Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn

Born:

11 December 1918, Kislovodsk, Russian SFSR

Died:

3 August 2008, Moscow, Russia

Nationality:

Russian

Profession(s):

Writer, Historian, Philosopher, Political Dissident

Early Life and Education

• Raised by his widowed mother in difficult circumstances following the death of his father.
• Studied mathematics and physics at Rostov State University, graduating in 1941.
• Simultaneously pursued correspondence courses in literature at the Moscow Institute of Philosophy, Literature and History.

Career and Major Achievements

• Served as a captain in the Soviet Army during World War II.
• Arrested in 1945 for criticizing Joseph Stalin in private correspondence and sentenced to eight years in labor camps.
• Exiled internally after release until 1956.
• One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, published in 1962, brought immediate acclaim but was later suppressed.
• Expelled from the Soviet Union in 1974 after the publication of The Gulag Archipelago abroad.
• Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970 "for the ethical force with which he has pursued the indispensable traditions of Russian literature."
• Returned to Russia in 1994 after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Notable Works

• One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (1962)
• The First Circle (1968)
• Cancer Ward (1968)
• August 1914 (1971)
• The Gulag Archipelago (1973-1978)
• Russia in Collapse (1998)
• Two Hundred Years Together (2001-2003)

Legacy and Impact

Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn's uncompromising exposure of Soviet repression, particularly through The Gulag Archipelago, played a crucial role in undermining the legitimacy of the Soviet regime and contributed to its eventual collapse. His works remain powerful testaments to the importance of individual freedom and the dangers of totalitarianism. An in-depth solzhenitsyn alexander biography reveals a life dedicated to truth and justice in the face of immense personal risk.

Awards and Recognition

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