l problem. In Vladi-

mir Dai's d i c t i o n a r y s h m o n i t ' means " t o l o a f about." Prison

jargon shows t h a t t h e word has now undergone a considerable

semantic shift. The nearest synonym i s o b y s k i v a t ' , m e a n i n g

 - k2 -
"to search." A more a c c u r a t e rendering of the verb shmonit'

is "to f r i s k , " s i n c e the word d e r i v e s o r i g i n a l l y from blat.

Solzhenitsyn uses several v a r i a n t s : shmonat 1

and shmonyat'

evidence a change i n t h e m a t i c morpheme; p r o s h m a n i v a t ' , pro-

s h m o n i t ' and doshmanivat' are the result o f p r e f i x a t i o n and

i n f i x a t i o n . The following excerpts illustrate their usage:

Uzh golovy kolonny shmonyali, kogda. • . . (1:96)

Okolo o d i n n a d t s a t i chasov, kogda N e r z h i n , vyzvannyi

i z A k u s t i c h e s k o i , p r i s h y o l n a shmon, - s h e s t e r o o s -
tal'nykh, y e k h a v s h i k h n a s v i d a n i y e , b y l i u z h e tarn.
O d n i k h d o s h m a n i v a l i , d r u g i y e b y l i proshmoneny i
ozhidali. . . . (3:267)

Po mere t o g o , kak e t a p i r u y e m y k h a r e s t a n t o v sgo-

n y a l i v s h t a b t y u r ' m y , - i k h s h m o n a l i , a po mere t o -
go,kak i k h p r o s h m a n i v a l i , - i k h p e r e g o n y a l i v zapas-
nuyu p u s t u y u komnatu s h t a b a . . . . (I(.:791)

As Shilyayev suggests, the apparent l a c k of c o o r d i n a t i o n i n

Solzhenitsyn's use of these verbs c a n n o t be explained as an

oversight on h i s p a r t . Shilyayev r e a s o n s t h a t B o r i s Dyakov

(in Povesti o p e r e z h i t o m ) employs one form o n l y - shmonat , 1

because t h i s f o r m was c u r r e n t u s a g e i n the camps o f Eastern

S i b e r i a d e s c r i b e d by D y a k o v . He therefore argues the theory

of r e g i o n a l variants. ® 2
In the case o f t h e p r e f i x e d forms a

different explanation seems p l a u s i b l e . G i v e n t h e context of

the second q u o t a t i o n above, i t i s c l e a r t h a t p r o s h m o n i t ' i s

the p e r f e c t i v e aspect of a verb designating a completed act

(the p a s t passive participle proshmonennyi- s h o r t form pro-

Shilyayev, op. c i t . . p. 2I4JL4.

 - 1+3 -

shmoneny - i s i t s d e r i v a t i v e ) . Furthermore, the search had

begun b e f o r e N e r z h i n ' s arrival; the p r e f i x do- i s therefore

used here i n one of i t s primary functions, that of pointing

out the c o n c l u d i n g o f an i n t e r r u p t e d a c t i o n . The imperfect-

ive aspect doshmanivat 1

i s suitable to t h i s occasion, since

Solzhenitsyn i s observing the s e a r c h i n the process of com-

pletion. I n the third q u o t a t i o n the f o r m s shmonat' and pro-

shmanivat 1
are b o t h b e i n g u s e d i n a generalizing sense. It

is one o f the f u n c t i o n s o f the p a s t tense o f the imperfect-

ive aspect t o communicate this sense. Shmonat 1

conveys only

that a search took p l a c e ; proshmanivat' p o i n t s out that the

a c t was being concluded. I n n e i t h e r case i s there specific

reference t o the b e g i n n i n g o r end o f the search. I f t h i s i s

a s a t i s f a c t o r y e x p l a n a t i o n f o r the p r e f i x e d v e r b s , i t still

does n o t d i s t i n g u i s h between the p r i m a r y v a r i a n t s shmonyat 1

(used i n the first quotation) and shmonat . 1

I n the absence

of e x t e r n a l evidence, i t i s i m p o s s i b l e t o u n r a v e l the prob-

lem at t h i s stage.

3. Expressions

S o l z h e n i t s y n uses a number o f a p t e x p r e s s i o n s which

are e i t h e r h i s o r i g i n a l s or are borrowed from the corpus of

s t a n d a r d p r i s o n by-words - n e o l o g i s m s o f camp j a r g o n . T h o s e

w h i c h have m e t a p h o r i c a l c o n n o t a t i o n s have b e e n d i s c u s s e d i n

the p r e v i o u s chapter i n the s e c t i o n on f i g u r a t i v e language.

 - kh -

The aim h e r e i s to exemplify the use o f c e r t a i n expressions

w h i c h have become c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f the p r i s o n v o c a b u l a r y .

ot p u z a . I n p r i s o n j a r g o n t h e e x p r e s s i o n means " t o y o u r

heart's content," "a-plenty": "Doshla kasha - s e i c h a s san-

i n s t r u k t o r u : yesh' o t p u z a . I sam - o t p u z a . " (1:56) A g a i n ,

in The F i r s t Circle: "Rubaite o t p u z a , t o l ' k o ne lopnitej"

(3:13) I n v i e w o f t h e c o n d i t i o n s o f h u n g e r w h i c h e x i s t e d i n

the camps, t h e u s e o f s u c h an e x p r e s s i o n i n c o n n e c t i o n with

f o o d i s n o t s u r p r i s i n g , b u t i t h a s a n o t h e r u s e : "Chem v k a -

t o r z h n o m l a g e r e k h o r o s h o - svobody z d e s ' o t puza." (1:116)

po rogam. The u s e o f t h e word " r o g a " i n t h i s phrase i s

an example o f semantic s h i f t . The s a y i n g means " d e p r i v a t i o n

of rights." Under S t a l i n i t was c u s t o m a r y f o r " p o l i t i c a l s "

to lose their civil rights f o r the f i v e years f o l l o w i n g the

prison sentence. "Bud' e t o c h e l o v e k postoronnii,yemu by da-

li chetvertnuyu i pyat' po rogam. . . . " (3:68) And a g a i n :

". . . v i n o v a t , ne v i n o v a t - d e s y a t ' v z u b y , p y a t ' po rogam

- i v lager'." (3:322) S o l z h e n i t s y n o f t e n e x p l a i n s the un-

usual e x p r e s s i o n s he u s e s : " . . . Potapov b y l nakazan vsego

lish' desyat'yu godami zaklyucheniya i pyat'yu godami lish-

eniya prav, chto na arestantskom yazyke n a z y v a l o s ' desyat'

i pyat' po rogam." (3:221)

kachat' prava. In general use t h i s e x p r e s s i o n means i n

Soviet p r i s o n s " t o demand one's r i g h t s as g u a r a n t e e d by the

constitution." The p h r a s e i s a further example o f semantic

change. " . . . t a k seichas o n i v pokhvalu Nerzhinu vspomni-

l i , kakim l y u b i t e l e m k a c h a t ' p r a v a o n b y l . . . • ** (Lj_s 78I4-) I n

One Day i n t h e L i f e of Ivan Denisovich the saying occurs i n

combination w i t h the verb shumet' i n i t s c o l l o q u i a l m e a n i n g

" t o k i c k up a row": ". . . i k h o t ' shumet' i k a c h a t ' prava

on, kak c h e l o v e k r o b k i i , n e smel. ..." (1:21)

payat' s r o k . T h i s p h r a s e o l o g i s m , meaning " t o extend t h e

sentence," shows a n a r t f u l semantic s h i f t from the o r i g i n a l

meaning o f t h e v e r b , " t o sweat" (by s o l d e r i n g ) . " G o v o r i l i v

torn s m y s l e , c h t o p a y a t ' yemu s r o k a u z h e n e k u d a - n o ne p e r e -

k v a l i f i t s i r o v a l i b yemu d v a d t s a t ' p y a t ' I T L n a d v a d t s a t '

pyat' odinochnogo. . . ." (i+s771) The p e r f e c t i v e aspect i s

pripayat': "Vtoroi srok pripayayut, - vzdokhnul Dyrsin."

(I|.:6l4.5) A n o t h e r p h r a s e h a s t h e same m e a n i n g : s o v a t ' n o v u y u

d e s y a t k u , " t o s h o v e on a n o t h e r ten-year stretch."

otbukhat' desyatku. The l i t e r a l sense i s " t o knock o f f

a ten-year term": "Odni . . . zhizneradostno dokazyvayut v

t a k i k h sluchayakh,chto luchshe s e s t ' v molodyye gody: zdes'

uspevayesh' ponyat', c h t o z n a c h i t z h i z n ' , c h t o v z h i z n i do-

r o g o , a c h t o der'mo, i u z h l e t s t r i d t s a t i pyati, otbukhav

desyatku,chelovek stroit z h i z n ' n a razumnykh osnovaniyakh."

s o v a t ' n a l a p u . T h i s r e f e r s t o b r i b e r y i n t h e camps. I n

o r d e r t o s u r v i v e , a p r i s o n e r had t o d i s t r i b u t e the contents

o f a p a r c e l , a n d b r i b e r y h a d t o be p r a c t i s e d b y t h e b r i g a d e
 - b.6 -
l e a d e r s i n o r d e r t o get the n o r m - s e t t e r s t o " f i x " t h e work-

r e p o r t . T h i s e x p r e s s i o n , t h e n , i s an e x t e n s i o n o f t h e mean-

ing of n a l o z h i t ' svoyu l a p u na kogo-nibud' (to spread one's

influence over somebody). I t i s perhaps best t r a n s l a t e d by

"to grease a palm": " D l y a n i k h [kovrov - J.M.] razvyaznost'

n u z h n a , n a k h a l ' s t v o , komu-to l a p u s o v a t ' . " (1:3!+) A related

phrase i s d a t ' l a p u i n t h e m e a n i n g " t o g i v e someone a h e l p -

ing hand."

tyanut' r e z i n u . R e l a t e d to the verb t e m n i t ' . t h i s neo-

l o g i s m means l i t e r a l l y " t o s t r e t c h the e l a s t i c . " Hence the

figurative sense " t o p r e t e n d " : "Akh, mozhno b y l o smolchat'.

Mozhno b y l o t e m n i t ' . Kak zavedeno u zekov, mozhno b y l o p r i -

nyat' zadaniye, a potom t y a n u t ' r e z i n u , ne delat'." (L(.:696)

protsentovku z a k r y t ' . "To conceal the percentage of the

labour-norm fulfilled," that i s , to f a l s i f y the work-report

in f a v o u r o f the p r i s o n e r s . This practice i s a l s o known as

tukhta (v. s u p r a ) . "Ty o s t a v a i s y a t u t , d e r z h i krepko. Mne

seichas protsentovku zakryvat' i d t i . " (l:l|_7)

d l y a ponta. T h i s i s the camp j a r g o n e q u i v a l e n t f o r the

usual Russian dlya v i d i m o s t i , " f o r o u t w a r d show o r effect."

" L u p a b y l a yemu a b s o l y u t n o ne n u z h n a , t a k kak VTR daval za-

pisi samyye r a z l y a p i s t y y e , no delalos' eto, po lagernomu

vyrazheniyu, d l y a ponta, i N e r z h i n vnutrenne khokhotal...."

(3:265)

d o k h o d i t ' na obshchikh. General-assignment heavy l a b o u r

 - U.7 -

is o b s h c h a y a r a b o t a . The phraseologism above means " t o per-

ish" g r a d u a l l y a t s u c h work. "Mezhdu p r o c h i m , odnu i z devo-

chek y a potom n a Pechore o t b l a g o d a r i l : ona v tridtsat' pya-

tom v Kirovskom potoke p o p a l a , d o k h o d i l a na obshchikh, ya

yeyo v portnyazhnuyu u s t r o i l . " (1:68-9)

[(.. Obscenity

Obscenity presents t h e modern R u s s i a n w r i t e r w i t h a

s e r i o u s problem. The demands o f t h e p r u d i s h S o v i e t censor-

s h i p must be met. In h i s foreword t o One Day i n the L i f e of

Ivan D e n i s o v i c h Alexander Tvardovsky a n t i c i p a t e d the criti-

c a l r e a c t i o n the s t o r y was bound t o evoke when he mentioned

that "the author's use - however s p a r i n g and t o the p o i n t -

o f c e r t a i n words and expressions t y p i c a l o f the setting in

w h i c h the hero lived and worked will offend a particularly

fastidious t a s t e . " ^ S h i l y a y e v has

2 <
the f o l l o w i n g t o s a y , to

w h i c h some c r e d e n c e must be given:

I t i s i m p o r t a n t t o n o t e t h a t A. S o l z h e n i t s y n
w r o t e h i s works f o r t h e S o v i e t r e a d e r , c o u n t i n g on
h a v i n g them p u b l i s h e d i n t h e S o v i e t U n i o n . Knowing
t h e s t r i c t n e s s o f the c e n s o r s h i p and t h e d i r e c t i o n s
o f t h e communist a u t h o r i t i e s , i t must be t h o u g h t he
was r a t h e r m o d e r a t e i n h i s u s e o f camp v o c a b u l a r y
and s l a n g e x p r e s s i o n s . 3 0

But i f t h e demands o f c e n s o r s h i p must be met, so must those

29
See L a b e d z , op. cit., p. 10.
30
S h i l y a y e v , op. cit.. p. 233•
 - h.8 -
of r e a l i s m , and that Solzhenitsyn included this language in

h i s novels i s a t r i b u t e to h i s status as a writer of truth.

From t h e standpoint of l i t e r a t u r e , the objections raised by

Soviet critics are groundless. Considering the m i l l i o n s who

passed t h r o u g h S t a l i n ' s camps, no doubt the jargon has long

s i n c e b e e n a b s o r b e d p e r m a n e n t l y i n t o the Russian language.

The coarse slang of the prisons i s distinguished by

a wide v a r i e t y o f oaths, o b s c e n i t i e s and e x p l e t i v e s . A l l of

these are characteristic properties of the speech of bosses

and prisoners alike. Shilyayev argues t h a t the supervisory

and administrative staff r e s o r t to vulgar s p e e c h more often

t h a n the prisoners. I t i s impossible to see the force of

this contention. In view of S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s reported speech,

Shilyayev stands c o r r e c t e d . He i s on f i r m g r o u n d , however,

when he observes that the o p p r o b r i o u s forms of address used

by the prison custodians e f f e c t i v e l y promoted the "dehuman-

ization" of t h e i r charges.-^ 2

In terms o f social acceptibility, the vilest speech

in the R u s s i a n l a n g u a g e i s known as mat. This is a collect-

i v e noun which r e f e r s t o t h a t b o d y o f words and expressions

grouped a r o u n d mat' ( m o t h e r ) . The word mat itself i s a pop-

ular-colloquial term. The a c t of r e s o r t i n g t o mother oaths

is signified i n Solzhenitsyn by the verbs matyugat'sya, ma-

31 32
I b i d . , p. 2I4.5. Loc. c i t .
 - U3 -

t e r i t ' s y a and mater-nut'. I t i s c l e a r t h a t t h e use o f mat is

an important element i n the speech o f the c r i m i n a l and pol-

itical prisoner alike, and i t has apparently developed into

a fine art. Solzhenitsyn says of Nerzhin as he prepares for

the transport:

Razve i z y s k a n n y m i s l o v a m i v y r a z i t v o i ushchemlen-
1

nogo? Imenno s e i c h a s , o b l a c h a y a s ' v l a g e r n o y e i y e -

d u c h i v l a g e r ' , N e r z h i n i sam o s h c h u s h c h a l , c h t o v o z -
v r a s h c h a y e t s y a k vazhnomu e l e m e n t u m u z h s k o i s v o b o d y :
k a z h d o y e p y a t o y e s l o v o s t a v i t ' m a t e r n o y e . (l|_:796)

E v i d e n t l y S o l z h e n i t s y n was s u r p r i s e d to encounter i n p r i s o n

someone who r e f r a i n e d from expressing h i s annoyance i n such

terms. This exceptional character i s the Junior Lieutenant

Nadelashin, o f whom S o l z h e n i t s y n writes:

N a d e l a s h i n b y l c h e l o v e k o m i s k l y u c h i t e l ' n y m ne t o l ' k o
s r e d i tyuremshchikov . . . no i v o o b s h c h e s r e d i s v o -
ikh yedinoplemennikov. V s t r a n e , gde k a z h d y i v t o r o i
p r o s h y o l l a g e r n u y u i i i f r o n t o v u y u akademiyu r u g a n i ,
gde m a t e r n y y e r u g a t e l ' s t v a z a p r o s t o u p o t r e b l y a l i s '
ne t o l ' k o p'yanymi v o k r u z h e n i i d e t e i (a d e t ' m i - v
m l a d e n c h e s k i k h I g r a k h ) , ne t o l ' k o p r i p o s a d k e n a z a -
g o r o d n y i a v t o b u s , no i n o g d a i v z a d u s h e v n y k h b e s e d a k h
(osobenno - n a s l e d s t v i y a k h ) , N a d e l a s h i n ne u m e l n i
m a t e r i t ' s y a , n i dazhe u p o t r e b l y a t ' t a k i y e s l o v a , kak
" c h y o r t " i " s v o l o c h ' " . (3:199)

The devices e m p l o y e d by Solzhenitsyn i n toning down

the obscenity a r e v a r i o u s . He changes t h e initial letter of

a word o r adds a l e t t e r o r two t o the beginning o f an oath.

E l s e w h e r e he introduces ellipsis a t the beginning, the end

o r w i t h i n a word, o r o m i t s a c o m p l e t e word. S u c h techniques

effectively o b s c u r e m e a n i n g s , and the u n i n i t i a t e d reader is

unfavourably i m p r e s s e d by a number o f seeming m i s p r i n t s .

 CHAPTER I I I

THE ETHICAL PROBLEM

Dostoyevsky wrote h i s b r o t h e r i n 1806: "Believe me,

that having b e e n i n as much t u r m o i l as I , i n t h e end y o u ' l l

extract from l i f e a little philosophy, a word w h i c h y o u c a n

interpret as y o u l i k e . " This " t u r m o i l " had b e e n a p r o f o u n d

religious crisis occasioned by f o u r years at katorga (penal

servitude) w h i c h he c o m p l e t e d i n 185U-- I n 1953 Solzhenitsyn

was r e l e a s e d i n t o e x i l e f o l l o w i n g an e i g h t - y e a r sentence i n

Stalin's camps. For Solzhenitsyn too imprisonment had been

a spiritual crucible. His philosophy, extracted "from human

biographies,"(3^50) i s revealed i n the search f o r m o r a l and

spiritual fulfilment which provides the key t o the i d i o s y n -

crasy o f the p r o t a g o n i s t o f The F i r s t Circle (G-leb Nerzhin)

and m o t i v a t e s the e n t i r e novel i n the s p i r i t of Dostoyevsky

and Tolstoy.

The s u f f e r i n g i n p r i s o n has a p o s i t i v e consequence:

it i s an o c c a s i o n f o r m o r a l development and s p i r i t u a l self-

r e a l i z a t i o n . A man d e n i e d i s a f r e e man, and h e r e i n resides

•^Quoted b y K o n s t a n t i n M o c h u l s k y i n D o s t o e v s k y : H i s
L i f e and Work, t r a n s . M i c h a e l A. M i n i h a n , P r i n c e t o n : P r i n c e -
t o n U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1967, p . 1 9 7 .
 - 51 -

the r e i g n i n g paradox o f the n o v e l : i n S t a l i n i s t Russia only

a p r i s o n e r was f r e e to deal honestly with h i s f e l l o w s ; only

a prisoner could withstand the encroachments of the h a t e f u l

2

regime. Courage h o r n o f t r i b u l a t i o n f i n d s i t s most sublime

expression i n an e x c h a n g e b e t w e e n B o b y n i n and Abakumov, the

Minister o f S t a t e S e c u r i t y , who attempts to i n t i m i d a t e him.

But as a s e a s o n e d v e t e r a n o f the GULAG o r b i t Bobynin enjoys

i m m u n i t y t o Abakumov's t h r e a t s . He d e c l a r e s :
As a r u l e , u n d e r s t a n d and p a s s on t o anyone above
who n e e d s t o know t h a t y o u ' r e s t r o n g o n l y as l o n g
as you d o n ' t d e p r i v e p e o p l e o f e v e r y t h i n g . For a
man you've t a k e n e v e r y t h i n g f r o m i s no l o n g e r i n
y o u r power. He's f r e e a l l o v e r a g a i n . (3:119)
Hence, b y a c u r i o u s i r o n y , the m a r t y r s o f the s y s t e m become
3

its conquerors.

T h e r e i s an awareness o f e t e r n i t y i n Solzhenitsyn's

works w h i c h imbues them w i t h h i s s e n s e o f m i s s i o n and their

f u n d a m e n t a l themes w i t h a universal validity. His treatment

of conscience, g o o d and evil, life and death, and man's r e -

lation to society reflects the m o r a l p a s s i o n w i t h w h i c h the

nineteenth-century critical realists ( T o l s t o y and Dostoyev-

sky i n p a r t i c u l a r ) approached the spiritual dilemmas o f the

human c o n d i t i o n , w h i c h p l a c e s him firmly i n the main stream

2
[ A r k a d y B e l i n k o v ] , "The W r i t e r as R u s s i a ' s Con-
s c i e n c e , " T i m e . X C I I : 13 (27 September 1968), p . 3I4..

•^Horst B i e n e k , " L i t e r a t u r des I n f e r n o s : A l e x a n d e r

S o l s c h e n i z y n u n d d e r neue k r i t i s c h e R e a l i s m u s , " Neue Rund-
s c h a u , LXXX: 1 (1969), p. 157.
 - 52 -

of Russian l i t e r a r y tradition. The Nobel P r i z e c i t a t i o n for

Solzhenitsyn i s therefore singularly apt.^

If the f u l l e s t meaning o f spirituality i s expounded

as t h e most s u b l i m e m o r a l and intellectual qualities of man

apropos h i s r e l a t i o n t o God and nature, to himself and his

f e l l o w men, ' t h e n i t does n o t seem e x t r a v a g a n t to describe

Solzhenitsyn's work as "the Renaissance of Russian spiritu-

al life."k Indeed, judging by contents and themes,his wri-

t i n g s may be confidently characterized as a spiritual oasis

in the m o r a l and intellectual desert that socialist realism

is today.' His w r i t i n g i s genuine r e a l i s m p r e c i s e l y because

it represents reality i n i t s e n t i r e t y : the world i t creates

embraces b o t h the m a t e r i a l and spiritual phenomena o f life.

As the narrator, Solzhenitsyn does n o t specifically comment

upon s p i r i t u a l experiences; rather, his s p i r i t u a l i t y i s re-

flected i n the t h o u g h t s and conversations of h i s characters

^ " F o r t h e e t h i c a l f o r c e w i t h w h i c h he h a s p u r s u e d
the i n d i s p e n s a b l e t r a d i t i o n s o f R u s s i a n l i t e r a t u r e . " See
L a b e d z , op. c i t . , , p . 175.

" T h i s i s G. P. P e d o t o v ' s d e f i n i t i o n . See A T r e a s u r y

o f R u s s i a n S p i r i t u a l i t y , L o n d o n : S h e e d and Ward, 1952, p. v
i n the P r e f a c e .

Arkady B e l i n k o v ' s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n , i n "Obsuzhdeniye

p e r v o i c h a s t i p o v e s t i Rakovyi korpus na z a s e d a n i i s e k t s i i
p r o z y m o s k o v s k o i p i s a t e l ' s k o i o r g a n i z a t s i i 17 n o y a b r y a 1968
g o d a . " See A l e k s a n d r S o l z h e n i t s y n , Works, V o l . 6, p . 182.
7
' S o l z h e n i t s y n h i m s e l f d e s c r i b e s contemporary S o v i e t
l i t e r a t u r e as " c o s m e t i c s . " See L a b e d z , op. c i t . , p. 8.
 - 53 -

and i n those themes w h i c h o c c u p y t h e centre of h i s artistic

v i s i o n o f human life.

The c r i t i c Arkady B e l i n k o v adheres t o the view t h a t

" S o l z h e n i t s y n stands at the m o r a l center o f t h e movement to

c l e a n s e R u s s i a o f the spirit of Stalinism."® This formula-

tion shares the p o p u l a r i t y of i m p r e s s i o n i s t i c judgments; i t

gains in precision i f the spirit of S t a l i n i s m i s understood

as t h e spirit of p o l i t i c a l despotism and social oppression.

It i s readily a c k n o w l e d g e d t h a t S o l z h e n i t s y n has become the

symbolic conscience o f modern R u s s i a , b u t the contention of

his critics t h a t h i s work m a n i f e s t s a l l e g i a n c e t o some sort

of political o p p o s i t i o n i n h i s own country i s untenable. He

formulates h i s own a r t i s t i c m i s s i o n i n the f o l l o w i n g terms:

A w r i t e r ' s t a s k s c o n c e r n t h e more u n i v e r s a l and

e t e r n a l themes. They t r e a t the m y s t e r i e s o f the
human h e a r t and c o n s c i e n c e , t h e c o n f r o n t a t i o n o f
l i f e and d e a t h , t h e o v e r c o m i n g o f t h e a n g u i s h o f
the s o u l , and t h o s e l a w s o f c o n t i n u i n g h u m a n i t y
t h a t were b o r n i n t h e d e p t h s o f t i m e i m m e m o r i a l
and t h a t w i l l c e a s e t o be o n l y when t h e sun i s
extinguished.°

Hence, S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s m i s s i o n i s t o a r o u s e the con-

science and consciousness o f a l l mankind, to i n s t i l into i t

an u n w a v e r i n g l o v e o f t r u t h and passion f o r justice, and to

evoke a compassionate understanding o f man as an individual

and social being. S o v i e t man i s a microcosm of a u n i v e r s a l

8,
"The Writer as R u s s i a ' s Conscience," op. c i t . ,
P. 32.
o
" Z a p i s ' z a s e d a n i y a s e k r e t a r i a t a soyuza p i s a t e l e i
SSSR 22 s e n t y a b r y a 1967," Works, V o l . 6, p. 53.
 - $h -
human c o n d i t i o n . F o r S o l z h e n i t s y n modern l i f e i s the capt-

ive o f t e c h n o l o g y , the i n f l u e n c e of r e l i g i o n i s waning, and

man i s engrossed i n the p u r s u i t of m a t e r i a l p r o s p e r i t y . The

w r i t e r must f i l l up " t h e empty spaces." ^ 1

The philosophical f o u n d a t i o n o f S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s work

is pravda, the concept which suggests t o the R u s s i a n mind a

h a r m o n i o u s compound o f t r u t h and j u s t i c e . T h i s ambiguity i s

strikingly caught by the o l d e x p r e s s i o n z h i t ' po pravde (to

live by t r u t h ) , meaning t o l i v e i n accordance with justice.

The concept of pravda i s i m p e r f e c t l y a p p r e h e n d e d when taken

as an embracement o f two independent though coexisting con-

stituents. The essential point i s made by M i k h a i l o v s k y . He

s a y s t h e f o l l o w i n g , w h i c h may be t a k e n as r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f

Russian views:

E v e r y t i m e t h e word " p r a v d a " comes I n t o my m i n d , I

cannot h e l p admiring i t s a s t o n i s h i n g i n n e r beauty
. . . o n l y i n R u s s i a n , i t seems, a r e " t r u t h " and
" j u s t i c e " d e s i g n a t e d by t h e same word, f u s i n g as i t
were i n t o one g r e a t w h o l e . " P r a v d a " - i n t h i s v a s t
m e a n i n g o f t h e word T-,has always b e e n t h e g o a l o f
my s e a r c h i n g s . . . .

To S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s m i n d p r a v d a i s t h e absolute; i t i s a rule

for living w h i c h t o l e r a t e s no compromise.

There i s no n e e d t o r e h e a r s e t h e rampant injustices

1 0
" u p r a z d n e n e m i e s t o . " See " J e d n e h o dna u Alexandra
I s a j e v i c a S o l z e n i c y n a , " op. c i t . , p. 10.
11
Q u o t e d i n V. V. Z e n k o v s k y , A H i s t o r y o f R u s s i a n
P h i l o s o p h y , t r a n s . George L. K l i n e , London: R o u t l e d g e and
Kegan P a u l L t d , 1953, V o l . 2, p . 7.
 - 55 -

of the S t a l i n e r a o r , indeed, of Russian h i s t o r y generally;

it i s r e p l e t e w i t h i n s t a n c e s of vigorous suppression of the

truth. As N e r z h i n s a y s , t h e r e was a l w a y s s o m e t h i n g t o stop

those "who m i g h t scream t h e t r u t h o r seek j u s t i c e . " (3:270)

It i s r e a d i l y understandable that Stalinist injustice would

drive some S o v i e t c i t i z e n s into a life of i l l e g a l i t y . Such

is Ruska Doronin, who h a s b e e n a l i e n a t e d b y t h e s o c i a l sys-

tem. "Circumstances make d e v i l s o f u s , " he s a y s . "I myself

am a l l f o r an h o n e s t life, but f o r everyone . . . f o r every

single p e r s o n i " (3:32l|.) H i s " m i s c h i e v o u s innocence" induces

the r e a d e r t o concur with Jeri Laber that he w o u l d be p r o n e

to flout t h e l a w i n any s o c i e t y ; i n Stalinist society, "his

12

destruction i s preordained." B u t t h e q u e s t i o n h a s a more

important side: Doronin finds justification f o r h i s actions

in the lawlessness which p r e v a i l s around h i m . The u n i v e r s a l

social injustice i n t e n s i f i e s h i s perverseness. F o r him the

honest life does n o t demand o b e d i e n c e to state law; i t i s a

life of justice and e q u a l i t y . He p r o n o u n c e s a g a i n s t social

i n j u s t i c e i n the f o l l o w i n g terms:
What d i d t h e r e v o l u t i o n r i s e a g a i n s t ? A g a i n s t p r i v -
i l e g e s ! What was i t t h a t d i s g u s t e d t h e R u s s i a n peo-
p l e ? P r i v i l e g e s . Some were d r e s s e d i n o v e r a l l s , and
o t h e r s i n s a b l e s , some went about on f o o t - o t h e r s
i n p h a e t o n s , some w a i t e d f o r t h e f a c t o r y h o o t e r and
o t h e r s f e d t h e i r f a c e s i n r e s t a u r a n t s . (3:32l+-5)

J e r i L a b e r , " I n d i c t m e n t o f S o v i e t T e r r o r , " The

l 2

New R e p u b l i c . C L I X : 16, I s s u e 2 8 l l (19 O c t o b e r 1968), p.33.

 - 56 -

The R u s s i a n h a s had contempt f o r the l a w throughout

h i s t o r y . The radical intellectual Alexander Herzen, who was

himself a seeker of freedom and social justice, comments on

the cause of t h i s attitude:

The l a c k o f l e g a l o r d e r , w h i c h h a s f r o m t h e e a r -
l i e s t t i m e s hung l i k e a c l o u d o v e r t h e p e o p l e , has
a t t h e same time b e e n s o m e t h i n g i n t h e n a t u r e o f a
s c h o o l i n g . The c r y i n g i n j u s t i c e o f one h a l f o f i t s
laws has t a u g h t the R u s s i a n p e o p l e t o hate the o t h -
e r as w e l l : the R u s s i a n submits t o the law from
f o r c e a l o n e . Complete i n e q u a l i t y b e f o r e the c o u r t s
has k i l l e d i n him a l l r e s p e c t f o r l e g a l i t y . A R u s s -
i a n , whatever h i s c a l l i n g , evades or v i o l a t e s the
l a w whenever he c a n do so w i t h i m p u n i t y , and t h e
g o v e r n m e n t does e x a c t l y t h e same.1-3

It i s significant t h a t S o l z h e n i t s y n , w i t h the intellectuals

o f the p r e v i o u s c e n t u r y , s u b s c r i b e s t o a " v i s i o n of anarchy

engendered by d e s p a i r . " ^ " F o r i t shows t h a t

1
the revolution

has failed t o meet i t s p r i m a r y o b l i g a t i o n : R u s s i a n humanity

i s not yet free of the shackles of oppression. S o l z h e n i t s y n

was trained i n this mistrust o f the l e g a l order i n a school

o f agony w i t h o u t e q u a l . "The law c a n be s t o o d on i t s h e a d , "

he observes. "When one ten-year s t r e t c h ends, they'll say:

here's another one f o r you. Or exile you." (1:52) There is

no doubt that a l l feeling for legality and hope f o r j u s t i c e

was irrevocably s u p p r e s s e d by the m i n i o n s of S t a l i n ' s penal

• ^ Q u o t e d by L e o n a r d S c h a p i r o i n "The Pre-Revolu-
t i o n a r y I n t e l l i g e n t s i a and t h e L e g a l O r d e r , " i n The R u s s i a n
I n t e l l i g e n t s i a , e d . R i c h a r d P i p e s , New Y o r k : Columbia Univ-
e r s i t y P r e s s , 1961. See p. 20.

•^Loc. c i t .
 - 57 -

a p p a r a t u s , w h i c h was d e l i b e r a t e l y c a l c u l a t e d t o t h a t e n d . ^
1

Solzhenitsyn's l a c k of confidence i n l e g a l institu-

t i o n s and i n s i s t e n c e on t h e m o r a l principle as t h e g u i d e t o

the honest life reveals h i s a f f i n i t y w i t h the "conservative

anarchism" o f t h e S l a v o p h i l e s . As i t a p p e a r e d by t h e middle

of the n i n e t e e n t h century, the developed creed of the Slav-

o p h i l e s e m b r a c e d two f u n d a m e n t a l tenets: the f i r s t insisted

on t h e p r e - e m i n e n c e o f t h e m o r a l and r e l i g i o u s l a w over t h e

w r i t t e n s t a t e l a w ; t h e second averred that the unreflecting

r e a s o n e x c e l l e d t h e l o w e r d i s s e c t i n g r e a s o n . The S l a v o p h i l e

system combined i n t u i t i o n and i n s t i n c t , w h i c h were f o u n d i n

O l d R u s s i a , a n c e s t r a l t r a d i t i o n and t h e Orthodox Church,not

in t h e Roman C h u r c h o r Western European institutions.

K o n s t a n t i n A k s a k o v , one o f t h e more r o m a n t i c o f t h e

second-generation Slavophiles, made a c o m p a r a t i v e study of

t h e o r i g i n s o f t h e R u s s i a n and W e s t e r n E u r o p e a n s t a t e s . The

f o u n d a t i o n o f t h e l a t t e r , he w r o t e , was " f o r c e , s l a v e r y a n d

hostility," of the former "free w i l l , liberty and p e a c e . " 1 7

He went o n t o e x p o u n d t h e t h e o r y t h a t R u s s i a h a d a n intell-

•^See V. L a k s h i n , " I v a n D e n i s o v i c h , y e g o d r u z y a i
n e d r u g i , " i n W o r k s , V o l . 6, p p . 270-1.
-i L
D. S. M i r s k y , A H i s t o r y o f R u s s i a n L i t e r a t u r e ,
e d . F r a n c i s J . W h i t f i e l d , New Y o r k : A l f r e d A. K n o p f , 1961;,
P. 1 6 2 .
17
Q u o t e d b y M i c h a e l C h e r n i a v s k y i n T s a r and P e o p l e :
S t u d i e s i n R u s s i a n M y t h s , 2d e d . , New Y o r k : Random H o u s e ,
1 9 6 9 , P. 1 8 0 .
 - 58 -

e c t u a l and religious mission to f u l f i l i n Europe. A similar

belief i n t h e power o f E a s t e r n European l i t e r a t u r e to point

t h e way out of the w o r l d ' s m a t e r i a l i s t i c impasse i s h e l d by

S o l z h e n i t s y n . W e s t e r n E u r o p e a n l i t e r a t u r e w o u l d n o t be able

t o c a r r y out this t a s k , he contends, f o r Western Europe has

18
not experienced any cataclysms i n recent years.
The historian B e r n a r d P a r e s has observed that every

Russian has i n him latently two sets of i n s t i n c t s : those of

19
the S l a v o p h i l e and those of the W e s t e r n i z e r . 7
Solzhenitsyn

seems t o c o n f i r m this c o n v i c t i o n . There i s a passage i n the

n o v e l where he a d v o c a t e s a compromise between the two views

of Russian affairs. Two prisoners are d i s c u s s i n g P e t e r the

Great:
One o f them s c o l d e d him . . . f o r having distorted
and r e m o v e d R u s s i a n f o l k d r e s s , thereby depriving
h i s people of t h e i r i n d i v i d u a l i t y . . . . He a r g u e d
t h a t e v e n now i t was n o t t o o l a t e t o r e v i v e c e r t a i n
p a r t s o f t h a t d r e s s w h i c h c o u l d be c o n v e n i e n t l y and
c o m f o r t a b l y c o m b i n e d w i t h m o d e r n c l o t h i n g , and t h a t
P a r i s s h o u l d n o t be c o p i e d b l i n d l y . (3:208)
The lay theologian and philosopher A l e x e i Khomyakov h e l d to

his belief t h a t R u s s i a was i n the p r o c e s s of becoming "Holy

Russia." The Moscow S l a v o p h i l e s o f t h e time i n s i s t e d on the

observance of r i t u a l and custom,anddthe f a n a t i c a l desire to

S e e "A V i s i t t o S o l z h e n i t s y n b y t h e C z e c h W r i t e r ,
l 8

P a v e l L i c k o , " The L i s t e n e r . L X X X I : 2086 (20 M a r c h 1 9 6 9 ) ,

P. 372.
19
B e r n a r d P a r e s , A H i s t o r y o f R u s s i a . New York:
Alfred A. K n o p f , 1961+, p. 31+8.
 - 59 -
20
be t r u l y Russian induced Khomyakov t o wear f o l k dress.

The Slavophile teaching subordinates rational logic

to spontaneity. Therefore, i n the Slavophile's opinion, the

logical process of reasoned t h i n k i n g t o which the Westerner

was given rendered him incapable of judging accurately, and

this deprived him o f the essential experience of l i f e which

i n v o l u n t a r y responses provided. T h i s submitting, t o the de-

mands o f t h e heart and conscience d i s t i n g u i s h e s the heroine

of Solzhenitsyn's charming story Matryonin dvor (Matryona's

Home). The o l d l a d y i s a model of supreme e x c e l l e n c e :

. . . she i s t h a t v e r y r i g h t e o u s one, w i t h o u t whom,

a c c o r d i n g t o the p r o v e r b , the v i l l a g e cannot s t a n d .
Nor any town.

Nor our whole l a n d . (1:231)

The First Circle contains i n c o n t r o v e r t i b l e evidence

that S o l z h e n i t s y n c o n s i d e r s W e s t e r n e r s t o be easily seduced

by rational logic. The Butyrskaya P r i s o n i s the scene of a

"Potemkin v i l l a g e " situation. Here a c e l l has been g i v e n an

entirely fraudulent a p p e a r a n c e t o work a d e c e i t upon a cer-

t a i n Mrs. R- (Mrs. Roosevelt) who has come on an i n s p e c t i o n

tour as a r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f UNRRA. She leaves the "magnifi-

cent prison," f u l l y "convinced o f the falsity of the insin-

uations being spread by hostile people i n t h e West," (l+: 1+71)

and s a t i s f i e d that conditions i n Soviet prisons are conduc-

ive to the reforming of i t s delinquent citizens.

Cherniavsky, op. c i t . , p. 167.

 - 60 -
Since appearances c a n be m i s l e a d i n g , r a t i o n a l logic

is not trustworthy. I n s t e a d , S o l z h e n i t s y n b e l i e v e s t h a t one

must obey h i s i n n e r f e e l i n g s . A human b e i n g ' s readiness to

suffer f o r h i s c o n s c i e n t i o u s c o n v i c t i o n s i s t h e supreme test

of nobility. The e x a c t i t u d e o f t h e code o f h o n o u r s e t down

in the novel i s manifest i n t h e case of Gerasimovich. When

the authorities o f f e r h i m f r e e d o m i n exchange f o r e n g i n e e r -

ing special cameras t o be u s e d f o r s u r v e i l l a n c e by n i g h t (a

t a s k a l l e g e d t o be i n h i s f i e l d ) , he d e c l i n e s instinctively

and e m p h a t i c a l l y . "Nol That's n o t i n my f i e l d l " he insists.

"I don't specialize i n imprisoning people! I'm n o t a f i s h e r

of meni I t ' s e n o u g h t h a t we were i m p r i s o n e d . " (lj.:696) In a

similar circumstance Nerzhin g i v e s up " t h e f o o d o f the gods

for lentil soup" (326I4.) when he r e f u s e s t o c o o p e r a t e i n the

cryptography work. I n S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s v i e w t h e s e men make the

correct choice i n s t i n c t i v e l y , out o f repugnance against the

moral consequences w h i c h would f l o w from cooperating i n the

schemes o f t h e a u t h o r i t i e s .

The extremely important place occupied by pravda i n

Solzhenitsyn's conception o f the world i s made known i n t h e

extant part of a l e t t e r w r i t t e n to three students. What he

says there i s representative of h i s ideological m i l i t a n c y :

T h e r e i s n o t h i n g r e l a t i v e a b o u t j u s t i c e , as t h e r e i s
n o t h i n g r e l a t i v e about c o n s c i e n c e . I n d e e d , j u s t i c e ijs
c o n s c i e n c e , n o t a p e r s o n a l conscience but the consc-
i e n c e o f t h e whole o f h u m a n i t y . T h o s e who c l e a r l y r e -
c o g n i z e t h e v o i c e o f t h e i r own c o n s c i e n c e u s u a l l y re-
cognize a l s o the v o i c e o f j u s t i c e . . . . They can
 - 61 -

s h o u t , t h e y c a n t a k e you by t h e t h r o a t , t h e y can
t e a r y o u r b r e a s t , b u t c o n v i c t i o n s b a s e d on c o n -
s c i e n c e are as i n f a l l i b l e as the i n t e r n a l rhythm
o f the h e a r t (and one knows t h a t i n p r i v a t e l i f e
i t i s the v o i c e o f c o n s c i e n c e w h i c h we o f t e n t r y
to suppress). 1 2

The diplomat Volodin embodies t h i s struggle with conscience

in private l i f e . His d e c i s i o n to c a l l Dobroumov i s p r e c e d e d

by an agonizing mental c o n f r o n t a t i o n between c o n s c i e n c e and

expediency that s u g g e s t s the turpitude of the times. In the

atmosphere o f s u s p i c i o n and fear created by Stalin's terror

the operating behavioural word was "caution." Solzhenitsyn

a s k s a momentous q u e s t i o n : " I f we are always c a u t i o u s , can

we r e m a i n human b e i n g s ? " (3:8) This irresolution emphasizes

the u n f o r t u n a t e tendency of a l l people to suppress the con-

s c i e n c e . And i f the diplomat's ultimate decision i s a vic-

tory for morality, i t i s a l s o the exception that proves the

rule.

Solzhenitsyn's f a i t h i n the infallibility of judge-

ments o f c o n s c i e n c e and h i s d e n i a l o f any relativity toward

them i s an e s s e n t i a l l y anachronistic point o f v i e w . On that

account i t would a t t r a c t few a d h e r e n t s among modern p h i l o s -

ophers. I n t u i t i v e l y , conscience i s commonly u n d e r s t o o d as a

kind of i n t e r i o r judge w h i c h p o s s e s s e s the m y s t i c a l ability

to a r b i t r a t e i n the ethical disputes i m p o s e d on the mind of

man and to i n d i c a t e ( p e r h a p s by divine inspiration) morally

Translated i n L a b e d z , op. c i t . , p. 101

acceptable courses of a c t i o n . This conception embraces two

distinct senses: a r e t r o s p e c t i v e one w h i c h c a n be t r a c e d t o

a pre-Socratic antecedent (which i s i n v o k e d i n the examina-

tion o f the S o v i e t Union's S t a l i n i s t past), and a prospect-

ive one w h i c h was f i r s t mentioned i n a Pauline e p i s t l e (and

t o w h i c h V o l o d i n makes h i s a p p e a l ) . 2 2
Conscience as a p h i l -

osophic concept thus has a l o n g h i s t o r y . The most important

analysis of conscience seems t o have b e e n made b y S t Thomas

A q u i n a s who e x p l a i n e d i t i n the medieval f a s h i o n . He argued

that t h e r e a s o n was endowed w i t h b o t h t h e o r e t i c a l and m o r a l

p r i n c i p l e s . As t h e f a c u l t y o f a p p r e h e n d i n g f u n d a m e n t a l mor-

al p r i n c i p l e s , r e a s o n was c a l l e d s y n t e r e s i s . The synteresis

furnishes the major premise of a s y l l o g i s m : a l l evil should

be avoided; an i n f e r i o r reason provides the minor premise:

assisting the s e c r e t p o l i c e i s e v i l ; c o n s c i e n c e (syneidesis)

draws t h e c o n c l u s i o n : a s s i s t i n g the secret p o l i c e should be

2"3

avoided. J
The d o c t r i n e that the conscience i s s u s c e p t i b l e

to e r r o r has been g i v e n philosophical recognition since the

time o f S t P a u l . Modern t h e o l o g i a n s acknowledge t h a t there

is scope f o r s e l f - d e c e p t i o n , and t h i s a p p l i e s b o t h t o man's

2 2
F o r t h i s d i s t i n c t i o n I am i n d e b t e d t o Dr I l m a r
Tammello i n " C o n s c i e n c e , a l i e n a t i o n and v i o l e n c e , " f r o m The
S y d n e y M o r n i n g H e r a l d , 12 June 1971, p . 6.

2
3 e e F r a n k T h . i l l y and L e d g e r Wood, A H i s t o r y o f
S

P h i l o s o p h y , 3d e d . , New Y o r k : H e n r y H o l t and Company, 1958,

P. 23b,.
 - 63 -

understanding o f what c o n s t i t u t e s t h e g o o d and the goodness

of a p a r t i c u l a r intended a c t , w h i l e modern s e c u l a r thinkers

interpret conscience as a reflection of the societal forces

w i t h w h i c h man must c o n t e n d . But this says t h a t conscience

is a relative phenomenon: i t i s as g o o d ( o r bad) and strong

( o r weak) as the i n f l u e n c e s w h i c h a man's s o c i a l environment

exerts u p o n him. Thus i n d i v i d u a l c o n s c i e n c e may be silenced

or deformed i n p r o p o r t i o n t o the number o f corrupting ideas

which p r e v a i l i n s o c i e t y . I f credence i s g i v e n to the modern

point of view, then c o n v i c t i o n s f o u n d e d on the judgments of

an i n t e r i o r a r b i t r a t o r , however d i v i n e l y i n s p i r e d , are ren-

dered suspect. Because of the possibility of conscientious

error, spontaneous responses might prove l e s s r e l i a b l e than

conscientious j u d g e m e n t s b a s e d on an objective appraisal of

all the f a c t s i n any social or p o l i t i c a l situation.

The foregoing commentary has an appropriate connec-

t i o n w i t h the t r a g e d y o f R u b i n , whose d e l u s i o n is a symptom

of conscientious e r r o r . Rubin i s a b r i l l i a n t philologist, a

man of l a t e n t unimpeachable m o r a l r e c t i t u d e , but the victim

of h i s revolutionary z e a l . His s e l f - d e c e p t i o n proceeds from

his allegiance to an i d e o l o g y alien t o the Russian national

character (Russian communism i s a W e s t e r n i m p o r t ) . In Rubin

the author shows t h a t subtle process of s e l f - i n d o c t r i n a t i o n

by w h i c h a man believes that "socialist t r u t h at times pro-

g r e s s e s i n a r o u n d a b o u t d i s t o r t e d way." ( 3 : 2 0 ) On this pre-

 - 61+ -

m i s e he explains away t h e Stalinist a b e r r a t i o n and fails to

make an o b j e c t i v e a n a l y s i s of the fact t h a t the country was

"pressing on and on i n the wrong d i r e c t i o n . " 707) Blinded

by his faith i n the cause - " D e s p i t e everything . . . we'll

triumph" (l+.t707) - he i s convinced t h a t he i s bound by duty

to place his scientific knowledge a t t h e disposition of the

authorities and to help trap Volodin. The tragedy consists

in this subordinating of p e r s o n a l f e e l i n g s to the interests

of the state. Solzhenitsyn appreciates Rubin's motives, and

the s c o l d i n g of h i s deuteragonist as "the representative of

progressive ideology i n the sharashka" (l+:532) is intended

less as a rebuke o f t h e man himself than as an indirect re-

pudiation of a doctrine that causes a man to s u s t a i n such a

moral paradox. As Horst Bienek says, Solzhenitsyn destroys

the "communist dream" and damages " t h e delicate equilibrium

of r e a l i t y and dream w h i c h i s b e i n g preserved diligently by

the Party even a f t e r Stalin and Khrushchev." ^ 2 -

And in doing

so S o l z h e n i t s y n i m p l i e s t h a t t h e responsibility f o r Rubin's

condition l i e s with the Party. I n S l a v o p h i l i s t i c manner, he

intimates that communism has superimposed on R u s s i a a false

idealism w h i c h has corrupted i t s a d h e r e n t s and rendered the

Rubins incapable of seeing that their a c t i o n s do n o t accord

(| ^-"Denn S o l s c h e n i z y n i s t d e r e r s t e , d e r r a d i k a l und
2

g r u n d l i c h den K o m m u n i s t i s c h e n Traum z e r s t o r t u n d das emp-

f i n d l i c h e G l e i c h g e w i c h t v o n R e a l i t a t und V i s i o n , das v o n
d e r P a r t e i a u c h n a c h S t a l i n und C h r u s c h t s c h o w muhsam a u f -
r e c h t e r h a l t e n w i r d , v e r l e t z t . " B i e n e k , op. c i t . pp. 11+7-8. t
 - 65 -
with morality. 5 2

Prom a p u r e l y R u s s i a n s t a n d p o i n t , R u b i n ' s e r r o r may

be explained i n terms o f pravda. F o r Rubin t h e t r u t h i s t h e

u l t i m a t e triumph o f communism, y e t S o v i e t r e a l i t y i n d i c a t e s

t h a t t h e M a r x i s t r e v o l u t i o n has been b e t r a y e d . A Western

a n t h r o p o l o g i s t made t h e f o l l o w i n g o b s e r v a t i o n about pravda.

which serves t o e x p l a i n why R u b i n ' s f e l l o w p r i s o n e r s do n o t

share h i s c o n v i c t i o n s :

A l l men o f g o o d w i l l m u s t r e c o g n i z e t h e T r u t h when
i t i s p o i n t e d o u t t o them. . . . To a c c e p t t h e d e -
c i s i o n of the m a j o r i t y , without the appropriate
i n t e r n a l c o n v i c t i o n s , i s f o r Great Russians the
abandonment o f a l l h o n o u r and s e l f - r e s p e c t ; t o s u b -
m i t w i l l i n g l y t o t h o s e y o u a r e c o n v i n c e d do n o t
p o s s e s s t h e T r u t h i s an a c t o f b a s e n e s s . 2 7

Rubin considers m a t e r i a l progress i n t h e system evidence o f

a superior principle underlying the Soviet s t a t e ; therefore

he defends S t a l i n ' s penal system, sanctions the b a r b a r i t i e s

of the e x i s t i n g order as a n e c e s s a r y adjunct t o the achiev-

i n g o f i t s g o a l , and d e f e r s t o t h e P a r t y as h i s c o n s c i e n c e .

p
See K y r i l F i t z l y o n ' s review o f The F i r s t C i r c l e
i n L o n d o n M a g a z i n e , V I I I : 10 ( J a n u a r y 1 9 6 9 ) , p. 1 0 1 .

E d w a r d C r a n k s h a w w r i t e s : "Today when we compare

t h e r e a l i t y o f S o v i e t R u s s i a w i t h L e n i n ' s dream i t i s a l l
t o o e a s y t o s e e what h a s gone w r o n g . What i s n o t s o e a s y t o
see, because t h e r o u t e t r a c e d by t h e march o f progress i s
o b s c u r e d i n i t s own d u s t , i s t h a t t h e dream h a d b e e n a b a n d -
o n e d l o n g b e f o r e S t a l i n t o o k o v e r f r o m L e n i n . " See R u s s i a
b y D a y l i g h t , L o n d o n : M i c h a e l J o s e p h , 1951, P» 8 0 .

^ G e o f f r e y G o r e r a n d J o h n R i c k m a n , The P e o p l e o f
G r e a t R u s s i a : A P s y c h o l o g i c a l S t u d y , L o n d o n : The C r e s s e t
P r e s s , 1914-9, p . 1 8 7 .
 - 66 -

What R u b i n fails to understand clearly i s that the achieve-

ments o f the S o v i e t U n i o n i n the S t a l i n e r a are not attrib-

utable t o the s u p e r i o r i t y w h i c h he c o n s i d e r s t o be inherent

in communism o r t o t h e i m p l i c i t validity of d i a l e c t i c a l and

h i s t o r i c a l m a t e r i a l i s m ; r a t h e r , they are sound t e s t i m o n y to

the e f f e c t i v e n e s s of o r g a n i z e d compulsion and c o e r c i o n . The

remarks o f N e r z h i n t o the semi-literate peasant Yegorov are

a comment on R u b i n ' s d e l u s i o n and,by e x t e n s i o n , on t h e i l l -

examined m o t i v e s of a l l Soviet:ncommunists:

Perhaps a l l people d e s i r e the good, or t h i n k they

do, b u t n o t e v e r y o n e i s g u i l t l e s s o r f r e e f r o m m i s -
t a k e s - some a r e e v e n q u i t e c o n s c i e n c e l e s s , a n d t h e y
cause e a c h o t h e r so much harm. T h e y c o n v i n c e them-
s e l v e s they are doing good, but i n f a c t i t t u r n s
o u t t o be e v i l . Or, as y o u r p r o v e r b has i t , t h e y
sow r y e and i t comes up weeds. (L|_t^60)

This also suggests that Solzhenitsyn invites the l e a d e r s h i p

and, perhaps, the e n t i r e Soviet population, t o examine i t s

conscience.

By 19I+9 S t a l i n had l o n g s i n c e become the undisputed

m a s t e r o f the K r e m l i n . P r a c t i c a l l y , he was the P a r t y , hence

the conscience o f men like Rubin. Perhaps S t a l i n could not

afford a delicate c o n s c i e n c e ; the r e a l reason f o r h i s early

bid f o r absolute control o f the P a r t y was t o save a country

28

d r i v e n t o the verge o f economic c o l l a p s e . That aim would

be u n i v e r s a l l y approved. Criticism of S t a l i n ' s actions i n -

^ Hellmut A n d i c s , Rule of T e r r o r , t r a n s . Alexander

L i e v e n , London: C o n s t a b l e , 1969, p. H 3 «
 - 67 -
variably centres on h i s m e t h o d s . As i s often suggested, the

t e r r o r may have b e e n t h e u n a v o i d a b l e concomitant of revolu-

t i o n , but terror on the Stalinist scale c a n n o t be approved

by any normal moral standard. For S t a l i n was concerned less

with r e v o l u t i o n than with protecting his exclusive control

of the Party. I t i s not a coincidence t h a t when the Yezhov-

shchina had expired S t a l i n was the sole survivor of Lenin's

original politburo. Accordingly, any investigation into the

m o r a l i t y of the r e v o l u t i o n must g i v e due weight to Stalin's

personal m o t i v e s . The responsibility f o r the "violations of

socialist legality" (as S t a l i n ' s c r i m e s are euphemistically

called in official Soviet j a r g o n ) , however, c a n n o t be borne

by him alone; as the novel shows, t h e guilt is collective.

Solzhenitsyn's concern with the m o r a l i m p e r a t i v e is

almost an obsession. T h e r e i s a scene i n C a n c e r Ward where

Shulubin formulates a theory of e t h i c a l s o c i a l i s m which, i n

the absence of e x t e r n a l e v i d e n c e , throws t e n t a t i v e l i g h t on

Solzhenitsyn's conception of s o c i e t y and forms a complement

t o the ethical theme o f The First Circle:

We have t o show t h e w o r l d a s o c i e t y where a l l r e -

l a t i o n s h i p s , f u n d a m e n t a l p r i n c i p l e s and l a w s have
t h e i r s o u r c e i n e t h i c s - and o n l y i n i t I A l l c o n -
s i d e r a t i o n s must be d e t e r m i n e d o n l y b y the demands
o f e t h i c s : how t o r a i s e c h i l d r e n , what t o t r a i n
them f o r , t o what end the work o f a d u l t s i s t o be
d i r e c t e d , and how t h e i r l e i s u r e t i m e i s t o be o c -
c u p i e d . I n s c i e n t i f i c r e s e a r c h o n l y t h a t w o u l d be
p e r m i t t e d which i s not d e t r i m e n t a l to m o r a l i t y -
and, i n t h e f i r s t i n s t a n c e , t o t h e r e s e a r c h e r s
t h e m s e l v e s . The same g o e s f o r f o r e i g n p o l i c y l On
 - 68 -

t h e q u e s t i o n o f f r o n t i e r s , we s h o u l d n o t be m o t i v a -
t e d b y how much a c e r t a i n move w i l l e n r i c h o r
s t r e n g t h e n u s o r enhance o u r p r e s t i g e , b u t b y one
t h i n g o n l y : t o what e x t e n t i s i t e t h i c a l ? (2:I(.89-90)

This s y s t e m i s n o t f o u n d e d on h a p p i n e s s , b u t on " m u t u a l aff-

ection" (vzaimnoye r a s p o l o z h e n i y e ) which, i n S o l z h e n i t s y n s 1

opinion, i s the worthiest o f human aspirations.

I n t h e manner o f T o l s t o y i n t h e n i n e t e e n t h century,

and Pasternak i n the twentieth, S o l z h e n i t s y n g i v e s thematic

expression to h i s i m p l i c i t v a l u e s i n what Henry G i f f o r d h a s

called "the s e l f - d e c e i t and m u t u a l t o r t u r e s o f men.''^* 7

His

appraisal o f the m o t i v e s , c h a r a c t e r and m e a n i n g o f t h e r e v -

olution i n a l l i t s p r o f u n d i t y and c o n t r a d i c t o r i n e s s f o l l o w s

the literary precedent e s t a b l i s h e d b y s u c h w r i t e r s as Babel,

Pilnyak and P a s t e r n a k . He e n d o r s e s P a s t e r n a k i n h i s defense

o f man a g a i n s t t h e i n t r u s i o n s of systematic thought, and he

presents hisethical socialism as a c o n s c i e n t i o u s o b j e c t i o n

to the expedient political p h i l o s o p h i e s w h i c h have obtained

currency i n the twentieth century.

In the present-day world, where b o t h international

and domestic relations are being i n f l u e n c e d i n c r e a s i n g l y by

political i d e a s , and e s p e c i a l l y i n a c o u n t r y where politics

has been viewed o f f i c i a l l y f o r over fifty years as t h e s o l e

p a n a c e a o f t h e human c o n d i t i o n , S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s scheme f o r a

The N o v e l i n R u s s i a : From P u s h k i n t o P a s t e r n a k ,
New Y o r k : H a r p e r and Row ( C o l o p h o n B o o k s ) , 1965, P. 187.
 - 6 9-

society f o u n d e d on ethics will be t a k e n as the quintessence

of i d e a l i s m or eccentricity. Whether o r n o t this proposal

contains the seeds o f p o l i t i c a l ideology, i t i s an incisive

criticism of that "diseased" society s y m b o l i z e d by the can-

c e r ward. And that this s o c i e t y stands i n need of regenera-

tion i s a t t r i b u t a b l e at l e a s t i n p a r t to the indiscriminate

use ( o r abuse) o f the end-means principle.

The f a m i l i a r and complex q u e s t i o n of ends and means

is the central i d e o l o g i c a l issue o f The First Circle. Rubin

contends: "In the e n t i r e h i s t o r y o f m a n k i n d our aim is the

first that i s so h i g h we can say i t justifies t h e means em-

ployed to achieve it." ( I 4 . : 5 6 I 4 . ) Rubin n e a t l y divorces private

from social morality, insisting that t h e y are qualitatively

different, and affirms the m o r a l i t y o f r e v o l u t i o n a r y means.

His opponent, S o l o g d i n , maintains that "the higher the aim,

the higher must be the means I P e r f i d i o u s means d e s t r o y the

aim itself!" Rejecting Rubin's M a c h i a v e l l i a n double

standard as "filth" (gadstvo), he declares:

M o r a l i t y s h o u l d n ' t l o s e i t s f o r c e as i t w i d e n s i t s
s c o p e I O t h e r w i s e , i f you p e r s o n a l l y k i l l o r b e t r a y

3 ° M a n y a H a r a r i n o t e d S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s deep a b i d i n g
humanism, b u t i n v i t e d t h e S o v i e t d i s s i d e n t s c o l l e c t i v e l y t o
g i v e more t h o u g h t t o the l i m i t e d a p p l i c a t i o n o f p o l i t i c s t o
s o c i e t y i n o r d e r t o a v o i d " p e r p e t u a t i n g the e x i s t i n g con-
f u s i o n " w h i c h r e s u l t s f r o m a l l o w i n g p o l i t i c s ( o r e t h i c s as
a s u b s t i t u t e ) t o become a r e l i g i o n . See "Solzhenitsyn's
C a n c e r Ward - P a r t I I , " S u r v e y . No. 6 9 ( O c t o b e r 1 9 6 8 ) ,
p. I I 4 . 8 . Deming Brown has c a l l e d S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s e t h i c a l s o -
c i a l i s m an i n g e n u o u s p o l i t i c a l n o t i o n . See Brown, op. c i t . ,
p. 3 0 6 .
 - 7 0 -

someone, that's v i l l a i n y . But i f the One-and-Only

and I n f a l l i b l e bumps o f f a mere f i v e o r t e n m i l l i o n ,
t h e n t h a t a c c o r d s w i t h n a t u r a l l a w and ought t o be
u n d e r s t o o d i n a p r o g r e s s i v e s e n s e , I suppose? ( 1 + : 5 6 5 )

For Rubin m o r a l i t y i s relative: what i s p e r m i t t e d the state

is not permitted the i n d i v i d u a l i n private life; f o r Solog-

din morality i s absolute: there exists some u n i v e r s a l moral

principle, i n the l i g h t of which a l l external a c t s must be

examined. The authority o f the Greco-Roman-Christian tradi-

tion, with i t s insistence on t h e p r i m a c y o f t h e individual

conscience, s t a n d s b e h i n d t h e c o n t e n t i o n t h a t good ends are

n o t w r o u g h t by e v i l means.

Yet h i s t o r y records contrary cases. Adequate moral

grounds c a n n o t be adduced f o r t h e Norman C o n q u e s t , which i s

not therefore condemned b y h i s t o r i a n s , because i t benefited

England t o the utmost.-^ But the H e g e l i a n d i a l e c t i c , which

h o l d s the h i s t o r i c a l p r o c e s s t o be rationally predetermined,

does n o t admit of h i s t o r i c a l a c c i d e n t . A l t h o u g h Marx d e n i e d

p r e d e t e r m i n i s m , he agreed that e v e n t s were more t h a n chance

o c c u r r e n c e s . He developed a theory of determinism. These

d e t e r m i n i s t i c views do n o t admit of a m o r a l i t y declared un-

iversally valid. Kant's categorical imperatives subordinate

the group to the i n d i v i d u a l ; Hegel therefore rejected them,

^ R . N. Carew Hunt, The T h e o r y and P r a c t i c e o f

Communism, L o n d o n : P e l i c a n B o o k s , 1 9 5 0 , p. 1 1 1 .

3 S i d n e y Hook, From H e g e l t o Marx: S t u d i e s i n t h e

2

I n t e l l e c t u a l D e v e l o p m e n t o f K a r l M a r x , Ann A r b o r : U n i v e r s i t y
of M i c h i g a n Press (Paperback e d . ) , 1 9 6 2 , p. 3 8 .
 - 71 -

b e c a u s e he considered the p r o c e s s o f h i s t o r y t o be founded

on a higher e t h i c s . Hegel i n s i s t e d that social ties precede

ethical commands; t h e r e f o r e the purpose of the latter is to

enforce the former.Marx saw the dialectic of h i s t o r y at

work i n t h e class struggle; f o r him, t h e n , the group i s the

class, and i t p r o d u c e s i t s own e t h i c s . Thus b o t h H e g e l and

Marx r e p u d i a t e d abstract ethical idealism.

If Solzhenitsyn i s implying that life i n the Soviet

U n i o n has b e e n b r u t a l i z e d b e c a u s e t h e o r e t i c a l communism has

b e e n i n t e r p r e t e d d i s t o r t e d l y , and that t h i s has drained the

doctrine o f i t s t r u e message to humanity, t h e n the ethical

foundation of communism i n v i t e s i n v e s t i g a t i o n . - ^ For i t is

generally a d v a n c e d by Soviet communists t h a t their barbaric

style a c c o r d s w i t h the i n t e r e s t s of Marxism-Leninism. This

movement has induced Rubin to assist i n causing destruction

and death during the collectivization of the peasantry; yet

he still s t a n d s f i r m on the m o r a l i t y o f r e v o l u t i o n a r y means.

T h u s , the M a r x i s t e t h i c must be challenged.

Solzhenitsyn's opinion of Lenin i s not consistently

set f o r t h i n his novels: he extols some o f L e n i n ' s v i r t u e s ,

but does n o t criticize a l l h i s f a u l t s . Yet i t was Lenin who

interpreted t h e M a r x i a n e t h i c i n one of i t s standard formu-

lations. I n h i s Address t o the 3 r d Congress of the Russian

Young Communist League (2 O c t o b e r 1920) Lenin disavowed the

3 3 i b i d . , p . 1+8. ^itziyon, °P« c i t . , p. 99.

 - 72 -

ethics of the bourgeoisie and defined communist m o r a l i t y as

that which serves to d e s t r o y capitalist society and create

proletarian society.

The Marxist's conception of m o r a l i t y w i l l not with-

stand several primary objections. Firstly, i f the ethics of

a society reflect only the i n t e r e s t s of the dominant class,

then p r o l e t a r i a n society w i l l reflect the i n t e r e s t s of the

working c l a s s , but no s t a n d a r d s e x i s t t o e s t a b l i s h the sup-

eriority of p r o l e t a r i a n over bourgeois m o r a l s . Secondly, to

prefer the former because the dialectic e n s u r e s the triumph

of the w o r k e r s does n o t a c c o r d w i t h any e t h i c a l system; the

unavoidability of a thing need not imply i t s desirability.

Thirdly, i t is difficult to accept the Marxian antipathy to

abstract ethical idealism; this i s a denial of that innate

s e n s e o f r i g h t and wrong w h i c h seems t o have i n f l u e n c e d the

m o r a l j u d g m e n t s o f men throughout h i s t o r y . Finally, in the

name o f the class struggle the worker i s exhorted to employ

violence; the Communist M a n i f e s t o i s t h e r e f o r e little more

t h a n a p r e s c r i p t i o n f o r m u r d e r , and killing contravenes a l l

codes o f e t h i c a l b e h a v i o u r . D e s p i t e L e n i n ' s p r o t e s t a t i o n to

the contrary, his formulation of communist e t h i c s is a repu-

diation of a l l e t h i c a l systems; indeed, "communist ethics"

is virtually a contradiction i n terms. I t m i g h t be argued,

-^See D a v i d Shub, L e n i n ; A B i o g r a p h y , P e n g u i n Books,

1966, pp. I4.50-I.
 - 73 -

then, that the f e r v o u r w i t h w h i c h t h e M a r x i s t s p u r s u e their

communist i d e a l m e r e l y emphasizes the i n h e r e n t amoralism of

t h e R u s s i a n r e v o l u t i o n a r y movement.-^ 6

The ideologues of compulsion, who find a convenient

endorsement of t h e i r i d e a s i n the authority of Machiavelli,

argue persistently that political life f o l l o w s i t s own laws

and logic, independent of ethics. But M a c h i a v e l l i proposed

an a b s o l u t e d e s p o t i s m to r e a l i z e his ideal of a strong, i n -

dependent state; i t was t o t h i s end t h a t h i s p r i n c e was in-

v e s t e d w i t h t h e power t o i n v o k e the end-means p r i n c i p l e . In

view o f the anarchical and corrupt condition of Renaissance

Italy, h i s pessimism i s , i f not pardonable, at l e a s t under-

s t a n d a b l e . But t h e modern a p o l o g i s t who expounds h i s t h e o r y

of p o l i t i c a l expediency i n the absence o f these conditions

i s undoubtedly i n s p i r e d w i t h an e x c e s s of pragmatism.

There i s an e q u a l l y p o p u l a r v i e w t h a t the h o l d e r of

public office i s obliged to invoke t h e end-means principle

because absolute moral standards to guide him cannot be de-

f i n e d . The o b j e c t i o n s to t h i s c o n t e n t i o n are o b v i o u s . At no

time i n h i s t o r y has the g u i d i n g p r i n c i p l e o f any government

been tender c o n s i d e r a t i o n f o r i t s s u b j e c t s , but the govern-

ment w h i c h g a i n s power and subsequently runs itself on the

understanding that anything i s j u s t i f i e d i f i t contributes

The p r o b l e m o f the M a r x i a n e t h i c has b e e n n e a t l y

u n r a v e l l e d b y Garew Hunt, t o whom t h e f o r e g o i n g p a r a g r a p h
i s d e e p l y i n d e b t e d . See Hunt, op. c i t . , pp. 109-22.
 - 71+ -

to the e s t a b l i s h i n g o f a communist society must inevitably

invite criticism. S i n c e no true communist society exists i n

the w o r l d , i t i s impossible t o know w h e t h e r i t would benefit

humanity. And the M a r x i s t ' s claim to omniscience certainly

does n o t h e l p t o d e c i d e the i s s u e . The history of political

philosophy w i l l perhaps always oscillate between the poles

of the e t h i c a l and t h e r u t h l e s s l y realistic, but to imbibe

M a c h i a v e l l i a n pessimism and apply i t outright i s to concede

the a r e n a t o the o p p o r t u n i s t s o f h i s t o r y , l i k e the fanatics

of Marxism-Leninism, that

p a r t y o f R u s s i a n s who had g o t h o l d o f a German p h i l -

osophy o f h i s t o r y w h i c h p r o v i d e d t h e more i n t e l l i g e n t
o f them w i t h an i n t e l l e c t u a l armoury and t h e l e s s i n -
t e l l i g e n t w i t h an e x c u s e t o c o n d u c t t h e m s e l v e s l i k e
p e d a n t i c t h u g s and c a l l t h e r e s u l t h i s t o r i c a l n e c e s s -
ity.3?

Sologdin i s a disciple of Dostoyevsky,and the point

f o r w h i c h he contends i n h i s a l t e r c a t i o n w i t h Rubin i s the

lesson o f Crime and Punishment. There Dostoyevsky declared

human l i f e t o be inviolable by u n m a s k i n g , i n the wording of

Mochulsky, the " b l a t a n t lie" o f t h e "humane utilitarianism"

which s e d u c e s R a s k o l n i k o v , and by showing that "the 'econ-

omic p r i n c i p l e ' does n o t l e a d to u n i v e r s a l prosperity, but

rather to mutual annihilation."-^

It is difficult t o s u p p o r t by l o g i c a l argumentation

Crankshaw, op. cit., p. 19.

Mochulsky, op. c i t . , p. 275.

 - 75 -

the c o n t e n t i o n that the B o l s h e v i k s c o n s c i o u s l y d e s i r e d evil,

b u t S o l z h e n i t s y n shows t h a t no e f f o r t was made to avoid the

endemic wastage o f human l i f e that distinguished the S t a l i n

era. Edward Crankshaw a r g u e s a cogent case a g a i n s t L e n i n as

the f o u n t a i n h e a d o f B o l s h e v i k e v i l , but recognizes t h a t the

source of the e v i l l a y i n Lenin's being a R u s s i a n . "To be a

c o n s p i r a t o r i a l Russian," he s a y s , " a n d a natural materialist

into the b a r g a i n o f f e r s u n p a r a l l e l e d opportunities f o r chi-

canery of every kind."39 Crankshaw s e t about demonstrating

that Stalin's a c h i e v e m e n t was m e r e l y t o take Lenin's polic-

ies to their logical conclusion. Milovan D j i l a s holds that

communists have e t h i c a l principles, b u t t h e y have b e e n c o r -

r u p t e d by t h e i r m e t h o d s . ^ S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s t a s k has been to

show t h a t t h e s e methods d i s r u p t e d s o c i e t y b y d i s t u r b i n g t h e

delicate equilibrium o f g o o d and e v i l , which d i s t o r t e d the

moral f o u n d a t i o n s o f human r e l a t i o n s . The B o l s h e v i k s taught

that " ' p i t y ' was a s h a m e f u l feeling, 'goodness' was ludic-

r o u s , and ' c o n s c i e n c e ' was a p r i e s t ' s expression." (30&3)

The First Circle seeks, not to s o l v e the problem o f

evil, b u t t o expose t h e workings o f e v i l i n real life. The

leneer of u n c e r t a i n t y which c e n t u r i e s of metaphysical spec-

u l a t i o n have p l a c e d o v e r the problem i s thoroughly penetra-

r a n k s h a w , op. c i t . , p . 17.

^Milovan Djilas, The New C l a s s , L o n d o n : Unwin

B o o k s , 1966, p . 137.
 - 76 -

ted, and a l l t h a t r e m a i n s i s t h e s o u r c e o f e v i l : human m a l -

ice and w e a k n e s s . The e s s e n c e of evil i s identified by the

simple peasant, S p i r i d o n Yegorov: "The w o l f h o u n d i s r i g h t ,

and the c a n n i b a l i s wrong!" (lj.:5>6l) T h e r e i s no e v i l i n the

rustling o f t h e c o c k r o a c h e s i n M a t r y o n a ' s d i l a p i d a t e d home;

nor i s there evil i n the a c t i o n s o f the dog. In this there

is a r e a s s e r t i o n o f the m e d i e v a l t h e o l o g i c a l p o s i t i o n t h a t

a thing causes e v i l when i t c o n t r a v e n e s t h e l a w s o f i t s own

nature. Thus, e v i l comes w i t h t h e k n o c k on t h e d o o r a t f o u r

o'clock i n t h e m o r n i n g . The e v i l consciously created i sthe

greatest of a l l e v i l s .

Evil i s i n e r a d i c a b l e , but i t s force c a n be weakened

by strict observance o f the u n w r i t t e n m o r a l l a w s and o b e d i -

ence t o t h e d i c t a t e s o f h e a r t and c o n s c i e n c e . The s o l u t i o n

to t h e m o d e r n dilemma l i e s i n Nerzhin's resolution: "A man

must strive t o temper, t o shape h i s s o u l i n o r d e r t o become

a human b e i n g . " S o l z h e n i t s y n e n d u r e d war, p r i s o n ,

concentration camp and c a n c e r , y e t remained a human being.

In this there i s a n example f o r a l l m a n k i n d .

One c a n b u i l d t h e E m p i r e S t a t e B u i l d i n g , d i s c i -
p l i n e t h e P r u s s i a n Army, e l e v a t e t h e h i e r a r c h y o f
t h e s t a t e above t h e t h r o n e o f t h e A l m i g h t y , y e t
f a i l t o overcome t h a t u n a c c o u n t a b l e s p i r i t u a l sup-
e r i o r i t y o f c e r t a i n human b e i n g s . ( 3 : 7 6 )
 CONCLUSION

Apart from i t s a r t i s t i c value t o the world literary

community, The F i r s t Circle i s a significant novel i n other

respects. A t a t i m e when l i t e r a t u r e as a p r o p a g a n d a medium

has become r o u t i n e i n the S o v i e t Union, the novel commands

special a t t e n t i o n as a p r o d u c t of samizdat i n revealing how

great literature i s being suppressed i n the i n t e r e s t of the

Communist Party. The n o v e l plays a double r o l e : internally,

the p o r t r a y a l of the n o v e l i s t Galakhov exposes the s t r u g g l e

between s y c o p h a n c y and i n d i v i d u a l c o n s c i e n c e and b e a r s wit-

n e s s t o t h e u n h a p p y f a t e o f t h e many p o t e n t i a l l y g r e a t wri-

t e r s whom S t a l i n shaped i n t o " e n g i n e e r s o f t h e human s o u l " ;

externally, the novel presents an i m p l i c i t challenge t o the

censorship by i n s i s t i n g on t h e r e c o r d i n g of t r u t h .

Under a d e s p o t i c Stalin t h e t r u t h c o u l d n o t be told

completely, and a w r i t e r l i k e G a l a k h o v who composed i n t h e

prevailing c o n d i t i o n s m e r e l y compromised h i s c o n s c i e n c e and

dignity. Inwardly Galakhov longs t o s e t down t h e t r u t h , b u t

as he w r i t e s , and a n t i c i p a t e s t h e r e a c t i o n s of h i s c r i t i c s ,

the words f a l l obediently into place to create y e t one more

monument t o t h e p e r s o n a l g l o r y of S t a l i n . Through Galakhov,

Solzhenitsyn censures t h i s p r o s t i t u t i o n of l i t e r a r y talent,

 - 78 -

which strengthens the already intolerable censorship.

Although the s t r u g g l e a g a i n s t sycophancy appears to

have p a s s e d w i t h the d e c l i n e o f one-man d i c t a t o r s h i p i n the

p o s t - S t a l i n e r a , the p r e s c r i p t i o n s of s o c i a l i s t realism re-

main. The method o f " r e v o l u t i o n a r y r o m a n t i c i s m " introduced

by S t a l i n continues to create a l i t e r a t u r e for writers, not

for r e a d e r s . Hence t h e importance o f t h e works o f samizdat.

which keeps a l i v e the Great Russian l i t e r a r y tradition, and

the importance o f The First Circle, a work w r i t t e n f u l l y in

that tradition.

While the n o v e l i t s e l f i s an i m p l i c i t plea for cre-

ative freedom, i t s author has been e x p l i c i t i n h i s demands.

His l e t t e r t o t h e F o u r t h C o n g r e s s o f S o v i e t W r i t e r s was ar-

guably t h e most c o u r a g e o u s a c t w i t n e s s e d i n the S o v i e t Un-

ion In recent years. That letter demanded t h e abolition of

censorship, which i s i l l e g a l because the constitution does

not provide f o r i t , and insisted t h a t g o o d works were being

distorted and suppressed when t h e y could, i f published, ex-

ert a d e s i r a b l e i n f l u e n c e on the development of the social

conscience and t h e human s p i r i t . The c o n c l u d i n g remarks are

of p a r t i c u l a r interest:

Of c o u r s e , I am c a l m l y c o n f i d e n t t h a t I w i l l
f u l f i l my w r i t e r ' s d u t y i n a l l c i r c u m s t a n c e s , and
f r o m t h e g r a v e e v e n more s u c c e s s f u l l y and i n d i s p u t -
a b l y t h a n w h i l e a l i v e . No one c a n b a r r i c a d e t h e ways
o f t r u t h , and f o r i t s advancement I am p r e p a r e d t o
a c c e p t e v e n d e a t h . B u t p e r h a p s many l e s s o n s w i l l
t e a c h u s , f i n a l l y , not to s t o p the w r i t e r ' s pen
 - 79 -

while he lives.

N e v e r has this ennobled our h i s t o r y .

Solzhenitsyn's novels are eloquent testimony to his

own courage and independent spirit, and whatever reprisals

the a u t h o r i t i e s make a g a i n s t him, this personal courage i s

already a matter of h i s t o r i c a l r e c o r d . The p r o t e s t begun by

the twenty-seven-year-old c a p t a i n of artillery, whose rash

audacity c o s t him eight years of l i f e i n the " i r o n pipe" of

Stalin's hell, resounds i n the works of the fifty-two-year-

old militant realist who now finds himself "at the passion-

ate focal point of the major i s s u e t h a t inflames d i s s e n t and

frightens t h e men i n the Kremlin today." In view of latter-

day neo-Stalinism, the s i g n i f i c a n c e of S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s work

has increased, and the regime i s f u l l y aware o f t h e serious

threat i t represents. One of the conformist writers, Alexei

S u r k o v , has the f o l l o w i n g to say, w h i c h may be t a k e n as re-

p r e s e n t a t i v e of o f f i c i a l views:
. . . S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s works a r e more d a n g e r o u s f o r u s
t h a n t h o s e o f P a s t e r n a k : P a s t e r n a k was a man d e t a c h e d
from l i f e , but S o l z h e n i t s y n , w i t h h i s v i g o r o u s , m i l i - ^
t a n t , i d e o l o g i c a l temperament, i s a man o f p r i n c i p l e .

Surkov's statement i s a l s o an u n i n t e n d e d compliment to S o l -

zhenitsyn' s s p i r i t u a l s t r e n g t h . The combination of literary

"^See Works, V o l . 6, p. 13.

2

"The Writer as R u s s i a ' s Conscience," loc. cit.

^ I n Works, V o l . 6, p. I4.7.
 - 80 -

talent and active social c o n s c i e n c e makes him a troublesome

adversary.

The fate of the g r e a t e s t l i v i n g prose w r i t e r of the

Soviet Union (as S o l z h e n i t s y n i s c a l l e d in liberal literary

circles) t o d a y hangs i n t h e b a l a n c e . He continues to write,

indicating t h a t he h a s the courage of h i s convictions, but

how l o n g he w i l l be a l l o w e d t o d e f y the e x i s t i n g order i s a

matter of c o n j e c t u r e . The l a t e s t move made i n t h e campaign

to discredit him o c c u r r e d i n November 1969, when he was ex-

pelled from the Union of S o v i e t W r i t e r s . H i s answer t o the

e x p u l s i o n was a fiery open l e t t e r t o the S e c r e t a r i a t of the

Union, from w h i c h i t i s a p p r o p r i a t e t o r e p e a t the following

lines:

Wipe t h e d u s t f r o m y o u r w a t c h e s . T h e y a r e c e n -
t u r i e s behind the times. . . .
I t ' s t i m e t o remember t h a t we b e l o n g , f i r s t o f
a l l , to humanity. And h u m a n i t y has distinguished
i t s e l f f r o m t h e a n i m a l w o r l d by t h o u g h t and s p e e c h .
And t h e s e b y n a t u r e must be f r e e . I f t h e y a r e f e t -
t e r e d , we become a n i m a l s a g a i n .
P u b l i c i t y , h o n e s t and c o m p l e t e p u b l i c i t y , i s
the p r i m a r y c o n d i t i o n f o r the h e a l t h of e v e r y s o c i -
ety, ours too. And whoever d o e s n o t d e s i r e p u b l i c -
i t y f o r our c o u n t r y i s i n d i f f e r e n t t o h i s mother-
l a n d and t h i n k s o n l y o f h i s own s e l f i s h i n t e r e s t s
. . . . does n o t d e s i r e to cleanse, i t o f d i s e a s e ,
but t o d r i v e i t i n s i d e t o putrefy.^"

Three p o i n t s must be stressed here: f i r s t l y , Solzhenitsyn's

concern f o r the "motherland" shows him t o be a loyal Soviet

citizen and R u s s i a n p a t r i o t ; secondly, h i s accusation that

^Hforks. V o l . 6, pp. II4.8-50.

 - 81 -

the a u t h o r i t i e s do n o t d e s i r e a c u r e f o r the s o c i a l i l l s of

the S o v i e t U n i o n s u g g e s t s t h a t he f a v o u r s the S o v i e t system

of government, but n o t the a u t h o r i t a r i a n type of r u l e which

has endured since the r e v o l u t i o n ; t h i r d l y , and most import-

a n t l y , h i s p l e a on b e h a l f o f h u m a n i t y as a whole r e f l e c t s a

desire, which has been growing among S o v i e t intellectuals,

to see t h e n a t i o n s o f the world " c o n v e r g e " i n t h e common i n -

terests o f a l l mankind.-'

I n t h e meantime, S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s works have n o t b e e n

received i n the s p i r i t i n which they were w r i t t e n . T h e y a r e

meant t o u r g e R u s s i a n s t o f a c e the past honestly,to confess

that crimes, n o t " e r r o r s , " were c o m m i t t e d i n t h e S t a l i n e r a

and t o s e t about m a k i n g t h e n e c e s s a r y corrections. H i s ex-

p u l s i o n f r o m t h e W r i t e r s ' U n i o n shows how much he i s f e a r e d

and testifies t o the government's d e s p a i r i n g defence o f the

rigid censorship and i t s suppression of freedom of speech.

Volodin's r e m a r k i n The F i r s t Circle i s fully applicable to

Solzhenitsyn himself: "A g r e a t w r i t e r . . . i s , as i t w e r e ,

a second government. T h e r e f o r e no r e g i m e h a s e v e r loved i t s

g r e a t w r i t e r s , o n l y i t s m i n o r ones." (I).:£03)

When S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s profound sense o f t r a g e d y , and

insistence on human d i g n i t y , n o b i l i t y and k i n d n e s s i n human

^See G e o r g e Pismenny, "The E x c l u s i o n o f A l e x a n d e r

S o l z h e n i t s y n from the W r i t e r s ' Union," B u l l e t i n : I n s t i t u t e
f o r t h e S t u d y o f t h e USSR. X V I I : 2 ( F e b r u a r y 1970), p . 23.
 - 82 -

relations, a l l o f w h i c h p e r v a d e The First Circle almost to

the p o i n t of s u r f e i t , are considered i n the light o f modern

materialistic philosophies, then i t becomes c l e a r that f o r

him the honest life i s the apotheosis of the good. It is a

life of f i d e l i t y to the m o r a l i m p e r a t i v e , that indefinable

and immutable law of humanity, a c o n s t i t u e n t of the ethical

continuum which reaches back t o the embryonic moral philos-

ophy o f t h e ancient Greeks. Like Dostoyevsky before him, he

has become the spokesman o f t h e R u s s i a n people's sufferings

and a s p i r a t i o n s , and he has taken i t upon h i m s e l f to t r y to

combat t h e corruptive tendencies o f the modern age.

I n view o f the suffering and t o r m e n t he has endured,

his world c o u l d have become one of d e s p a i r and degradation;

instead, i t i s one o f human g r a n d e u r , and this constitutes

the essence of h i s e t e r n a l optimism. D e s p i t e the slanderous

denunciation by h i s hidebound d e t r a c t o r s , those captives of

a cynical ideology, Solzhenitsyn*s faith i n man will be his

legacy to posterity.
 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

I . PRIMARY SOURCES

A. Fiction

C h u k o v s k a y a , L y d i a . The D e s e r t e d House. T r a n s . A l i n e Werth.

L o n d o n : Pan B o o k s , 1 9 6 b .

D o s t o y e v s k y , F y o d o r . C r i m e and P u n i s h m e n t . T r a n s . Constance
G a r n e t t . New Y o r k : The M o d e r n L i b r a r y , 19E>0.

Gouzenko, I g o r . The F a l l o f a T i t a n . T r a n s . M e r v y n B l a c k .
L o n d o n : C a s s e l l and Company, 195U-.

K o e s t l e r , A r t h u r . D a r k n e s s a t Noon. T r a n s . Daphne H a r d y .
P e n g u i n B o o k s , 1966 [ c o p y r i g h t 1914-0] .

P a s t e r n a k , B o r i s . D o k t o r Z h i v a g o . Ann Arbor: U n i v e r s i t y of
M i c h i g a n P r e s s , 1958.

P i l n y a k , B o r i s . M o t h e r E a r t h and O t h e r S t o r i e s . T r a n s . V e r a
T. R e c k and M i c h a e l G r e e n . L o n d o n : A n d r e D e u t s c h , 1 9 6 9 .

S e r g e , V i c t o r . The Case o f Comrade T u l a y e v . T r a n s . W i l l a r d

R. T r a s k . P e n g u i n B o o k s , I 9 6 0 [ c o p y r i g h t 19U-8] .

Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr. Sobraniye sochinenii. Frankfurt/

Main: Possev, 1970. 6 v o l s .

T o l s t o y , L e o . War and P e a c e . T r a n s . C o n s t a n c e Garnett. New

Y o r k : The Modern L i b r a r y , n . d .

B. Memoirs

Anon. The D a r k S i d e o f t h e Moon. P r e f a c e by T. S. Eliot.

L o n d o n : F a b e r and F a b e r , 19l|6.

G i n z b u r g , E v g e n i a Semyonovna. I n t o t h e W h i r l w i n d . T r a n s .
P a u l S t e v e n s o n and Manya H a r a r i . P e n g u i n B o o k s , 1968
[copyright 1967].
 - 8k -
G o r b a t o v , A. V . Y e a r s O f f My L i f e . T r a n s . G o r d o n C l o u g h and
A n t h o n y C a s h . L o n d o n : C o n s t a b l e , I96I4..

H e r l i n g , Gustav. A World A p a r t . T r a n s . Joseph Marek. London:

He inem ann, 1951 •

Kravchenko, V i c t o r . I Chose F r e e d o m . L o n d o n : R o b e r t Hale,

19bJ.

. I Chose J u s t i c e . L o n d o n : R o b e r t Hale, 1951.

L i a s , Godfrey. I S u r v i v e d . London: Evans B r o t h e r s , 195^..

L i p p e r , E l i n o r . E l e v e n Y e a r s i n S o v i e t P r i s o n Camps. T r a n s .
R i c h a r d and C l a r a W i n s t o n . L o n d o n : H o l l i s and C a r t e r ,
1951.

M a r c h e n k o , A n a t o l y . My T e s t i m o n y . T r a n s . M i c h a e l Scammell.
L o n d o n : P a l l M a l l P r e s s , 1969.

P a r v i l a h t i , Unto. B e r i a ' s Gardens: Ten Years' C a p t i v i t y i n

R u s s i a and S i b e r i a . T r a n s . A l a n B l a i r . L o n d o n : H u t c h i n -
s o n , 1959.

P i d d i n g t o n , W. E . R. R u s s i a n F r e n z y . L o n d o n : E l e k B o o k s ,
1955.

R o e d e r , B e r n h a r d . K a t o r g a : An A s p e c t o f Modern S l a v e r y .
T r a n s . L i o n e l K o c h a n . L o n d o n : Heinemann, 1958.

I I . SECONDARY SOURCES

A. Books

A n d i c s , Hellmut. Rule o f T e r r o r . T r a n s . Alexander Lieven.

London: C o n s t a b l e , 1969.

B l a i r , K a t h e r i n e H. A R e v i e w o f S o v i e t L i t e r a t u r e . London:
Ampersand, 1 9 6 7 .

Brovman, G r i g o r i i . P r o b l e m y i g e r o i s o v r e m e n n o i p r o z y .
Moskva: Khudozhestvennaya l i t e r a t u r a , 1 9 6 6 .

C h e r n i a v s k y , M i c h a e l . T s a r and P e o p l e : S t u d i e s i n R u s s i a n
M y t h s . 2d e d . New Y o r k : Random House, 1 9 6 9 .
 - 85 -

C o n q u e s t , R o b e r t . The G r e a t T e r r o r : S t a l i n ' s Purge o f t h e

T h i r t i e s . L o n d o n and M e l b o u r n e : M a c m i l l a n , 1 9 6 8 .

Crankshaw, Edward. R u s s i a By D a y l i g h t . L o n d o n : M i c h a e l
J o s e p h , 1951•

D j i l a s , M i l o v a n . The New C l a s s . L o n d o n : Unwin B o o k s , 1966

[ c o p y r i g h t 1957].

F e d o t o v , George P. The R u s s i a n R e l i g i o u s M i n d . Cambridge,

M a s s a c h u s e t t s : H a r v a r d U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 19I+6.

(ed.). A Treasury of Russian S p i r i t u a l i t y . New

Y o r k : Sheed and Ward, 191+8.

G i f f o r d , H e n r y . The N o v e l i n R u s s i a : From P u s h k i n t o P a s t e r -
n a k . New Y o r k ! H a r p e r and Row ( H a r p e r C o l o p h o n B o o k s ) ,
196~5 [ c o p y r i g h t 1961+] .

G o r e r , G e o f f r e y , and J o h n R i c k m a n . The P e o p l e o f G r e a t
R u s s i a : A P s y c h o l o g i c a l S t u d y . L o n d o n : The C r e s s e t P r e s s ,

G o r o d e t z k y , N a d e j d a . The H u m i l i a t e d C h r i s t i n Modern R u s s i a n
T h o u g h t . New Y o r k : M a c m i l l a n , 1 9 3 8 .

Hayward, Max, and Edward L . C r o w l e y ( e d s . ) . S o v i e t L i t e r a t -

u r e i n t h e S i x t i e s : An I n t e r n a t i o n a l Symposium. New
Y o r k : P r a e g e r , 1961|.

Hook, S i d n e y . From H e g e l t o M a r x : S t u d i e s i n t h e I n t e l l e c t -
u a l D e v e l o p m e n t o f K a r l M a r x . Ann A r b o r : U n i v e r s i t y o f
M i c h i g a n P r e s s ( P a p e r b a c k e d . ) , 1962 [ c o p y r i g h t 1950].

Hunt, R. N. Carew. The T h e o r y and P r a c t i c e o f Communism.

P e n g u i n B o o k s , 1968 [ c o p y r i g h t 1950].

J o h n s o n , P r i s c i l l a . K h r u s h c h e v and t h e A r t s : The P o l i t i c s
o f S o v i e t C u l t u r e , 1962-1961+. C a m b r i d g e , M a s s a c h u s e t t s :
The M. I . T. P r e s s , 1965.

Labedz, L e o p o l d ( e d . ) . S o l z h e n i t s y n : A Documentary Record.

L o n d o n : A l l e n L a n e , The P e n g u i n P r e s s , 1970.

M i r s k y , D. S. A H i s t o r y o f R u s s i a n L i t e r a t u r e . E d . F r a n c i s
J . W h i t f i e l d . New Y o r k : A l f r e d A. K n o p f , 1961+.

M o c h u l s k y , K o n s t a n t i n . D o s t o e v s k y : H i s L i f e and Work. T r a n s .
M i c h a e l A. M i n i h a n . P r i n c e t o n , New J e r s e y : P r i n c e t o n
U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1967.
 - 86 -

P a r e s , B e r n a r d . A H i s t o r y o f R u s s i a . New York: Alfred A.

K n o p f , 196)4. [ c o p y r i g h t 1953] .

P i p e s , R i c h a r d ( e d . ) . The R u s s i a n I n t e l l i g e n t s i a . New York:

Columbia U n i v e r s i t y Press, 1961.

R i a s a n o v s k y , N i c h o l a s V. R u s s i a and t h e West i n the T e a c h -

i n g o f the S l a v o p h i l e s : A Study o f Romantic I d e o l o g y .
Cambridge, M a s s a c h u s e t t s : Harvard U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s ,
1952.

Shub, D a v i d . L e n i n : A B i o g r a p h y . Rev. ed. Penguin Books,

1966. — "

T h i l l y , P r a n k . A H i s t o r y o f P h i l o s o p h y . 3d e d . R e v i s e d by
L e d g e r Wood. New Y o r k : Henry H o l t and Company, 1958
[ c o p y r i g h t 1957].

Werth, A l e x a n d e r . R u s s i a : Hopes and F e a r s . P e n g u i n Books,

1969.

Z e n k o v s k y , V. V. A H i s t o r y o f R u s s i a n P h i l o s o p h y . T r a n s .
George L . K l i n e . L o n d o n : R o u t l e d g e and Kegan P a u l L t d ,
1953. 2 v o l s .

B. Articles

"A V i s i t t o S o l z h e n i t s y n by t h e C z e c h W r i t e r . P a v e l L i c h k o . "
The L i s t e n e r , L X X X I : 2086 (20 M a r c h 1969), 372.

[ B e l i n k o v , A r k a d y ] , "The W r i t e r as R u s s i a ' s C o n s c i e n c e . "

T i m e . X C I I : 13 (27 S e p t e m b e r 1968), 32-37.

B i e n e k , H o r s t . " A l e x a n d e r S o l s c h e n i z y n : K r e b s s t a t i o n . " Neue

R u n d s c h a u . LXXX: 3 (1969), 556-560.

. " L i t e r a t u r des I n f e r n o s : A l e x a n d e r S o l s c h e n i z y n
u n d d e r neue k r i t i s c h e R e a l i s m u s . " Neue R u n d s c h a u ,
LXXX: 1 (1969), 114-7-158.

B o l l , H e i n r i c h . "Die v e r h a f t e t e Welt: In Solshenizyns.fBrstem

K r e i s d e r H o l l e . " M e r k u r , X X I I I : 5 (May 1969), U-7i+-U-O3-

Brown, Deming. " C a n c e r Ward and The F i r s t C i r c l e . " Slavic

R e v i e w , X X V I I I : 2 ( J u l y 1969), 3OI4.-313.

C h r i s t e s e n , Nina. "Alexander S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s Dialogue w i t h

T o l s t o y . " Mean.lin, X X V I I I : 118 (September 1969), 351-58.
 - 87 -
"Courageous Defender." T i m e . XCIV: 21 (21 November 1 9 6 9 ) , 38.

"Dissent i n R u s s i a : The T h i n Wedge." Newsweek. 1 F e b r u a r y

1 9 7 1 , 13-18.

E r l i c h , V i c t o r . " P o s t - S t a l i n Trends i n Russian L i t e r a t u r e . "

S l a v i c R e v i e w . X X I I I : 3 ( O c t o b e r 1961+), L+05-JL+19.

. "Reply." I b i d . . 1+37-l+i+O.

G-aev, A. " T e l l i n g t h e G r i m T r u t h . " B u l l e t i n : I n s t i t u t e for

t h e S t u d y o f t h e USSR. X: 1+ ( A p r i l 1963) , 55-61.

G a y e v , A. "A S i n g l e - H a n d e d S t r u g g l e w i t h t h e F o r c e s o f L e g a l -
i z e d E v i l . " B u l l e t i n : I n s t i t u t e f o r t h e Study o f the
USSR. XV: 12 (December I 9 6 0 ) , 5-b.

. " W r i t e r s a n d C r i t i c s i n t h e USSR." B u l l e t i n : I n s t -
i t u t e f o r t h e S t u d y o f t h e USSR. XV: 8 ( A u g u s t 1 9 6 8 ) ,
31-38.

G-rebenshchikov, V. "Matryonin d v o r A. S o l z h e n i t s y n a . "

R u s s i a n Language J o u r n a l . X X I I I : 86 ( O c t o b e r 1969), 3-H.
G u l ' , Roman. "A. S o l z h e n i t s y n , S o t s r e a l i s m i S h k o l a Remi-
z o v a . " N o v y i Z h u r n a l , No. 71 (June 1963), 58-71+.

H a r a r i , Manya. " S o l z h e n i t s y n s C a n c e r Ward - P a r t I I . "

1

S u r v e y . No. 6 9 ( O c t o b e r 1 9 6 8 ) , 11+5-11+9.

Hayward, Max. " S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s P l a c e i n C o n t e m p o r a r y S o v i e t

L i t e r a t u r e . " S l a v i c R e v i e w . X X I I I : 3 ( O c t o b e r 1961+) ,
[+32-1+36.
"Jedneho dna u A l e x a n d r a I s a j e v i c a S o l X e n i c y n a . " K u l t u r n y
Z i v o t , 31 M a r c h 1 9 6 7 , 1 , 1 0 .

K a r i a k i n , Y. "An E p i s o d e i n t h e C u r r e n t B a t t l e o f I d e a s . "
The S o v i e t R e v i e w . V I : 3 ( F a l l 1 9 6 5 ) , 21-31.

K o e h l e r , L u d m i l a . " A l e x a n d e r S o l z h e n i t s y n and R u s s i a n L i t -
e r a r y T r a d i t i o n . " The R u s s i a n R e v i e w . X X V I : 2 ( A p r i l
1 9 6 7 ) , 176-181+.

. " E t e r n a l Themes i n S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s The C a n c e r Ward."

The R u s s i a n Review. XXVIII: 1 (January 1 9 6 9 ) , 53-65.

L a k s h i n , V. " W r i t e r , Reader, and C r i t i c . " S o v i e t S t u d i e s i n

L i t e r a t u r e . I l l : 1+ ( F a l l 1 9 6 7 ) , 3 7 - 8 5 ; I V : 1 ( W i n t e r
1 9 6 7 - 1 9 6 8 ) , 1+9-92.
 - 88 -

L u k a c s , G e o r g . " S o l z h e n i t s y n a n d t h e New R e a l i s m . " T r a n s .

M. A. L . Brown. The S o c i a l i s t R e g i s t e r , e d . R a l p h M i l i -
b a n d and J o h n S a v i l l e . L o n d o n : The M e r l i n P r e s s , 1965,
197-215.

M i h a j l o v , M i h a j l o . " D o s t o y e v s k y s and S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s House

1

o f t h e Dead." B u l l e t i n : I n s t i t u t e f o r t h e S t u d y o f t h e
USSR, X I I : 8 (August 1965), 3 - 1 8 ; X I I : 1 0 ( O c t o b e r 1965),
13-25.

M u c h n i c , H e l e n . " S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s The F i r s t C i r c l e . " The

R u s s i a n R e v i e w . X X I X : 2 ( A p r i l 1 9 7 0 ) , 151+-166.

P e r v u s h i n , N. V. "The S o v i e t W r i t e r S o l z h e n i t s y n , H i s C r i t -
i c s and t h e C l a s s i c a l R u s s i a n L i t e r a t u r e . " S l a v i c and
E a s t E u r o p e a n S t u d i e s . X: 1-2 (1965), 3 - 1 9 .

Pismenny, G e o r g e . "The E x c l u s i o n o f A l e x a n d e r S o l z h e n i t s y n
from the W r i t e r s ' Union." B u l l e t i n : I n s t i t u t e f o r the
S t u d y o f t h e USSR. X V I I : 2 ( F e b r u a r y 1 9 7 0 ) , 21-23.

P o m e r a n t s e v , K. "Dobro i z l o u S o l z h e n i t s y n a . " N o v y i Zhur-

n a l , No. 95 (June 1 9 6 9 ) , 11+9-158.

R o s s b a c h e r , P e t e r . " S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s M a t r e n a ' s Home." S l a v i c

and E a s t E u r o p e a n S t u d i e s . X I I : 2-3 ( 1 9 6 7 ) , 111+-121.

R o s t o v . V. " R a k o v y i k o r p u s . " N o v y i Z h u r n a l , No. 91+ ( M a r c h

1 9 6 9 ) , 91-100.

R u b i n , B u r t o n . "The S h o c k o f R e c o g n i t i o n . " S u r v e y . No. 1+7

( A p r i l 1963), 160-171.

R z h e v s k y , L . "Obraz r a s s k a z c h i k a v p o v e s t i S o l z h e n i t s y n a
Odin den' Ivana D e n i s o v i c h a . " S t u d i e s i n S l a v i c L i n g u i s -
t i c s a n d P o e t i c s i n Honor o f B o r i s 0. Unbegaun. E d .
R o b e r t M a g i d o f f , e t . a l . New Y o r k : New Y o r k U n i v e r s i t y
P r e s s , 1 9 6 8 , 165-178.

. "Tvorcheskoye slovo u S o l z h e n i t s y n a . " Novyi Zhur-

n a l . No. 96 (September 1969), 7 6 - 9 0 .

S h i l y a y e v , E . " ' L a g e r n y i y a z y k ' po p r o i z v e d e n i y a m A. I . S o l -

z h e n i t s y n a . " N o v y i Z h u r n a l , No. 95 (June 1 9 6 9 ) , 232-21+7.

S i k d a r , A s r u K. "Two I n m a t e s o f t h e Dead House." Quest,

No. 53 ( 1 9 6 7 ) , 1+7-52.

" S o l z h e n i t s y n : A C a n d l e i n t h e Wind." T i m e , XCV: 12

(23 M a r c h 1 9 7 0 ) , 23.
 - 89 -

Taminelo, I l m a r . " C o n s c i e n c e , a l i e n a t i o n and v i o l e n c e . " The

Sydney M o r n i n g H e r a l d . 12 June 1 9 7 1 , 6.

V i n o k u r , T. G-. "0 y a z y k e i s t i l e p o v e s t i A. I . S o l z h e n i t s y n a
O d i n den' I v a n a D e n i s o v i c h a . " V o p r o s y k u l ' t u r y r e c h i ,
v y p u s k 6, M o s k v a : I z d a t e l ' s t v o "Nauka," 1 9 6 5 , 16-32.

W e i s s b o r t , D a n i e l . " S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s C a n c e r Ward." Survey,

No. 68 ( J u l y 1 9 6 8 ) , 179-185.

Z a v a l i s h i n , V. " S o l z h e n i t s y n , D o s t o e v s k y and L e s h e n k o v -
K l y c h k o v . " B u l l e t i n : I n s t i t u t e f o r the S t u d y o f the USSR.
X: 11 (November 1 9 6 3 ) , 1+0-1+8.

Z e k u l i n , G l e b . " S o l z h e n i t s y n s Pour
1
Stories." Soviet Studies.
X V I : 1 ( J u l y 1961+) , 1+5-62.

Z i s s e r m a n n , N i c h o l a s . "The R i g h t e o u s Ones: A S t u d y i n F i g u r -
a l I n t e r p r e t a t i o n . " L a n d f a l l . X V I I I : 2 (June 1961+),
11+0-151.

C. Reviews

Auden, W. H. "Beyond P o l i t i c s . " The Reporter. XXVIII: 5

(28 F e b r u a r y 1 9 6 3 ) , 52-56.

B l a k e , P a t r i c i a . "A D i s e a s e d Body P o l i t i c . " New York Times

Book R e v i e w , 27 O c t o b e r 1 9 6 8 , 2, 50.

C o u s i n s , Norman. " L i s t e n i n g t o I v a n D e n i s o v i c h . " S a t u r d a y

R e v i e w , 9 F e b r u a r y 1 9 6 3 , 18, 63.

F i e l d , Andrew. "A S o v i e t ' E a s t e r n ' . " P a r t i s a n R e v i e w . XXX: 2

(Summer 1963), 2 9 7 - 2 9 9 .

F i t z l y o n , K y r i l . [ R e v i e w o f The F i r s t C i r c l e ] . London Maga-

z i n e , V I I I : 10 ( J a n u a r y 1 9 6 9 ) , 9 7 - 1 0 1 .

P l y n n , P r i t c h a r d . " S t a l i n ' s V i c t o r y . " Newsweek, L X X I I : 11+

(30 September 1 9 6 8 ) , 108D-109.

P r i e d b e r g , M a u r i c e . " G a l l e r y o f Comrades E m b a t t l e d Abed."

S a t u r d a y R e v i e w , 9 November 1 9 6 8 , 1+2-1+J+.

. "The P a r t y Imposes I t s W i l l . " S a t u r d a y Review,

TITSeptember 1968, 36-37, 116.
 - 90 -

H i n g l e y , R o n a l d . " K i l l i n g C a n k e r . " S p e c t a t o r , C C X X I I : 731*1

(7 M a r c h 1 9 6 9 ) , 311-312.

. "The E v i l T h a t Men Do." S p e c t a t o r . CCXXI: 7325

TlT~November 1968) , 6 9 8 - 6 9 9 .

Hood, S t u a r t . " L a s t Days." The L i s t e n e r . LXXX: 2060 ( 1 9 Sep-

tember 1968) , 373-371+.

. "The P i f t y - E i g h t e r s . " The L i s t e n e r . LXXX: 2068

(11+ November 1 9 6 8 ) , 61+7.

Howe, I r v i n g . " P r e d i c a m e n t s o f S o v i e t W r i t i n g - I . " The New

R e p u b l i c . C X L V I I I : 1 9 (11 May 1 9 6 3 ) , 1 9 - 2 1 .

K o n d r a t o v i c h , A l e x e i . " I n t h e Name o f T r u t h . " S o v i e t Litera-

t u r e M o n t h l y . No. 1+ ( A p r i l 1963), 169-171.

K u z n e t s o v , P e l i k s . "Den', r a v n y i zhizni." Znamya. No. 1

( J a n u a r y 1963), 2 1 7 - 2 2 1 .

L a b e r , J e r i . " I n d i c t m e n t o f S o v i e t T e r r o r . " The New R e p u b l i c s ,

C L I X : 16, I s s u e 2 8 l l ( 1 9 O c t o b e r 1968) , 32-3'+.

Monas, S i d n e y . " E h r e n b u r g ' s L i f e , S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s Day." The

Hudson R e v i e w , X V I : 1 ( S p r i n g 1963), 1 1 2 - 1 2 1 .

"More M o r t a l C o i l s . " The T i m e s L i t e r a r y S u p p l e m e n t , No. 31+9:8

(13 M a r c h 1 9 6 9 ) , 2ET*

" M o r t a l C o i l s . " The T i m e s L i t e r a r y S u p p l e m e n t . No. 3I+73

(19 September 1 9 6 8 ) , 101+1.

P a w e l , E r n s t . "The T r i u m p h o f S u r v i v a l . " The N a t i o n . CXCVI:5

(2 F e b r u a r y 1963), 1 0 0 - 1 0 2 .

P r i t c h e t t , V. S. " H e l l on E a r t h . " New Y o r k Review o f B o o k s .

X I : 1 1 ( 1 9 December 1 9 6 8 ) , 3 - 5 .

R e a v e y , G e o r g e . "Now I t C a n Be T o l d i n Moscow." S a t u r d a y
R e v i e w , 9 F e b r u a r y 1 9 6 3 , 2 7 - 2 9 , 1+0.

R e e v e , F . D. "A D i s e a s e T h a t E r o d e s What I s Human." Book

W o r l d . I I : 1+7 (21+ November 1 9 6 8 ) , 6-7.

S i e g e l , G e o r g e . "And We A r e F r i g h t e n e d . " D i s s e n t , X: 2
(Spring 1 9 6 3 ) , 187-189.
 APPENDIX I

Transliteration Table

Russian English Russian English

A a A a
n n P P

B d B b p P R r

B B V V c c S s

r r G- g T T T t

R D d y y U u

E e Ye ye 1
$ P f
••
E e Yo yo X X Kh kh

JK 3K Zh zh u Ts ts

3 3 Z z tj M Ch ch

H H I i in in Sh sh

M H I i m m Shch shch

K K K k H y

JI Jl L 1 9 3 E e

M M M m K) JO Yu yu

H H N n a Ya ya

0 o 0 o b

Ye
L
i s w r i t t e n i n i t i a l l y , a f t e r vowels or f o l l o w i n g
t h e " s o f t s i g n . " E l s e w h e r e i t i s r e p l a c e d by E e.
 APPENDIX I I

osoblag From o s o b y i l a g e r ' , s p e c i a l camp ( f o r p o l i t -

ical prisoners).

spetstyur'ma From s p e t s i a l ' n a y a . t y u r ' m a , s p e c i a l p r i s o n .

The w o r d " s p e c i a l " h e r e has t h e connotation
o f " s p e c i a l i s t " as a p p l i e d t o e n g i n e e r i n g o r
s c i e n t i f i c problems.

samizdat T h i s i s a pun on G o s i z d a t f r o m G o s u d a r s t v e n -
noye i z d a t e l ' s t v o , S t a t e P u b l i s h i n g House.
S a m i z d a t d e r i v e s f r o m Samoye i z d a t e l ' s t v o ,
" S e l f " P u b l i s h i n g H o u s e . T h i s i s t h e name o f
the l i t e r a r y u n d e r g r o u n d i n the S o v i e t U n i o n .

The organ of state s e c u r i t y i n the Soviet Union has

b e e n c a l l e d by v a r i o u s titles s i n c e i t was first instituted

i n December 1 9 1 7 j and has b e e n known b y the initials of i t s

R u s s i a n name. The c h r o n o l o g y w h i c h f o l l o w s s u p p l i e s the i n -

itials, dates, R u s s i a n and English t i t l e s f o r each stage i n

the e v o l u t i o n of the secret police organ.

G h e k a ( 1 9 1 7 - 1 9 2 2 ) : C h r e z v y c h a i n a y a k o m i s s i y a po b o r ' b e s
k o n t r r e v o l y u t s i y e i i sabotazhem; E x t r a -
o r d i n a r y Commission f o r the S t r u g g l e
A g a i n s t C o u n t e r - r e v o l u t i o n and s a b o t a g e .
(Abolished 8 February 1922).
GPU (1922): Gosudarstvennoye p o l i t i c h e s k o y e u p r a v l e n i y e ;
State P o l i t i c a l Administration. (Functioned
as s u c h f r o m F e b r u a r y t o December 1 9 2 2 ) .

OGPU (1922-1931+) : When t h e USSR was e s t a b l i s h e d i n December

1922, the word ob'edinyonnoye ( u n i t e d o r
c o n s o l i d a t e d ) was p r e f i x e d t o t h e t i t l e
GPU t o g i v e t h e o r g a n a l l - u n i o n f u n c t i o n s .

NKVD (193I+-191+3): N a r o d n y i k o m i s s a r i a t v n u t r e n n i k h d e l ; t h e
People's Commissariat of I n t e r n a l A f f a i r s .
 - 93 -
NKGB (19l+3-19i|.6) : I n A p r i l 191+3 the s e c u r i t y f u n c t i o n s were
d i v i d e d between t h e NKVD and the NKGB,the
Narodnyi k o m i s s a r i a t g o s u d a r s t v e n n o i bez-
o p a s n o s t i ; People's Commissariat of State
Security.

MGB (191+6-1953) • I n 191+6 the c o m m i s s a r i a t s were renamed as

M i n i s t r i e s . The NKVD became the MVD, the
M i n i s t e r s t v o v n u t r e n n i k h d e l , and t h e
NKGB became t h e MGB, s i m i l a r l y named, the
M i n i s t r y of State S e c u r i t y .

MVD (1953-1951+) : I n 1953 t h e m i n i s t r i e s were r e u n i t e d w i t h

t h e name MVD as above, u n d e r the j u r i s d i c -
t i o n of B e r i a .

KGB (1951+ - ) Komitet gosudarstvennoi bezopasnosti, or

Committee o f S t a t e S e c u r i t y , i s t h e name
of the organ at p r e s e n t .

GULAG From G l a v n o y e u p r a v l e n i y e ispravitel'no-trudovykh

l a g e r e i : Main A d m i n i s t r a t i o n of Corrective-Labour
Camps. T h i s body has s i n c e b e e n renamed GUITK:
the K s i g n i f i e s K o l o n i i , C o l o n i e s .

OSSO From Osoboye s o v e s h c h a n i y e , S p e c i a l C o l l e g i u m o r

T r i b u n a l . The body u s u a l l y c o n s i s t e d o f t h r e e men
and was c o l l o q u i a l l y known as t h e t r o i k a , the Rus-
s i a n word f o r g r o u p o f t h r e e . The OSSO was attached
t o t h e NKVD and handed down s e n t e n c e s w i t h o u t the
t r o u b l e of a formal trial.

Article 58 o f t h e C r i m i n a l Code o f t h e RSFSR ( R u s s i a n S o c i a l -

i s t Federated Soviet Republic) covered p o l i t i c a l
c r i m e s , w h i c h came t o be known u n d e r S t a l i n as
c o u n t e r - r e v o l u t i o n . The r e a d e r w i l l f i n d t h i s
A r t i c l e l i s t e d i n f u l l i n R o b e r t C o n q u e s t ' s book
g i v e n i n t h e B i b l i o g r a p h y . A r t i c l e 58 was repealed
i n December 1958.

SMERSH From t h e words s m e r t ' shpionam , l i t e r a l l y " D e a t h

t o S p i e s . " SMERSH e x i s t e d d u r i n g W o r l d War I I as
t h e C o u n t e r - e s p i o n a g e s e c t i o n o f the NKVD. SMERSH
was renamed i n 191+6 OKR - O t d e l k o n t r r a z v e d k i o r
C o u n t e r - i n t e l l i g e n c e S e c t i o n . SMERSH and OKR were
s u c c e s s i v e names f o r what had o r i g i n a l l y (1921)
b e e n e s t a b l i s h e d as Osobyye o t d e l y , S p e c i a l S e c -
t i o n s o f the I n t e r n a l A f f a i r s a p p a r a t u s .