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The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956

The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956

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  • Create Date：2021-04-09 10:51:39
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
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  • Author：Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
  • ISBN：1843430851
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Summary

The Gulag Archipelago is Solzhenitsyn's masterwork， a vast canvas of camps， prisons， transit centres and secret police， of informers and spies and interrogators and also of heroism， a Stalinist anti-world at the heart of the Soviet Union where the key to survival lay not in hope but in despair。 The work is based on the testimony of some two hundred survivors， and on the recollection of Solzhenitsyn's own eleven years in labour camps and exile。 It is both a thoroughly researched document and a feat of literary and imaginative power。

This edition has been abridged into one volume at the author's wish and with his full co-operation。

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Reviews

Ilia Ivanov ，

Отличная книга и отличное описание лжи за фасадом геройского СССР。 Удивительная иллюстрация человеческой жестокости и безразличия。Каждому восхвалителю заслуг Ленина， Сталина и ко в подарок。

Richard Sparks ，

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Abhishek Prasad ，

No amount of words can describe how I feel after reading this book。 The fact that a lot of the material was a compilation that was accounted on toilet papers and from there Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn wrote the book。 I am absolutely baffled by the fact that I had very little idea about the Stahlin regime and through this book， I feel my eyes have been opened to question everything I read。 But I would love to read more about that era。There were moments when I felt my body shiver based on the stories o No amount of words can describe how I feel after reading this book。 The fact that a lot of the material was a compilation that was accounted on toilet papers and from there Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn wrote the book。 I am absolutely baffled by the fact that I had very little idea about the Stahlin regime and through this book， I feel my eyes have been opened to question everything I read。 But I would love to read more about that era。There were moments when I felt my body shiver based on the stories of the gulag， and I felt there are definitely things worse than death。 I am very very fortunate to be in this span of time， writing this review about someone else's story。 I felt like I went through a transformation while reading the book as Solzhenitsyn was going through his transformations。 There were moments， where I just didn't wanna read as it was too painful to imagine the thoughts that were expressed in this book， but I went through it and I am glad to have done that。 Definitely， "All animals are equal， but some animals are more equal than the others。" 。。。more

Matias Poliak ，

This book is truly must for every person。

AshBornd ，

Отвратительная ложь "русской совести"。Ложь， антисоветчина и банальное отсутствие дружбы с головой， логикой и остальными признаками здравого рассудка。Не рекомендуется к прочтению ни одним здравомыслящим человеком， за исключением мазохистов。Видеоматериал для любознательных прилагается:https://youtu。be/kDigcJT-6Uohttps://youtu。be/0FyXrAvmYfcМоя группа Вконтакте - https://vk。com/ashborndetv Отвратительная ложь "русской совести"。Ложь， антисоветчина и банальное отсутствие дружбы с головой， логикой и остальными признаками здравого рассудка。Не рекомендуется к прочтению ни одним здравомыслящим человеком， за исключением мазохистов。Видеоматериал для любознательных прилагается:https://youtu。be/kDigcJT-6Uohttps://youtu。be/0FyXrAvmYfcМоя группа Вконтакте - https://vk。com/ashborndetv 。。。more

Walt Bassett ，

This is a MUST read for everyone。 It is a devastating account of what happens in a totalitarian government。 How can any person become so callous to treat others as less than animals。。。and how can a whole country fall instep with the maniacal direction of a dictator for so many years。 This is a great record of what to watch out for as we enter cancel culture mentality。 How easily it can slip into eliminating anybody we don't agree with in the name of some inhumane government machine This is a MUST read for everyone。 It is a devastating account of what happens in a totalitarian government。 How can any person become so callous to treat others as less than animals。。。and how can a whole country fall instep with the maniacal direction of a dictator for so many years。 This is a great record of what to watch out for as we enter cancel culture mentality。 How easily it can slip into eliminating anybody we don't agree with in the name of some inhumane government machine 。。。more

Steven ，

Of all the dystopian fiction I was forced to read in public school， their dramatic depictions of life in a tyrannically utopian society never struck the nerve in me like this novel did， and it’s because every single point in this book is a true event showcasing the embarrassing self-defeating structure of the Soviet Communist ideology in practice。 Of all the fires that communism has ignited around the world in the last century， the pit of hell that was occupied by the Soviet Union was the one th Of all the dystopian fiction I was forced to read in public school， their dramatic depictions of life in a tyrannically utopian society never struck the nerve in me like this novel did， and it’s because every single point in this book is a true event showcasing the embarrassing self-defeating structure of the Soviet Communist ideology in practice。 Of all the fires that communism has ignited around the world in the last century， the pit of hell that was occupied by the Soviet Union was the one that burned most spectacularly and caused the most damage to the human spirit for the longest period of time without stopping。 Solzhenitsyn illustrates the psychology of Soviet Union， prospecting that both the prisoner and the prison guard are both victims of a failed state， and are merely occupying different roles in accomplishing the same goal as all individuals are subjects to their environments， experiences and opportunities。 The society brought back to life on the pages is shown to be predicated on a fear of the truth， and the deceptive lust for power that destroys the divine spark of individualism， culminating in the dismissal of the most fundamental human values in favor of the means to produce a crudely idealized image of utopia。 I suggest that before any left-leaning social constructionist insults another conservative， comparing their values to those of the Nazi Party， that they read this book to gain a perspective of how utopia was not achieved by means of a dictatorship of the proletariat， and how instantly the implementation of Marxist values regresses into a tribalist rampage of fear and mistrust within even the smallest societies。 Thank you Dr。 Jordan Peterson for introducing me to this book and for orating it’s message into the minds of people around the world， you are not unheard。 。。。more

Austin ，

“Ideology—that is what gives evil doing its long-sought justification and gives the evildoer the necessary steadfastness and determination。 That is the social theory which helps to make his acts seem good instead of bad in his own and others’ eyes， so that he won’t hear reproaches and curses but will receive praise and honors。”

Troy Wallin ，

“It would not be the same here; here such things are impossible。”We must never forget this fundamental insight into our depraved natures and be ever vigilant。 Long live our glorious constitutional republic！

Ramiar Alaei ，

I decided to read this book， since it was highly recommended by Jordan Peterson。 The book is filled with historical events and different individuals' stories in the soviet labor camps as well as the author's own experiences and his reflection of those events。 Although， I skimmed through the historical aspect of the book， I truly enjoyed how the author analyzes the impacts those experiences had on him。 I decided to read this book， since it was highly recommended by Jordan Peterson。 The book is filled with historical events and different individuals' stories in the soviet labor camps as well as the author's own experiences and his reflection of those events。 Although， I skimmed through the historical aspect of the book， I truly enjoyed how the author analyzes the impacts those experiences had on him。 。。。more

Kajetan Walczak ，

I can't imagine how brave and important was writing this book back then。 Many terrible， hard-to-read stories but also with interesting （but not too intrusive） thoughts about human nature。 I can't imagine how brave and important was writing this book back then。 Many terrible， hard-to-read stories but also with interesting （but not too intrusive） thoughts about human nature。 。。。more

Preppy ，

It is a hard read。 Not because of the writing style。 No， the writing style is witty， sarcastic and playful。 But the matter at hand: the desciption of human filth and astoundinly disgusting atrocities committed by the Soviet regime to their own people。。。。 is simply heartbreaking。 Without Solzhenitsyn's lighthearted writing， it would simply be impossible to even approach this book without going insane。 This book should be a must-read so that the history won't repeat itself and the stories of the p It is a hard read。 Not because of the writing style。 No， the writing style is witty， sarcastic and playful。 But the matter at hand: the desciption of human filth and astoundinly disgusting atrocities committed by the Soviet regime to their own people。。。。 is simply heartbreaking。 Without Solzhenitsyn's lighthearted writing， it would simply be impossible to even approach this book without going insane。 This book should be a must-read so that the history won't repeat itself and the stories of the people， who suffered horrible things not so long ago will not be forgotten。 。。。more

Chris Fine ，

Solzhenitsyn opens the eyes of readers to the true atrocities the citizens of Russia went through during the occupation of Stalin and the creation of the gulags， which gave birth to the militaristic state of the communist party。 He shows how the world was kept blind by the propaganda of the communist party and how citizens lived in a constant state of fear， that by making the wrong move or saying the wrong thing they would be sentenced to slavery under the laws of their own country。 Through his Solzhenitsyn opens the eyes of readers to the true atrocities the citizens of Russia went through during the occupation of Stalin and the creation of the gulags， which gave birth to the militaristic state of the communist party。 He shows how the world was kept blind by the propaganda of the communist party and how citizens lived in a constant state of fear， that by making the wrong move or saying the wrong thing they would be sentenced to slavery under the laws of their own country。 Through his art， Solzhenitsyn was able to illuminate the world to the truth behind the iron curtain which was drawn around his nation， outing the regime and bearing the burden of messenger of his nation's woes， putting his own life in danger。 I recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about the depths at which the human soul can stoop to， and also the heights they can achieve despite their grim conditions。 。。。more

Tristan Sherwin ，

To be honest， it feels somewhat profane to subject such a work like this to a *review*。 Reading Solzhenitsyn’s revelatory words about the Gulag’s was harrowing， eye-opening and humbling。 Admittedly， despite hearing the word *Gulag* on the occasional cold-war era film， I had no notion of the history and hell that this word was referencing， nor the millions that lost there lives within them。 I’m thankful that texts like this exist to remove such ignorance

Darnell ，

Though more personal and anecdotal than analytical， this won me over in the end。 Grim and memorable。 What surprised me was how funny the book could be: there's a pitch black humor running through quite a bit of it。The book I logged says the abridged version， but what I actually read was the first volume of the unabridged。 The full book is formidably long。 Though more personal and anecdotal than analytical， this won me over in the end。 Grim and memorable。 What surprised me was how funny the book could be: there's a pitch black humor running through quite a bit of it。The book I logged says the abridged version， but what I actually read was the first volume of the unabridged。 The full book is formidably long。 。。。more

Vincit-Lee Lloyd ，

Top 10 books

Arian Jamasb ，

communism bad

Jaeden Palanog ，

I like how the main characters met each other， I love the plot and everything about this book。 Good job writer！ If you have some great stories like this one， you can publish it on NovelStar， just submit your story to hardy@novelstar。top or joye@novelstar。top

Péter Dániel ，

Majdnem fél évembe telt míg átverekedtem magam a Gulág két kötetén。 Az emberi kegyetlenségnek és a korlátolt gondolkodásnak olyan panoptikumát állította össze az író， melyet biztosan betennék a kötelező olvasmányok közé。 Aki a fiatal kor idealizmusát， az eszmékben és utópiákban való vak hitet vallja， annak receptre íratnám fel az orvossal hogy olvassa el， mire képes az ember aki azt gondolja hogy igaza van。 Nem egy gyors olvasmány lassan 50 oldalanként haladtam vele， majd le kellett tennem。 Szol Majdnem fél évembe telt míg átverekedtem magam a Gulág két kötetén。 Az emberi kegyetlenségnek és a korlátolt gondolkodásnak olyan panoptikumát állította össze az író， melyet biztosan betennék a kötelező olvasmányok közé。 Aki a fiatal kor idealizmusát， az eszmékben és utópiákban való vak hitet vallja， annak receptre íratnám fel az orvossal hogy olvassa el， mire képes az ember aki azt gondolja hogy igaza van。 Nem egy gyors olvasmány lassan 50 oldalanként haladtam vele， majd le kellett tennem。 Szolzsenyicin lassan és biztosan halad， hogy az apró részletek ne maradjanak ki， a "tisztességes" eljárástól， a rabszolgakonvojokon keresztül， a gulág szigetcsoport lágerein át， a szabadultaknak az évtizedek alatt átalakult， idegen világba való visszacsöppenéséig。 Nagy tanulság ez egy olyan társadalomnak mint a miénk itt Magyarországon。 Ahol a bűnösökket nem számoltatták el， ahol a szocializmus öröksége， a lágerek öröksége， a diktatúra öröksége máig velünk él， és egyfajta skanzenszerű nosztalgia is kapcsolódik hozzá， egész generációk számára。 Az ára？ Elmaradottság， alkalmatlanság， és milliók szenvedése és halála。 Mindez egy olyan korban különös tanulság ahol úgy látszik a szocializmus eszmerendszere újra megjelenni látszik。 Egyesek pedig új kísrétletet akarnak szervezni， a marxizmus elveinek megvalósítására。 S bár a modern kapitalizmus és a tömegdemokrácia a mai formájában ugyan ilyen elvtelen， a válasz amely egy materialista， és idealisztikus elképzelésen alapul bukásra van ítélve。 Bukásra van ítélve mert ahogy Szolzsenyicin bemutatja pszichológiai fejlődés nélkül， bármilyen ideológia kifordul magából。 。。。more

Steve ，

Wow。 The history of the rise of socialism and communism and its inevitable conclusion is included。 But it’s much more than that。 As the writer says， this is not a book about politics， it’s one about morality。 This doesn’t mean politicizing morality， it truly asks， “what would you do？ What are you doing？”Part IV is beautiful。 What does your mind do in prison camps。。。 what does your soul do？ Why are Christians calm in persecution and， oh how loud that speaks。 The mind and soul are the things no on Wow。 The history of the rise of socialism and communism and its inevitable conclusion is included。 But it’s much more than that。 As the writer says， this is not a book about politics， it’s one about morality。 This doesn’t mean politicizing morality， it truly asks， “what would you do？ What are you doing？”Part IV is beautiful。 What does your mind do in prison camps。。。 what does your soul do？ Why are Christians calm in persecution and， oh how loud that speaks。 The mind and soul are the things no one can imprison， no matter how hard they try。 There are lots of lessons to learn from books like this one。 How is this not required reading in high school？ 。。。more

Megan Meisberger ，

Oh， what a tragedy！I may be saying this in ignorance， but it seems to me that Soviet Russia was worse than the Nazis。 The Nazis were horrible， so that's saying something。My country would do well to read this book and take note the similar ethos that is present here today。 Otherwise， we will be like the submissive Russians who， in part， have themselves to blame for their own imprisonment。 This work is an impressive feat。 In my lack of skill， I can't comment on whether the abridging was faithful o Oh， what a tragedy！I may be saying this in ignorance， but it seems to me that Soviet Russia was worse than the Nazis。 The Nazis were horrible， so that's saying something。My country would do well to read this book and take note the similar ethos that is present here today。 Otherwise， we will be like the submissive Russians who， in part， have themselves to blame for their own imprisonment。 This work is an impressive feat。 In my lack of skill， I can't comment on whether the abridging was faithful or clunky， or whether there was a skillful translation from Russian to English。 But the amount of work Solzhenitsyn put into gathering and compiling this work， while also making it a literary work of art when giving his own commentary， is incredible。 。。。more

Jake Griess ，

For anyone who needs a reminder of the evils of Communism。

Amanda ，

I got so bogged down in the history behind the gulag that I lost sight of the people in it。 Still a good book but maybe start with something a little less lengthy if you are trying to learn about what happened （and may still happen） in the gulag。

Aggelos ，

3 stelle per lo stile del romanzo che non mi è piaciuto per niente。 Innegabili l'importanza e la "potenza" storica che questo romanzo ha avuto。 Incredibile come un lavoro fatto da un uomo solo riesca a smascherare l'ipocrisia， la stupidità e la follia dell'imponente macchina sovietica， lettura obbligatoria per negazionisti vari。 3 stelle per lo stile del romanzo che non mi è piaciuto per niente。 Innegabili l'importanza e la "potenza" storica che questo romanzo ha avuto。 Incredibile come un lavoro fatto da un uomo solo riesca a smascherare l'ipocrisia， la stupidità e la follia dell'imponente macchina sovietica， lettura obbligatoria per negazionisti vari。 。。。more

Aleksandar Stojanovic ，

Read abridged version， was informative but also very dry。

Peggy Fecker ，

A very difficult book to read。 Leaves you emotionally drained and to think this continued into my lifetime。

Konstantinos Skianis ，

Oh what a read that was！Brace for what you are about to learn on the limits of modern human cruelty and just let yourself get into the shoes of the poor zeks。“Never again” simply doesn’t register to humanity and oppression through fascism may come from any origin。

Zac ，

Tragic， moving， fascinating， profoundly honest and written with a kind of painful， frustrated humor that can only be forged by terrible hardship。 Tough to read at times as an American because of the level of detail about names and places that I can’t seem to imagine or pronounce but detail was necessary for the Author and the millions who died。 Incredible book。

Tatiana ，

Проникновенная история из жизни не только одного человека， но целой нации。 Искренняя， живая， где-то философская， где-то беспросветно обреченная。 Но настоящая。Несмотря на тяжелые судьбу целого поколения людей читается книга очень легко благодаря простому народному слову， без изысков как и вся жизнь заключенных。Бонусом было вернуться с автором в окрестности малой родины и заново понять и осмыслить то， что всегда казалось чем-то обыкновенным и общеизвестным。Однозначно рекомендую к прочтению。

Thomas Goddard ，

You read history to explore the world of the past， the constant highs and lows of human nature and the winding pathways of coincidence when they meet with the full force of consequence。 This book was deeply unsettling。 It tells the story of the society of Russia at the time of Stalin and afterwards。 A time of arrests under the cover of night。 People lying to get others dragged away for decades。 Guards who delighted in the 're-education' of their prisoners。 And ultimately it is a frightening exam You read history to explore the world of the past， the constant highs and lows of human nature and the winding pathways of coincidence when they meet with the full force of consequence。 This book was deeply unsettling。 It tells the story of the society of Russia at the time of Stalin and afterwards。 A time of arrests under the cover of night。 People lying to get others dragged away for decades。 Guards who delighted in the 're-education' of their prisoners。 And ultimately it is a frightening example not only of the normalisation of torture （ideologically justified） but also the normalisation of enslavement by those who were imprisoned。 It manifested as a disbelief that these events could be happening。 To the point where people believed they must be guilty， despite having committed no real crime， for why else would they be in prison。You didn't go to the Gulag because you were guilty。 You went because you were sent。 And millions were sent。 For no crime。 For the potential threat they may have posed to the Stalinist （and later） Russian political system。A system that said it stood for true freedom。。。 'True freedom can only be where there is no exploitation and oppression of one person by another。' That said。。。 'in a socialist society there is no unemployment， no exploitation， no oppression of nationalities。'Beware the people who claim they stand for justice when they talk of nothing but punishment。 Remain vigilant and don't suffer the lies of those who will brand you a criminal for a difference of opinion。 Let the acts speak volumes。 Look at their actions; not their protestations， not their bragging， nor their promises。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0