“This book destroyed the USSR”?

Dispute about the "GULAG Archipelago"

In 1968, Alexander Solzhenitsyn transferred microfilms of the manuscript of The Gulag Archipelago to the West. The operation was so risky that if it failed, its participants faced serious sentences. Decades later, controversy surrounding this book continues. Some consider it the main evidence of Soviet repression. Others are sure that it was the “GULAG Archipelago” that became one of the symbols of the destruction of the USSR.

In this episode we discuss:

• how the manuscript was taken out of the Soviet Union;

• the role of Elena Chukovskaya, Elizaveta Voronyanskaya and other Solzhenitsyn assistants;

• why publication of the book became possible only years later;

• did the “GULAG Archipelago” really influence the fate of the USSR;

• why there is still controversy surrounding the book;

• can it be considered a historical document or is it primarily a work of art;

• why Solzhenitsyn’s name still evokes such strong emotions today.