There’s nothing quite like a bit of suffering to inspire you to dig out some Russian novel you’ve been meaning to read for a bit that is grim enough to put your self-indulgence into perspective. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn spent eight years in Soviet Gulags – labour camps – from 1945 to 1953 and this undoubtable inspired his story of just one day in them for the fictional character Ivan Denisovich (Shukhov). Released in 1962, the final decision being made by Soviet leader at the time Nikita Khrushchev himself, during a period of de-Stalinisation, the story was an instant success. Khrushchev was said to have been particularly impressed with the accurate detail Solzhenitsyn went into in the story as it described life in the Gulags to the minute detail.
While the story was censored in parts, it still tells in vivid detail the relative highs and lows of the main character throughout his day. Like much Russian literature Solzhenitsyn goes deep in the psychology of the main character, in this case having lived it for eight years it’s easy to imagine where he got his inspiration from and that it is most likely autobiographical in nature. The moments of elation over little things like an extra hundred grammes of bread, or the small but subtle tricks he uses for his survival, as well as the luck involved along the way. Make no mistake Shukhov is a survivor and he understands the inner workings of those who will make it out and those with the wrong approach to camp life or their unenviable term of twenty-five years who won’t. It is a fascinating insights into a depth we would otherwise be unable to see or comprehend.
Despite the hardship it feels in it’s own way like a positive story. While camp life was described as brutal and unfair through various moments or characters, it is easy to see how it would be able to pass the censors. There was for example never really a criticism directly of communism or Soviet Russia, indirectly yes but you were never left with the impression it was an outright criticism in itself. Equally Shukhov is happy to work hard and stay a little longer to finish his work, although others attempt to skive off whenever possible, Shukhov adopts a sort of tough Soviet hero of sorts. He’s a survivor. I imagine anything being overly critical would have been cut out and what was allowed in would have been allowed in the form accepted by the censors. Considering it was freely released at home and abroad, how we perceive it; would be how it was allowed to be be perceived.
Ultimately he gives an incredible insight into the inner workings of a world hidden behind the iron curtain within the Iron Curtain. While it may not shock modern readers who know many of these truths it must have created a sensation upon it’s realise at the time, as much for the fact these truths were allowed to be written. What makes the book work though is that while a lot happens, it is very easy to say very little happens too, and it is this authenticity that allows a simple day in the life of a prisoner to be a success. Throw in all the details, physical and mental, and you are left with a fascinating read.
Observations and Misunderstandings 