
A Tiny Village in Vermont Was the Perfect Spot to Hide Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn - lermontov
https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2018/summer/statement/tiny-village-in-vermont-was-the-perfect-spot-hide-aleksandr-solzhenitsyn
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Mediterraneo10
I am sure I was not the only person here who chuckled at the last bit from
this article:

> While there, he completed three volumes of The Red Wheel, and prepared his
> famous commencement address, given at Harvard in 1978. In it, he excoriated
> the West, and, in particular, America, for its godlessness, materialism, and
> weakness of spirit. One hopes that after his time in Cavendish, Solzhenitsyn
> would have changed that assessment.

In fact, Solzhenitsyn’s attacks on the West remained firm over the following
decades. Also, by the end of his life, he had essentially adopted a view by
which Russia needed a strong hand, basically dictatorship. The difference
between this strong hand and Soviet-era Communism, is that the latter was
"godless" but the former would be "spiritual".

This is an aspect of Solzhenitsyn’s character that still remains little known
in the West. Yet the West should be aware that many of the Soviet dissidents
whom it supported during the Soviet era completely flip-flopped their social
and political positions in the 1990s. Some became outright nostalgic for the
Soviet regime, others like Solzhenitsyn were desirous of a strong state just
so long as it wasn’t Marxist-Leninist. One feels that some of the dissidents
who died in the 1990s were lucky that they did so before they could tarnish
their own legacies.

~~~
geoka9
In fact, Solzhenitsyn's views can be described as Chernosotenstvo (Black
Hundred) - a form of ultra-nationalism and xenophobia similar to that
practiced by members of KKK. I never understood his appeal to people who
thought of themselves as liberals and humanists.

~~~
pragmar
The literature stands on its own, aside from whatever personal political
evolution occurred in his later years. In the 90s, it certainly appeared as
though Russia was getting set up for exploitation by the west under Yeltsin. A
nationalist move in ideology within that context is rational.

~~~
Mediterraneo10
> A nationalist move in ideology within that context is rational.

It is one thing to be a little nationalist. It is another thing to suddenly
start calling for the reintroduction of censorship and mass incarceration of
dissidents, when you had built your entire career as a writer and thinker on
attacking those very things.

~~~
pragmar
It's possible I'm unaware of how far to the right he went. I've held a soft
spot for Solzhenitsyn from his earlier literature. The KKK reference struck me
as a slime and I felt compelled to reply. I'm willing to stand corrected,
where is he calling for the incarceration of dissidents?

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lsllc
Cavendish is a veritable metropolis compared to some of the villages in that
area (Amsden, Downers Corner, Ascutney). If you're ever in the area, be sure
to check out the Brewfest Brewing Corp. in Ludlow for an incredible selection
of local VT beer.

~~~
toine_toine
It's weird that whenever talking about a remote place with nothing to do,
people always recommend a brewery as the highlight.

~~~
mc32
Maybe it's because you can make it from mostly local ingredients and requires
some skill to ensure it's made well. They also tend to exhibit an area's "soil
characteristics imparted into flavor". It's more plebeian than snobbish wine
so it exudes, in American vernacular, heartlandness.

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brightsize
A talk by his son, given at the Brattleboro library a few years back.

"Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: Writing the Red Wheel in Vermont"
[https://youtu.be/coSJeHcdmgs](https://youtu.be/coSJeHcdmgs)

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andyidsinga
I find this article a reminder to me: there are people from Russia, China,
<insert country>; who don't agree with all of the politics, policies, actions
of their country's government (just like I don't agree with all of
politics/policies/actions of my government).

Its a reminder to focus on individuals and ideas and how we treat them and
avoid defaulting to guilt by ostensible association.

~~~
pg_bot
I've seen too many people fall into absolutism recently. Too many people
disagree with someone on a single point and then discount everything they say
based on that disagreement. If you are only handing out an "A" or an "F" when
grading someone's arguments/opinions you are not thinking critically enough.

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ryanx435
his best and most important work is the Gulag Archipelago[0] and everyone
should read it. Its an eye opener that shows how life under communism really
is.

[0]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gulag_Archipelago](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gulag_Archipelago)

~~~
andrepd
While a powerful literary work, TGA is _not_ a work of objective history.

~~~
ramblerman
I always found it more powerful, to truly understand the conditions, of
someone who went through that - first hand.

Do you feel he embellished, or why would you state that?

~~~
tlear
Because that is one of the talking points of the Russian propaganda. Oh it is
a fantastic novel, great novel but all fantasy.

It is the best at describing what USSR really was, lots of useful fools/tools
in the West always had problem with it.

~~~
andrepd
The general scholarly and scientific consensus is that the work is not
rigorous, objective, or scientific. If you challenge this take it up with the
scholars.

~~~
ryanx435
Funny how literature suddenly needs to be "rigorous, objective, scientific"
when it criticizes communism, even though it's a first hand account written by
a political prisoner.

Keep believing that propaganda.

~~~
andrepd
Who's believing propaganda? I'm getting my info from several sources before I
make up my mind, you apparently get yours from hearsay that says what you
already want to belive. Am I missing something here?

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dajohnson89
how sad is it that I was happy to see neh still operational after all the
trump budget cuts?

