Russian writer and historian (1918–2008)

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn</span>

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

<p><b>Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn</b><span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-2"><a href="#cite_note-2" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;" data-mw-group="lower-alpha"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[lower-alpha 1]</span></a></span><span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-7"><a href="#cite_note-7" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 2;" data-mw-group="lower-alpha"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[lower-alpha 2]</span></a></span> (11 December 1918 – 3 August 2008)<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-8"><a href="#cite_note-8" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 6;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[6]</span></a></span><span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-9"><a href="#cite_note-9" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 7;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[7]</span></a></span> was a Russian novelist. A prominent <a href="/en/Soviet_dissident" title="Soviet dissident" class="mw-redirect wl">Soviet dissident</a>, Solzhenitsyn was an outspoken critic of <a href="/en/Communism" title="Communism" class="wl">communism</a> and helped to raise global awareness of <a href="/en/Political_repression_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Political repression in the Soviet Union" class="wl">political repression in the Soviet Union</a>, in particular the <a href="/en/Gulag" title="Gulag" class="wl">Gulag</a> system.</p>

<div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none" about="#mwt1">Russian writer and historian (1918–2008)</div>
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<style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1066479718" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles mw:Transclusion">.mw-parser-output .infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-header,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-subheader,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-above,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-title,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-image,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-below{text-align:center}</style><div class='mobile-collapse'><header class="mobile-collapse-header mobile-collapse-btn"><b>Quick facts: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Native name, Born, Di...</b> <span class='arrow'>▼</span></header> <table class="infobox vcard mobile-collapse-element"><tbody><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-above" style="font-size:125%;"><div style="display:inline;" class="fn">Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn</div></th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image"><span class="mw-default-size mw-image-border"><a href="/en/File:Aleksandr_Solzhenitsyn_1974crop.jpg" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" title="Solzhenitsyn in February 1974" data-hash="File:Aleksandr_Solzhenitsyn_1974crop.jpg"><img loading="lazy"alt="Solzhenitsyn in February 1974" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8d/Aleksandr_Solzhenitsyn_1974crop.jpg/220px-Aleksandr_Solzhenitsyn_1974crop.jpg" decoding="async" data-file-width="1704" data-file-height="2136" data-file-type="bitmap" height="276" width="220" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8d/Aleksandr_Solzhenitsyn_1974crop.jpg/330px-Aleksandr_Solzhenitsyn_1974crop.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8d/Aleksandr_Solzhenitsyn_1974crop.jpg/440px-Aleksandr_Solzhenitsyn_1974crop.jpg 2x"></a></span><div class="infobox-caption" style="line-height:1.4em;">Solzhenitsyn in February 1974</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="line-height:1.2em; padding-right:0.65em;">Native name</th><td class="infobox-data" style="line-height:1.4em;"><div class="nickname"><span><span>Александр Исаевич Солженицын</span></span></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="line-height:1.2em; padding-right:0.65em;">Born</th><td class="infobox-data" style="line-height:1.4em;"><span style="display:none">(<span class="bday">1918-12-11</span>)</span>11 December 1918<br><a href="/en/Kislovodsk" title="Kislovodsk" class="wl">Kislovodsk</a>, <a href="/en/Russian_Soviet_Federative_Socialist_Republic" title="Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic" class="wl">Soviet Russia</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="line-height:1.2em; padding-right:0.65em;">Died</th><td class="infobox-data" style="line-height:1.4em;">3 August 2008<span style="display:none">(2008-08-03)</span> (aged<span>&nbsp;</span>89)<br><a href="/en/Moscow" title="Moscow" class="wl">Moscow</a>, <a href="/en/Russia" title="Russia" class="wl">Russia</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="line-height:1.2em; padding-right:0.65em;">Occupation</th><td class="infobox-data role" style="line-height:1.4em;"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ul{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist .mw-empty-li{display:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dt::after{content:": "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li::after{content:" · ";font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li:last-child::after{content:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:first-child::before{content:" (";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:last-child::after{content:")";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol{counter-reset:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li{counter-increment:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li::before{content:" "counter(listitem)"\a0 "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li ol>li:first-child::before{content:" ("counter(listitem)"\a0 "}</style><div class="hlist"><ul><li>Novelist</li><li>essayist</li><li>historian</li></ul></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="line-height:1.2em; padding-right:0.65em;">Citizenship</th><td class="infobox-data" style="line-height:1.4em;"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1126788409" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles">.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul{line-height:inherit;list-style:none;margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol li,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul li{margin-bottom:0}</style><div class="plainlist"><ul><li><a href="/en/Russian_Socialist_Federative_Soviet_Republic" title="Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic" class="mw-redirect wl">Soviet Russia</a> (1918–1922)</li><li><a href="/en/Soviet_Union" title="Soviet Union" class="wl">Soviet Union</a> (1922–1974)</li><li><a href="/en/Statelessness" title="Statelessness" class="wl">Stateless</a> (1974–1990)<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-1"><a href="#cite_note-1" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[1]</span></a></span></li><li><a href="/en/Soviet_Union" title="Soviet Union" class="wl">Soviet Union</a> (1990–1991)</li><li><a href="/en/Russia" title="Russia" class="wl">Russia</a> (1991–2008)</li></ul></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="line-height:1.2em; padding-right:0.65em;">Alma<span>&nbsp;</span>mater</th><td class="infobox-data" style="line-height:1.4em;"><a href="/en/Rostov_State_University" title="Rostov State University" class="mw-redirect wl">Rostov State University</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="line-height:1.2em; padding-right:0.65em;">Notable works</th><td class="infobox-data" style="line-height:1.4em;"><div class="plainlist"><ul><li><i><a href="/en/One_Day_in_the_Life_of_Ivan_Denisovich" title="One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" class="wl">One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich</a></i> (1962)</li><li><i><a href="/en/Cancer_Ward" title="Cancer Ward" class="wl">Cancer Ward</a></i> (1966)</li><li><i><a href="/en/In_the_First_Circle" title="In the First Circle" class="wl">In the First Circle</a></i> (1968)</li><li><i><a href="/en/The_Red_Wheel" title="The Red Wheel" class="wl">The Red Wheel</a></i> (1971–1991)</li><li><i><a href="/en/The_Gulag_Archipelago" title="The Gulag Archipelago" class="wl">The Gulag Archipelago</a></i> (1973)</li><li><i><a href="/en/Two_Hundred_Years_Together" title="Two Hundred Years Together" class="wl">Two Hundred Years Together</a></i> (2001–2002)</li></ul></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="line-height:1.2em; padding-right:0.65em;">Notable awards</th><td class="infobox-data" style="line-height:1.4em;"><div class="plainlist"><ul><li><a href="/en/Nobel_Prize_in_Literature" title="Nobel Prize in Literature" class="wl">Nobel Prize in Literature</a> (1970)</li><li><a href="/en/Templeton_Prize" title="Templeton Prize" class="wl">Templeton Prize</a> (1983)</li><li><a href="/en/Lomonosov_Gold_Medal" title="Lomonosov Gold Medal" class="wl">Lomonosov Gold Medal</a> (1998)</li><li><a href="/en/State_Prize_of_the_Russian_Federation" title="State Prize of the Russian Federation" class="wl">State Prize of the Russian Federation</a> (2007)</li><li><a href="/en/International_Botev_Prize" title="International Botev Prize" class="wl">International Botev Prize</a> (2008)</li></ul></div>
Order of St. Andrew (Refused the reward)</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="line-height:1.2em; padding-right:0.65em;">Spouses</th><td class="infobox-data" style="line-height:1.4em;"><div class="plainlist ">
<ul></ul>
<div style="display:inline;white-space:nowrap;"><div style="display:inline-block;line-height:normal;margin-top:1px;white-space:normal;">Natalia Alekseyevna Reshetovskaya</div>
   <div style="line-height:0;margin-bottom:-2px;"><span>​</span></div><span> </span><div style="display:inline-block;margin-bottom:1px;"><span>​</span></div><span>(</span><abbr about="#mwt31" typeof="mw:ExpandedAttrs" data-mw="{&quot;attribs&quot;:[[{&quot;txt&quot;:&quot;title&quot;},{&quot;html&quot;:&quot;<span typeof=\&quot;mw:Nowiki\&quot; data-parsoid=\&quot;{}\&quot;>married</span>&quot;}]]}">m.</abbr><span>&nbsp;</span>1940<span>;</span><span> </span><abbr about="#mwt32" typeof="mw:ExpandedAttrs" data-mw="{&quot;attribs&quot;:[[{&quot;txt&quot;:&quot;title&quot;},{&quot;html&quot;:&quot;<span typeof=\&quot;mw:Nowiki\&quot; data-parsoid=\&quot;{}\&quot;>divorced</span>&quot;}]]}">div.</abbr><span>&nbsp;</span>1952<span>)</span><wbr><span>​</span></div>
<ul><li><div style="line-height:0;margin-bottom:-3px;"><span>​</span></div></li></ul>
<div style="display:inline;white-space:nowrap;"><span> </span><div style="display:inline-block;margin-bottom:1px;"><span>​</span></div><span>(</span><abbr about="#mwt33" typeof="mw:ExpandedAttrs" data-mw="{&quot;attribs&quot;:[[{&quot;txt&quot;:&quot;title&quot;},{&quot;html&quot;:&quot;<span typeof=\&quot;mw:Nowiki\&quot; data-parsoid=\&quot;{}\&quot;>married</span>&quot;}]]}">m.</abbr><span>&nbsp;</span>1957<span>;</span><span> </span><abbr about="#mwt34" typeof="mw:ExpandedAttrs" data-mw="{&quot;attribs&quot;:[[{&quot;txt&quot;:&quot;title&quot;},{&quot;html&quot;:&quot;<span typeof=\&quot;mw:Nowiki\&quot; data-parsoid=\&quot;{}\&quot;>divorced</span>&quot;}]]}">div.</abbr><span>&nbsp;</span>1972<span>)</span><wbr><span>​</span></div>
<ul></ul>
<div style="display:inline;white-space:nowrap;"><div style="display:inline-block;line-height:normal;margin-top:1px;white-space:normal;">Natalia Dmitrievna Svetlova</div>
   <div style="line-height:0;margin-bottom:-2px;"><span>​</span></div><span> </span><div style="display:inline-block;margin-bottom:1px;"><span>​</span></div><span>(</span><abbr about="#mwt35" typeof="mw:ExpandedAttrs" data-mw="{&quot;attribs&quot;:[[{&quot;txt&quot;:&quot;title&quot;},{&quot;html&quot;:&quot;<span typeof=\&quot;mw:Nowiki\&quot; data-parsoid=\&quot;{}\&quot;>married</span>&quot;}]]}">m.</abbr><span>&nbsp;</span>1973<span>)</span><wbr><span>​</span></div>

</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="line-height:1.2em; padding-right:0.65em;">Children</th><td class="infobox-data" style="line-height:1.4em;"><div class="hlist"><ul><li>Yermolai</li><li><a href="/en/Ignat_Solzhenitsyn" title="Ignat Solzhenitsyn" class="wl">Ignat</a></li><li>Stepan</li></ul></div></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header">Signature</th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data" style="line-height:1.4em;"><span><a href="/en/File:Aleksandr_Solzhenitsyn_signature.svg" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" data-hash="File:Aleksandr_Solzhenitsyn_signature.svg"><img loading="lazy" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e6/Aleksandr_Solzhenitsyn_signature.svg/150px-Aleksandr_Solzhenitsyn_signature.svg.png" decoding="async" data-file-width="744" data-file-height="531" data-file-type="drawing" height="107" width="150" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e6/Aleksandr_Solzhenitsyn_signature.svg/225px-Aleksandr_Solzhenitsyn_signature.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e6/Aleksandr_Solzhenitsyn_signature.svg/300px-Aleksandr_Solzhenitsyn_signature.svg.png 2x" alt="Aleksandr_Solzhenitsyn_signature.svg"></a></span></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header">Website</th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data" style="line-height:1.4em;"><span class="url"><a rel="mw:ExtLink nofollow" href="http://solzhenitsyn.ru" class="external text" target="_blank">solzhenitsyn<wbr>.ru</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table> <footer class='mobile-collapse-footer mobile-collapse-btn'><b>Close</b> <span class='arrow'>▲</span></footer></div>

<p>Solzhenitsyn was born into a family that defied the <a href="/en/USSR_anti-religious_campaign_(1921–1928)" title="USSR anti-religious campaign (1921–1928)" class="wl">Soviet anti-religious campaign in the 1920s</a> and remained devout members of the <a href="/en/Russian_Orthodox_Church" title="Russian Orthodox Church" class="wl">Russian Orthodox Church</a>. However, Solzhenitsyn lost his faith in Christianity, became an atheist, and embraced <a href="/en/Marxism–Leninism" title="Marxism–Leninism" class="wl">Marxism–Leninism</a>. While serving as a captain in the <a href="/en/Red_Army" title="Red Army" class="wl">Red Army</a> during <a href="/en/World_War_II" title="World War II" class="wl">World War II</a>, Solzhenitsyn was arrested by the <a href="/en/SMERSH" title="SMERSH" class="wl">SMERSH</a> and sentenced to eight years in the Gulag and then <a href="/en/Forced_settlements_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Forced settlements in the Soviet Union" class="wl">internal exile</a> for criticizing Soviet leader <a href="/en/Joseph_Stalin" title="Joseph Stalin" class="wl">Joseph Stalin</a> in a private letter. As a result of his experience in prison and the camps, he gradually became a philosophically-minded Eastern Orthodox Christian.</p>

<p>As a result of the <a href="/en/Khrushchev_Thaw" title="Khrushchev Thaw" class="wl">Khrushchev Thaw</a>, Solzhenitsyn was released and exonerated. He pursued writing novels about repression in the <a href="/en/Soviet_Union" title="Soviet Union" class="wl">Soviet Union</a> and his experiences. He published his first novel, <i><a href="/en/One_Day_in_the_Life_of_Ivan_Denisovich" title="One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" class="wl">One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich</a></i> in 1962, with approval from Soviet leader <a href="/en/Nikita_Khrushchev" title="Nikita Khrushchev" class="wl">Nikita Khrushchev</a>, which was an account of Stalinist repressions. Solzhenitsyn's last work to be published in the Soviet Union was <i><a href="/en/Matryona's_Place" title="Matryona's Place" class="wl">Matryona's Place</a></i> in 1963. Following the removal of Khrushchev from power, the Soviet authorities attempted to discourage Solzhenitsyn from continuing to write. He continued to work on further novels and their publication in other countries including <i><a href="/en/Cancer_Ward" title="Cancer Ward" class="wl">Cancer Ward</a></i> in 1966, <i><a href="/en/In_the_First_Circle" title="In the First Circle" class="wl">In the First Circle</a></i> in 1968, <i><a href="/en/August_1914_(novel)" title="August 1914 (novel)" class="wl">August 1914</a></i> in 1971, and <i><a href="/en/The_Gulag_Archipelago" title="The Gulag Archipelago" class="wl">The Gulag Archipelago</a></i> in 1973, the publication of which outraged the Soviet authorities. In 1974 Solzhenitsyn lost his Soviet citizenship and was flown to <a href="/en/West_Germany" title="West Germany" class="wl">West Germany</a>. In 1976, he moved with his family to the United States, where he continued to write. In 1990, shortly before the <a href="/en/Dissolution_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Dissolution of the Soviet Union" class="wl">dissolution of the Soviet Union</a>, his citizenship was restored, and four years later he returned to Russia, where he remained until his death in 2008.</p>

<p>He was awarded the <a href="/en/1970_Nobel_Prize_in_Literature" title="1970 Nobel Prize in Literature" class="wl">1970 Nobel Prize in Literature</a> "for the ethical force with which he has pursued the indispensable traditions of Russian literature",<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-Noble_10-0"><a href="#cite_note-Noble-10" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 8;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[8]</span></a></span> and <i>The Gulag Archipelago</i> was a highly influential work that "amounted to a head-on challenge to the Soviet state", and sold tens of millions of copies.<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-11"><a href="#cite_note-11" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 9;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[9]</span></a></span></p>



Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn was a Russian novelist. A prominent Soviet dissident, Solzhenitsyn was an outspoken critic of communism and helped to raise global awareness of political repression in the Soviet Union, in particular the Gulag system. Solzhenitsyn was born into a family that defied the Soviet anti-religious campaign in the 1920s and remained devout members of the Russian Orthodox Church. However, Solzhenitsyn lost his faith in Christianity, became an atheist, and embraced Marxism–Leninism. While serving as a captain in the Red Army during World War II, Solzhenitsyn was arrested by the SMERSH and sentenced to eight years in the Gulag and then internal exile for criticizing Soviet leader Joseph Stalin in a private letter. As a result of his experience in prison and the camps, he gradually became a philosophically-minded Eastern Orthodox Christian. As a result of the Khrushchev Thaw, Solzhenitsyn was released and exonerated. He pursued writing novels about repression in the Soviet Union and his experiences. He published his first novel, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich in 1962, with approval from Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, which was an account of Stalinist repressions. Solzhenitsyn's last work to be published in the Soviet Union was Matryona's Place in 1963. Following the removal of Khrushchev from power, the Soviet authorities attempted to discourage Solzhenitsyn from continuing to write. He continued to work on further novels and their publication in other countries including Cancer Ward in 1966, In the First Circle in 1968, August 1914 in 1971, and The Gulag Archipelago in 1973, the publication of which outraged the Soviet authorities. In 1974 Solzhenitsyn lost his Soviet citizenship and was flown to West Germany. In 1976, he moved with his family to the United States, where he continued to write. In 1990, shortly before the dissolution of the Soviet Union, his citizenship was restored, and four years later he returned to Russia, where he remained until his death in 2008. 