Alexander Solzhenitsyn is a name associated with Russia, specifically Russian literature. He is one of the great Russian writers of this or any century. He wrote One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, The Gulag Archipelago (a multi-volume account of his imprisonment in the labor camps of the Soviet Union), The First Circle, Cancer Ward, and many other works.
It is worth reading for the insight it gives into Russian life, but also because he emerged from atheistic communism as a believer and then became a Christian. Michael Scammell wrote a masterful and moving biography of this great Russian thinker and writer entitled Solzhenitsyn: A Biography, published in 1984. It’s a huge tome, 1,051 pages and 16 pages of photographs. I have read this biographical study slowly and deliberately. I have consulted it while continuing to study the works and thoughts of this author. It is a beautifully structured work on the life of this great man.
Scammell provides valuable insight into the life of a man who struggled with a great evil empire while creating works of art. Here is an illustration of how life’s adversities “make” some and “break” others. Here is an illustration that the “destiny” of the human spirit and life does not depend on external circumstances, but on the inner man and personal determination to go on and create. Solzhenitsyn turns out to be an extraordinary but credible person. He’s not a perfect man, but he’s a man who can teach us how to live in adversity.
Another thing Solzhenitsyn can teach us is the value of freedom and that we should not abuse it. We are not free to do what we want. If we do that, we could lose that freedom that we hold so dear. For example, we have freedom of religion, but tragically some have taken that to mean “freedom of religion”. We are not free to ignore God, to refrain from His worship, to be unfaithful in His ministry. We can, but that doesn’t make it right to do so.
Solzhenitsyn was exiled to the United States, where he lived in Maine for several years. He was speaking at one of the Ivy League universities and after his moving and challenging speech he was asked what explanation he had for the millions who lost their lives under Stalin in the Gulag and at the cruelty of that slavish master. He simply replied, “People have forgotten God!” This statement has not made headlines or much media coverage, but it is one of the most profound statements that explain the tragedies of the 20th century. It’s a thought we need to remember as we move further into the 21st century.
What is fascinating about this man, Solzhenitsyn, is his gradual dissatisfaction with Marxist-Leninist ideology and finally his utter disillusionment with that system. Then, of course, the story of his conversion to the Christian faith. This is what Scammell wrote about this conversion. He described how Solzhenitsyn with Dr. Boris Kornfeld was related and how the doctor described his own personal conversion. A poem Solzhenitsyn wrote marks his return to Christianity. “Recalling what his childhood beliefs had been, he described his youthful conversion to Marxism under the influence of his ‘literal sophistry’ and the sense of power and certainty it gave him:
No rumblings, building of faith
Had quietly crumbled in my chest.
But then came his journey “between being and nothing” and his return to understanding as he describes it in this poem.
I look back with grateful tremors
Of the life I had to lead
Neither desire nor reason
Has lit his twists and turns,
But the glow of a higher meaning
And now returned to me with the chalice
I draw the water of life.
Almighty God! I believe in you!
You stayed when I denied you… (Scammell, cited on page 303)
In his book The Gulag Archipelago, he not only describes his conversion but also presents the beliefs he gained and kept. Here is how he explained this conversion experience and what it meant to him then and later:
“It was on rotting prison straw that I felt the first stirrings of good within me. Gradually I came to realize that the dividing line between good and evil is not between states, not between classes, and not between parties – it runs through the heart of each of us and through the heart of all human beings. This line is not stationary. It shifts and moves over the years. Even in hearts shrouded in evil, it maintains a small beachhead of good. And even the most virtuous heart harbors an unrooted corner of evil.” (Gulag, Volume 2, Part 4, Chapter 1, quoted in Scammell, page 304)
We need to recognize the power of good and evil and the fact that God protects and empowers good. May we realize the importance of two things – trusting God and doing good. We can never go wrong by doing these two things. For Solzhenitsyn, this was a return to simple reason and rational thinking, a thinking characterized by the reality of God and God’s personal and individual requirements of each and every human being. This boundary between good and evil was real and divides all of humanity into two distinct groups and denominations – converts and unconverted. When a society remembers and acknowledges God, it can become more human and civilized in its relationships and responsibilities.
In any discussion of sanity, we must remember that the truth is a reality. Truth exists no matter what anyone thinks or does. Indeed sanity must be rooted in what is true. At the heart of truth is God. In 1 Corinthians 13:8, the apostle Paul wrote, “We can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.” A lie cannot prevail when the truth is at stake because a lie does not have the power of God, to assert oneself. God is the power that preserves and proclaims the truth. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). The work of God in every human heart through the Holy Spirit is the key to knowing and serving God. Truth exists and God speaks through it.
I look forward to sharing with any of you who may wish to speak about God and truth in our “fellowship conversation.”
