The Gulag Archipelago

Solzhenitsyn discusses the purges and famines which killed millions in the Soviet Union. He laments the widespread ignorance of these events and believes that they have actively been erased from history. The attack against the Russian peasants began, according to Solzhenitsyn’s research, in the 1920s. The original aim was to erase certain classes of Russian society which were antithetical to the prevailing ideology. Solzhenitsyn provides examples of successful working- and middle-class people who were targeted during this classist purge, whose lives were ruined or ended by the Soviet government. Family farms and houses were taken into national ownership in what Solzhenitsyn describes as a second Civil War, this time against the peasants of Russia.

Solzhenitsyn describes how entire families had all their possessions taken from them by “the bloodsuckers” (428). As hundreds of thousands of people were displaced from their homes, entire towns were taken over by wandering peasants who had been sent to a different part of the country. These peasants died during the difficult winter and the state refused to help them. They were sent into the unpopulated parts of Russia to work on state projects, with the government telling experienced farmers exactly how to run their farms. The advice was often so ill-informed that Solzhenitsyn believes that the plan was to ensure that “these odious work fiends should die off quickly and rid our country of themselves and of bread” (430). Despite this mistreatment, many of the displaced people were willing to fight in World War II.

Throughout the 1930s, the Soviets continued the practice of exiling peasants and others to remote parts of Russia in the name of industrial and agricultural reform. Solzhenitsyn believes that “the exile system steadily grew in capacity and importance together with the camps” (433). The exile system not only helped to reform Russia’s economy, but also provided a convenient disposal of anyone released from the Gulag. By order of the state, political prisoners were to be exiled and forbidden from returning. The exiles’ numbers were bolstered by nationalists from smaller states, criminals, and seditionists. Also exiled were the people injured during World War II, though Solzhenitsyn admits that little is known about their fates.

Continuing his outline of the history of Russian exile practices, Solzhenitsyn says the “business of banishment” (436) accelerated when nationalists from countries under Soviet control joined the ranks of those sent into exile. In the 1930s, certain parts of the Soviet Union were seeking independence, and Stalin began the process of taking these citizens and resettling them in far-flung parts of the nation. People from Finland, Estonia, and other countries were sent far from their homes if they agitated for independence. This compelled relocation was a convenient form of social control which brought misery to its victims.

Solzhenitsyn recalls how, for those in the Gulag, the thought of exile was almost appealing. As he approached the end of his sentence, however, he came to realize that exile was inevitable for those who left the camps. After being released from the camp, Solzhenitsyn and the others were taken to a temporary jail, then to “a wretched Kazakh village” (441) and eventually to private lodgings. In the following days, he learned about Stalin’s death. Though he was overjoyed, he knew that he must hide his happiness for fear of punishment.

In a short autobiographical chapter, Solzhenitsyn recalls his experiences in exile in the village in Kazakhstan. He taught in a school, he wrote, and reflected on his life.

In Solzhenitsyn’s estimation, very few political inmates of the Gulag lived to see their release. However, a shadow hung over those who did see out their sentence. Released inmates who were not exiled would struggle to find a place to live, meaning that they would struggle to find a job or support themselves. They constantly feared that they would be sent back to the Gulag. Freed people caught illnesses, became alcoholics, and struggled to readjust. Just as “the camps bring out a man’s character” (446), Solzhenitsyn believes that freedom does the same. Some inmates resolved to live in as remote a location as possible and they refused to own anything too nice, for fear of having it taken away.

Each year, on the anniversary of his release, Solzhenitsyn organizes a “zek’s day” (447) whereupon he eats a meal resembling the camps’ meager rations to remind himself of his formative experiences. He keeps his prison numbers and reminisces with other former inmates. Solzhenitsyn is proud to belong to such a community of strong people. Those released from the Gulag can also look forward to reunions with friends and family, though many relationships will have deteriorated in the ensuing years. Children have grown up, spouses have left or have become unrecognizable, and people struggle to rekindle their old relationships. Solzhenitsyn believes that this struggle to reintegrate is “a subject which others can make into films and novels, but there is no room for it in this book” (448).