Russia’s ignorant still hate Solzhenitsyn

Vespasian

While it is true that Solzhenitzin helped contribute notably to the tarnishing of the USSR reputation abroad, essentiel when at the time left-wing intellignessia were in favour of it, his later support of Putin and his anti-semitism stain his reputation.
Also the fact that Putin gave Solzhenisyn the repsect he did should say something. Solzhennitsyn was obviouly not the knight of freedom that some would have liked to paint him as. It is not surprising that Putin has mourned for him: not that there was no such official line when it came to Anna Politskovaya, or Alexander Litvinenko

Roy

There is a small similarity in the times of Stalin to the present, when we find a certain messing about with the truth, or an inability to face the facts. When only a poet can explain in verse, because the party apparatchik are unable to recognise the symbolisation.

Panos

While i respect both Litvinenko and Politkovskaya, and despite some errors of Solzenitzin,come on, you can't compare his stature to the previous two people. Let's keep it serious!

James ben Goy

Of Solzhyenitsyn as a writer, which was how he identified himself, and will be remembered, ultimately, there can be no criticism. The rustics, pooh-butts & haters left only with his politics to gripe about, must think he gave a shit. He didn't. He demonstrated that in his Harvard address - every prediction of which has come true, by the way. The sad reality is that no one near him in ability is likely to come this way again. We should be lamenting that.

Sambasiva

If the befuddled web generation of Russia hates Solzhenitsyn it is agreat tragedy.The moral imperatives provided by that great Russian only could save the world blighted by authoritarionism and intolerance

gobear

who the hell are you, sitting in your london office, with no experience of living in the SU, to call russians who dislike Solzhenitsyn 'ignorant'?

Riaz Ahmad

Apart from the litrary pundits, we perhaps would never have heard about Solzhenitsyn. His rise to fame was not so much his brilliance which the west admired, he became the most opportune prapoganda tool for the west at the time. As for the fall of the soviot union, the other prepoganda nurtured and perpetuated, the defeat of communism by the west, both Ragan and Thatcher claimed that they defeated communism. The west's war in Koria came to a stalemate, and the USA and its allies were comprehensively defeated in Vietnam. This is the record of the West's military achievements against communism. The soviot union was defeated by the muslims in Afghanistan, there wastn't an American or an European soldier in sight. The war was won by the blood valour of the Afghan and Pakistani Mujahideen and the officers of the Pakiatan armed forces. Reality has created the blood of the fallen mujahideen with the fall of the Berlin wall, it ws not the west that brought it down. Only the Germans acknowledged it!

Ganpat Ram

Russians are right to detest Solzhenitsyn.

He threw the Soviet baby out with the bathwater.

Soviet histiory was chock-full of shocking crimes, true. Solzhenitsyn was right to denounce that.

But after Stalin the country was developing into a freer, more decent society. Solzhenitsyn's ferocious rubbishing of everything Soviet helped to destroy that and threw the Russians into apppalling chaos and misery. Hence their dislike. This writer sitting happily in the West doesn't care a hoot about Russian suffering.