"Arts, Faculty of"@en . "Central, Eastern, and Northern European Studies, Department of"@en . "DSpace"@en . "UBCV"@en . "McKay, John Nichol"@en . "2011-05-10T22:30:44Z"@en . "1971"@en . "Master of Arts - MA"@en . "University of British Columbia"@en . "The Russian novel V kruge pervom (The First Circle) shows its author, Alexander Isayevich Solzhenitsyn, to be a socially conscious writer and a man who is acutely aware of the spiritual dilemmas of modern man. The ethical questions to which he devotes himself in this novel are placed within the context of a moral philosophy which derives its essence from the Slavophiles of the nineteenth century. As a critic of modern tendencies, Solzhenitsyn is agitated about a lack of interest in man as an individual. The essential message conveyed by the novel is that man is in a materialistic impasse, and the way out of that impasse resides in a greater understanding of his functions as a human being. The author deprecates any system of thought and organized mode of life which tends to take a mechanistic view of man and to depersonalize the basis of human relations. As the symbolic conscience of modern Russia, he restores to Russian literature the humanism and moral universalism which characterized the tradition of critical realism of the previous century.\r\nFor Solzhenitsyn freedom is a spiritual matter. The right to speak freely and to publish one's thoughts is not, for him, just as it was not for the Slavophiles before him, a political right, but a natural endowment. His courageous defence of this principle and his unwavering loyalty to and pursuit of Truth have won him international respect, which culminated in the award of the Nobel Prize in 1970. In its literary and philosophical qualities, The First Circle (and all his published work) distinguishes Solzhenitsyn from his contemporaries as the leading prosaist of the Soviet Union. The First Circle is genuine realism, the very antithesis of the contrived novels which dominate Soviet prose under that ruinous prescription of \"socialist realism.\"\r\nThis thesis is presented in an introduction, three central chapters and a conclusion. The INTRODUCTION traces the background and setting of the novel. CHAPTER I turns to its structure and style. CHAPTER II treats the language of the camps and prisons. The First Circle is a rare source of this slang diction and is therefore a valuable contribution to linguistics. CHAPTER III examines the problems of ethics which disturb the author and which are considered to be the most important side of his novel. The CONCLUSION summarizes Solzhenitsyn's significance as a modern author and comments on his defence of freedom of speech and the creative word."@en . "https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/34420?expand=metadata"@en . "ALEXANDER SOLZHENITSYN'S NOVEL THE FIRST CIRCLE by JOHN NICHOL McKAY B.A., U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia, 196\u00C2\u00A3 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS i n the Department of S l a v o n i c S t u d i e s We accept t h i s t h e s i s as conforming t o the r e q u i r e d standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA September, 1971 In presenting th i s thes i s in pa r t i a l f u l f i lment of the requirements fo r an advanced degree at the Un ivers i ty of B r i t i s h Columbia, I agree that the L ibrary sha l l make i t f r ee l y ava i l ab le for reference and study. I fu r ther agree that permission for extensive copying of th i s thes i s for scho lar ly purposes may be granted by the Head of my Department or by his representat ives. It is understood that copying or pub l i ca t ion of th i s thes i s f o r f i nanc ia l gain sha l l not be allowed without my wr i t ten permiss ion. Department of S l a v o n i c S t u d i e s The Univers i ty of B r i t i s h Columbia Vancouver 8, Canada Date 15 September 1971 ERRATA p. 5> L i n e 13 from top: read \" d i c t a t o r s h i p . \" p. 8 Footnotes: An e r r o r has occu r r e d i n the f i n a l type-s c r i p t . The reader w i l l observe t h a t f o o t n o t e s have been numbered c o n s e c u t i v e l y from the beginning of the INTRODUCTION through CHAPTER I I . CHAPTER I I I and the CONCLUSION have f o o t n o t e s numbered i n separate s e r i e s . p. 12 F i n a l l i n e of t e x t : read \" s t a b l e \" f o r \" s t a t i c . \" p. 21+ In the q u o t a t i o n the word \" chrezvychainykh\" should be so s p e l l e d w i t h a s i n g l e \"n\". p. 33 Line 12 from top: read \" c l a s s \" f o r \"category.\" p. 3\u00C2\u00B0 In the f i r s t q u o t a t i o n read \" p r i s e l \" f o r \" p r i c e l . \" p. 37 Line 1: read \" v a r i a n t \" f o r \" v a r i a t i o n . \" p. 39 L i n e 2: omit \"spetsodezhda.\" p. 71 Line 7 from bottom: read \"Marxian\" f o r \" M a r x i s t . \" ABSTRACT The Russian novel V kruge pervom (The F i r s t C i r c l e ) shows i t s author, Alexander I s a y e v i c h S o l z h e n i t s y n , to be a s o c i a l l y conscious w r i t e r and a man who i s a c u t e l y aware of the s p i r i t u a l dilemmas of modern man. The e t h i c a l q u e s t i o n s to which he devotes h i m s e l f i n t h i s n o vel are p l a c e d w i t h i n the context of a moral p h i l o s o p h y which d e r i v e s i t s essence from the S l a v o p h i l e s of the n i n e t e e n t h century. As a c r i t i c of modern t e n d e n c i e s , S o l z h e n i t s y n i s a g i t a t e d about a l a c k of i n t e r e s t i n man as an i n d i v i d u a l . The e s s e n t i a l message conveyed by the n o v e l i s t h a t man i s i n a m a t e r i a l i s t i c im-passe, and the way out of t h a t impasse r e s i d e s i n a g r e a t e r understanding of h i s f u n c t i o n s as a human be i n g . The author deprecates any system of thought and organized mode of l i f e which tends to take a m e c h a n i s t i c view of man and to deper-s o n a l i z e the b a s i s of human r e l a t i o n s . As the symbolic con-sci e n c e of modern R u s s i a , he r e s t o r e s to Russian l i t e r a t u r e the humanism and moral u n i v e r s a l i s m which c h a r a c t e r i z e d the t r a d i t i o n of c r i t i c a l r e a l i s m of the p r e v i o u s century. F o r S o l z h e n i t s y n freedom i s a s p i r i t u a l matter. The r i g h t to speak f r e e l y and to p u b l i s h one's thoughts i s not, f o r him, j u s t as i t was not f o r the S l a v o p h i l e s before him, a p o l i t i c a l r i g h t , but a n a t u r a l endowment. H i s courageous defence o f t h i s p r i n c i p l e and h i s unwavering l o y a l t y t o and p u r s u i t of T r u t h have won him i n t e r n a t i o n a l r e s p e c t , w h i c h c u l m i n a t e d i n the award of the Nobel P r i z e i n 1970. I n i t s l i t e r a r y and p h i l o s o p h i c a l q u a l i t i e s , The F i r s t C i r c l e (and a l l h i s p u b l i s h e d work) d i s t i n g u i s h e s S o l z h e n i t s y n from h i s co n t e m p o r a r i e s as the l e a d i n g p r o s a i s t o f the S o v i e t U n i o n . The F i r s t C i r c l e i s genuine r e a l i s m , the v e r y a n t i t h e s i s of the c o n t r i v e d n o v e l s w h i c h dominate S o v i e t prose under t h a t r u i n o u s p r e s c r i p t i o n o f \" s o c i a l i s t r e a l i s m . \" T h i s t h e s i s i s p r e s e n t e d i n an i n t r o d u c t i o n , t h r e e c e n t r a l c h a p t e r s and a c o n c l u s i o n . The INTRODUCTION t r a c e s the background and s e t t i n g o f the n o v e l . CHAPTER I t u r n s t o i t s s t r u c t u r e and s t y l e . CHAPTER I I t r e a t s the language of the camps and p r i s o n s . The F i r s t C i r c l e i s a r a r e source of t h i s s l a n g d i c t i o n and i s t h e r e f o r e a v a l u a b l e c o n t r i b u t i o n t o l i n g u i s t i c s . CHAPTER I I I examines the problems of e t h i c s w h i c h d i s t u r b the a u t h o r and w h i c h are c o n s i d e r e d t o be the most i m p o r t a n t s i d e of h i s n o v e l . The CONCLUSION summarizes S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s s i g n i f i c a n c e as a modern auth o r and comments on h i s defence of freedom o f speech and the c r e a t i v e word. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT i i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT v INTRODUCTION 1 Chapter I . PROBLEMS OF STRUCTURE AND STYLE 9 I I . THE LANGUAGE OF THE CAMPS 30 I I I . THE ETHICAL PROBLEM \u00C2\u00A30 CONCLUSION 77 BIBLIOGRAPHY 83 APPENDIX 1 91 APPENDIX I I 92 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT To P r o f e s s o r V a l e r i a n D m i t r i y e v i c h Revutsky, whose i n t i m a t e knowledge of Russian l i t e r a t u r e was of i n e s t i m a b l e value to me i n p r e p a r i n g t h i s t h e s i s , I extend my s i n c e r e s t g r a t i t u d e . His c o u n s e l , a s s i s t a n c e and encouragement were a c o n t i n u a l source of i n s p i r a t i o n . I am much indebted a l s o to P r o f e s s o r Zbigniew F o l e -j e w s k i , who assumed w i t h good grace the t a s k of r e a d i n g the manuscript i n i t s f i n a l stages and suggested key r e v i s i o n s . I take t h i s o p p o r t u n i t y a l s o to r e c o r d p a r t i c u l a r l y my profound g r a t i t u d e to Dr C y r i l Bryner, Mr A l e c Wainman, Mrs. Irene Reed and Miss Irene R e b r i n , under whose guidance I r e c e i v e d my undergraduate and graduate courses i n v a r i o u s branches of S l a v o n i c s t u d i e s . F i n a l l y , I express my s i n c e r e thanks to the f a c u l t y and s t a f f of the Department of S l a v o n i c S t u d i e s at the U n i -v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia f o r t h e i r having made my p e r i o d of study there a f r u i t f u l and p l e a s a n t e x p e r i e n c e . INTRODUCTION T h i s t h e s i s i s a study of the Russian novel V kruge pervom (The F i r s t C i r c l e ) by Alexander I s a y e v i c h S o l z h e n i t -syn. T h i s n o v e l , and most of the author's work p u b l i s h e d to date, can only be a p p r e c i a t e d a g a i n s t the background o f the t r a g i c events which engendered i t , f o r S o l z h e n i t s y n 1 s works are i n t e n s e l y a u t o b i o g r a p h i c a l . During the Konigsberg (now K a l i n i n g r a d ) h o s t i l i t i e s towards the end of the Second World War, S o l z h e n i t s y n , then an a r t i l l e r y c a p t a i n , was summoned by the commander of h i s d i v i s i o n , s t r i p p e d o f rank and d e c o r a t i o n s and a r r e s t e d . He e x p l a i n s : I was a r r e s t e d because of my naive and c h i l d i s h i d e a s . I knew th a t i t was f o r b i d d e n to w r i t e of m i l i t a r y matters i n l e t t e r s from the f r o n t , but I thought i t was permitted to t h i n k and r e f l e c t on events. For a long time I had been sending a f r i e n d l e t t e r s c l e a r l y c r i t i c i z i n g S t a l i n though without mentioning h i s name. I thought he had betrayed Leninism and was r e s p o n s i b l e f o r the de f e a t s of the f i r s t phase of the war, that he was a weak t h e o r e t i c i a n and that h i s language was p r i m i t i v e . In my y o u t h f u l r e c k l e s s n e s s I put a l l these thoughts down on p a p e r . l The correspondence of which he speaks was i n t e r c e p t e d by an agency known as SMERSH, whose o p e r a t i v e s took him i n t o cus-1 L e o p o l d Labedz (ed.) , S o l z h e n i t s y n : A Documentary Record, London: A l l e n Lane The Penguin Press, 1970, p. $, t o d y . He was c o n f i n e d i n the Lubyanka p r i s o n i n Moscow and, i n J u l y 191^5, sentenced w i t h o u t t r i a l t o an e i g h t - y e a r term of imprisonment i n the c o r r e c t i v e - l a b o u r camps by the OSSO, S t a l i n ' s n o t o r i o u s t r i b u n a l a t t a c h e d t o the NKVD. At f i r s t he was employed on c o n s t r u c t i o n b u i l d i n g an apartment b l o c k f o r s e c r e t p o l i c e o f f i c i a l s . When i t was d i s c o v e r e d t h a t he h e l d a u n i v e r s i t y degree i n mathematics and p h y s i c s , he was sent t o a s p e c i a l s c i e n t i f i c r e s e a r c h i n s t i t u t e . I t was t h i s f i r s t e x p e r i e n c e w i t h the h e l l i s h w o r l d o f GULAG- t h a t i n s p i r e d The F i r s t C i r c l e . The n o v e l was n i n e y e a r s i n the composing (1955-19614.) , but made i t s appearance i n the West o n l y i n 1968. The m a n u s c r i p t was c o n f i s c a t e d by the KGB i n 1965, w h i c h S o l z h e n i t s y n b o l d l y condemned i n h i s now famous l e t t e r t o the F o u r t h Congress of S o v i e t W r i t e r s . The a v a i l a b l e e d i t i o n s o f S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s n o v e l s The F i r s t C i r c l e and Cancer Ward (Rakovyi korpus) were p r e p a r e d from c l a n d e s t i n e m a n u s c r i p t s r e c e i v e d t h r o u g h s a m i z d a t , the l i t e r a r y underground. These n o v e l s have n o t been p u b l i s h e d i n the S o v i e t U n i o n , where a ban on h i s work began i n 1966. Even h i s f i r s t p u b l i s h e d s t o r y , Odin den' I v a n a D e n i s o v i c h a (One Day i n the L i f e o f I v a n D e n i s o v i c h ) , w h i c h brought him i n t e r n a t i o n a l fame when i t appeared i n 1962, has been w i t h -drawn from S o v i e t l i b r a r i e s . S o v i e t r e a d e r s have acc e s s t o S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s works o n l y i n t y p e s c r i p t form as t h e y c i r c u -l a t e t h r o u g h o u t the underground. S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s works are no longer p u b l i s h e d i n h i s own country because they do not te a c h the Pa r t y l i n e . S ince they are c r i t i c a l of S o v i e t l i f e and governmental p o l i c i e s , too outspoken i n t h e i r a p p r a i s a l of the r e v o l u t i o n , and ask more probing q u e s t i o n s about the \" e r r o r s \" of the S t a l i n e r a than the present l e a d e r s h i p cares to answer, they draw f i r e from the conformist c r i t i c s . S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s v i g o r o u s b a t t l e f o r c r e a t i v e freedom i s now a matter of r e c o r d . F o l l o w i n g a s e r i e s of slanderous a t t a c k s on him by the S o v i e t p r e s s , he was e x p e l l e d from the W r i t e r s ' Union i n 1969. Comparing the s e t t i n g s of S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s works w i t h those of T o l s t o y and Dostoyevsky, the c r i t i c K. Pomerantsev observes: T o l s t o y ' s world i s the normal world of normal people. Dostoyevsky's world i s a l s o the normal world, but ab-normal people l i v e i n i t . The world of S o l z h e n i t s y n , however, i s an abnormal world i n which normal people must l i v e . 2 In The F i r s t C i r c l e t h i s abnormal world i s the sharashka at Mavrino. Here i n suburban Moscow the MG-B has e s t a b l i s h e d a c l a n d e s t i n e s c i e n t i f i c r e s e a r c h i n s t i t u t e o p e r a t i n g w i t h i n a spetstyur'ma which accommodates 2 8 l inmates. One of these p r i s o n e r s remarks: \" I f a war s t a r t s , t h e y ' l l mow us down en masse or i n f e c t our kasha w i t h p l a g u e . \" ( 3 : 9 2 ) ^ T h i s was not ^See h i s a r t i c l e : \"Dobro i z l o u S o l z h e n i t s y n a , \" i n Novyi Zhurnal (The New Review). No. 95 ( J u l y 1969), p. 1^9. -^The method of quoting i s exp l a i n e d below. - k -mere o s t e n t a t i o u s contempt f o r the S o v i e t government of the time. In 1914-7 S t a l i n p e r s o n a l l y ordered t h a t the p o l i t i c a l o f f e n d e r s be c o l l e c t e d i n t o o s o b l a g i i n order to f a c i l i t a t e t h e i r b e i n g put to death i n the event of another war.^ In The F i r s t C i r c l e S o l z h e n i t s y n has m e t a p h o r i c a l l y r e c a p t u r e d the a r t i s t i c v i s i o n of the I n f e r n o , wherein the souls of the p r e - C h r i s t i a n p h i l o s o p h e r s are doomed to e t e r -n a l o b l i v i o n i n Limbo, the F i r s t of the Nine C i r c l e s i n the c o n i c a l s t r u c t u r e of H e l l conceived by Dante. The a n a l o g i e s are s t r i k i n g . S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s conception of a paranoid, v i n -d i c t i v e , yet p a t h e t i c e v i l genius of penology ( S t a l i n ) i s a cunningly wrought r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of the s i n i s t e r and w r i t h -i n g Satan, the Emperor of Dante's Realm of Sorrow. The wise men of a n t i q u i t y were c o n f i n e d i n a \"Noble C a s t l e , \" and the e l i t e of S o v i e t s c i e n c e are e x p l o i t e d i n t e l l e c t u a l l y i n the \"Enchanted C a s t l e , \" the Mavrino I n s t i t u t e . Dante's Limbo i s a home f o r the u n s a n c t i f i e d , while Mavrino accommodates the i n i t i a t e s of the \" c u l t of p e r s o n a l i t y . \" The i n t e l l e c t u a l competence of the pagan s c i e n t i s t s may have i n f l u e n c e d Dante's e p i c judgment, f o r Limbo i s the most comfortable of h i s C i r c l e s . The b e t t e r treatment g i v e n the Mavrino p r i s o n e r s , however, i s motivated by expediency: ^See Max Hayward's \" I n t r o d u c t i o n \" to A n a t o l y Mar-chenko, My Testimony, t r a n s . M i c h a e l Scammell, London: P a l l M a l l Press, 1969, p. xv. - 5 -a sense of w e l l - b e i n g i s the sine qua non of a concentrated and s u s t a i n e d mental e f f o r t which, i n t u r n , i s v i t a l to the success of the l a b o r a t o r y p r o j e c t s at the I n s t i t u t e . Or, as the f a c e t i o u s Pryanchikov expresses i t , \" I t has been proved t h a t a l a r g e wool c l i p depends upon the f e e d i n g and care of the sheep.\" (3:15) The s t a t u s of S o l z h e n i t s y n * s \"ovine\" c o l l e c t i v e may be l e s s humble than t h a t of Ivan D e n i s o v i c h Shukhov and h i s innocent labour-camp comrades, but as s o - c a l l e d \"enemies of the people,\" they bear the same mark of d i s g r a c e imposed by A r t i c l e 58, the most n o t o r i o u s s t a t u t e i n the C r i m i n a l Code of the RSFSR, as t h a t code stood u n t i l r e pealed i n December 1958. These u n f o r t u n a t e v i c t i m s of the S t a l i n d i s t a t o r s h i p have been rounded up f o r the e n g i n e e r i n g tasks at hand from the lower c i r c l e s of the i n f e r n a l GULAG realm, whither most of them w i l l be d i s p a t c h e d when the job i s completed, which i n i t s e l f s i g n a l s t h e i r redundancy. Such i s the s e t t i n g . The u n d e r l y i n g theme i s human s u f f e r i n g , which runs through much Russian f i c t i o n of recent y e a r s . B o r i s P a s t e r -nak's Doctor Zhivago and L i d i y a Chukovskaya's O p u s t e l y i dom (The Deserted House) are eminent i l l u s t r a t i o n s . The b i t t e r -ness of s u f f e r i n g through i n j u s t i c e does not merely connect the n o v e l w i t h S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s p r i v a t e world; i t becomes the cornerstone of a s t r u c t u r a l l y complex work of a r t . T h i s a r t form permits the author to delve i n t o the p e r s o n a l world of - 6 -each of h i s c h a r a c t e r s . I t conforms t o the requirements of S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s f a v o u r i t e genre - the \"polyphonic\" n o v e l , i n which there are no heroes i n the t r a d i t i o n a l sense. F o r , as S o l z h e n i t s y n p o i n t s out, \"Every c h a r a c t e r becomes main when the a c t i o n r e v e r t s to him.\"^ S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s e a r l y s t o r i e s were keenly c r i t i c i z e d f o r the alignment of the f o r c e s of good and e v i l which were rep r e s e n t e d by the c h a r a c t e r s . Although t h i s alignment of f o r c e s e x i s t s (and j u s t i f i a b l y ) i n The F i r s t C i r c l e , such a neat d i v i s i o n o f i t s completely \" S t a l i n i z e d \" world i n t o two a n t a g o n i s t i c groups would be a r b i t r a r y and s u p e r f i c i a l , f o r the c h a r a c t e r s are not simply e i t h e r \" r i g h t e o u s \" or \" e v i l . \" The d e u t e r a g o n i s t , Lev Rubin, i s p o r t r a y e d s y m p a t h e t i c a l l y , although h i s m a t e r i a l i s t i d e o l o g y i s a l i e n to S o l z h e n i t s y n . Moreover, the s i t u a t i o n s o f f r e e and u n f r e e , tormentors and tormented, manipulators and manipulated, guards and p r i s o n -\"Kazda osoba sa sta v a hlavnou, ked sa j e j dotkne d e j . \" See \"Jedneho dfla u Alexandra I s a j e v i c a S o l z e n i c y n a , \" i n K u l t u r n y g i v o t . 31 March 1967, p. 10. ^By V. Chalmayev i n \" ' S a i n t s ' and ' D e v i l s ' , \" t r a n s , i n P r i s c i l l a Johnson, Khrushchev and the A r t s : The P o l i t i c s of S o v i e t C u l t u r e 1962-196!+., Cambridge, Massachusetts: The M.I.T. Press, 1965, p. 272. [The o r i g i n a l a r t i c l e appeared i n Russian i n Oktyabr, No. 10, 1963.] Chalmayev observes: \"In the world of A. S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s c h a r a c t e r s two i d e o l o g i c a l and moral pol e s and two se t s of c h a r a c t e r s corresponding to these p o l e s stand out q u i t e d i s t i n c t -l y . In one of them the w r i t e r i n v a r i a b l y concentrates h u m i l i t y and meekness, right e o u s n e s s t h a t as a r u l e i s impotent i n p r a c t i c e , and i n the other he concentrates a l l - p o w e r f u l e v i l , o verbearing c r u e l t y , and b l i n d obedience.\" e r s , v i c t o r s and v i c t i m s , are t r u l y r e l a t i v e . ' T h i s i s the e f f e c t created by the s h i f t i n g scene: the a c t i o n o s c i l l a t e s between the sharashka and Moscow at l a r g e . The i m p l i c a t i o n i s t h a t S o l z h e n i t s y n c o n s i d e r s the d i f f e r e n c e between these two worlds one of degree, not of k i n d . T h i s t h e s i s does not en t e r i n t o d i s c u s s i o n of those elements of p o l i t i c a l c r i t i c i s m contained i n S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s works. Although t h i s aspect of h i s n o v e l s i s important i n a complete e x e g e s i s , the h i s t o r i c a l c o n d i t i o n s which prompted i t w i l l a l t e r , and h i s work w i l l be judged i n the f u t u r e by l i t e r a r y c r i t e r i a alone. T h e r e f o r e t h i s essay concentrates on the l i t e r a r y q u a l i t i e s of The F i r s t C i r c l e . But i t t r i e s a l s o to assess S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s p h i l o s o p h i c a l p o i n t of view. The t h e s i s i s presented i n three p r i n c i p a l chapters and a c o n c l u s i o n . CHAPTER I t r e a t s some of the problems of s t r u c t u r e and analyzes the dominant c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of S o l -z h e n i t s y n ' s prose method. The emphasis i s on the s y n t a c t i c d e v i c e s and f i g u r a t i v e t urns of speech which are considered to be the d i s t i n g u i s h i n g c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of h i s mode of ex-p r e s s i o n . CHAPTER I I c o l l e c t s and c l a s s i f i e s the slang d i c -t i o n of the c o n c e n t r a t i o n camps and p r i s o n s and comments on the problem of o b s c e n i t y . CHAPTER I I I approaches the moral p h i l o s o p h y which runs through the no v e l and which separates 7 H e i n r i c h B o l l , \"Die v e r h a f t e t e Welt: In S o l s h e n i -zyns Erstem K r e i s der H o l l e , \" Merkur, XXIII: $ (May 1969), p. 1+78. - 8 -S o l z h e n i t s y n from h i s S o v i e t contemporaries. The CONCLUSION summarizes S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s importance as a modern w r i t e r . There are two appendices. In APPENDIX I the t r a n s -l i t e r a t i o n system used i n t r a n s c r i b i n g the Russian i s g i v e n i n t a b u l a r form. APPENDIX I I i s a g l o s s a r y of words, terms and c o n t r a c t i o n s which have been used i n the t h e s i s without e x p l a n a t i o n , i n c l u d i n g those i n the INTRODUCTION. The f o o t n o t e s are numbered c o n s e c u t i v e l y throughout each chapter. F o r convenience the notes have been p l a c e d at the f o o t of the same page on which the s u p e r s c r i p t appears. The SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY l i s t s the most u s e f u l and r e l e v a n t m a t e r i a l s f o r a study of S o l z h e n i t s y n . I t excludes the slanderous j o u r n a l i s t i c a r t i c l e s which are no more than i n v e c t i v e and which t h e r e f o r e have l i t t l e academic v a l u e . A l l q u o t a t i o n s are taken from the f o l l o w i n g e d i t i o n of S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s f i c t i o n : Sobraniye s o c h i n e n i i [ C o l l e c t e d Works], 6 volumes, F r a n k f u r t / M a i n : Possev, 1970. F i c t i o n a l r e f e r e n c e s are i n d i c a t e d p a r e n t h e t i c a l l y w i t h i n the t e x t of the t h e s i s thus: (3:92) r e f e r s to Volume 3, Page 92. C i t a -t i o n s of n o n f i c t i o n a l sources i n c l u d e d i n t h i s same e d i t i o n are g i v e n i n the f o o t n o t e s under the heading Works. A l l the q u o t a t i o n s are t r a n s c r i b e d i n the o r i g i n a l Russian i n those s e c t i o n s which t r e a t d i c t i o n and s t y l e . In the other p a r t s of the t h e s i s the e x c e r p t s have been rendered i n t o E n g l i s h . For the accuracy of t r a n s l a t i o n I bear f u l l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y . CHAPTER I PROBLEMS OP STRUCTURE AND STYLE 1 The a r t i s t i c c o n c e p t i o n of The F i r s t C i r c l e i s very-i m p r e s s i v e : i t works at many l e v e l s and ranges i n space and time. S u p e r f i c i a l l y , i t examines the p r i s o n experience and the r e a c t i o n s and adjustments of s e v e r a l men to i t s regime. T h i s i s the no v e l of a humanist and humanitarian. With the f o r c e of the n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y c r i t i c a l r e a l i s t s , i t seeks t r u t h , s o c i a l j u s t i c e and a p h i l o s o p h i c a l p o i n t of support, and evinces a profound sympathy w i t h the human c o n d i t i o n . A c r i t i c a l a p p r a i s a l of S o v i e t r e a l i t y i n the S t a l i n e r a con-s t i t u t e s yet another l e v e l . Such a v a s t u n d e r t a k i n g r a i s e s s e r i o u s a r t i s t i c d i f f i c u l t i e s : looseness of n a r r a t i v e , l a c k of p l o t u n i t y , and the g e n e r a l u n f i n i s h e d appearance of the form are some of the i m p e r f e c t i o n s which have been observed by c r i t i c s . U n l i k e Cancer Ward, which i s u n i f i e d by the c e n t r a l problem of the d i s e a s e i t s e l f , The F i r s t C i r c l e has no con-c e n t r a t e d p l o t to which e v e r y t h i n g i s c o n t r i b u t i v e and sub-o r d i n a t e . The only true p l o t i s to be found i n the separate - 10 -t h r e a d o f the n o v e l d e v o t e d t o I n n o k e n t i l V o l o d i n . But t h i s t h r e a d embraces o n l y n i n e c h a p t e r s and has the c h a r a c t e r o f a s h o r t s t o r y i n i t s e l f . F o r a e s t h e t i c a p p r e c i a t i o n o f The F i r s t C i r c l e A r i s t o t e l i a n p r e j u d i c e s must be abandoned; the work i s b e s t examined w i t h o u t r e f e r e n c e t o any f i x e d s t r u c -t u r a l p r i n c i p l e s w h i c h might be thought t o c h a r a c t e r i z e the n o v e l as an i n d i v i d u a l l i t e r a r y g enre. S o l z h e n i t s y n compensates f o r the absence o f a major p l o t w i t h m u t u a l l y r e i n f o r c i n g themes which combine t o p r e -s e n t a comprehensive p i c t u r e of l i f e i n S t a l i n ' s R u s s i a . I n t h i s sense the p a r t s o f the n o v e l are c o n t r i b u t i v e and sub-o r d i n a t e t o the a u t h o r ' s i n t e n t i o n . O b v i o u s l y , i n The F i r s t C i r c l e S o l z h e n i t s y n i s l e s s concerned w i t h d e s i g n t h a n w i t h c o n t e n t ( c o n c e r n i n g the i d e a s and emotions conveyed), w h i l e h i s s k i l f u l combining o f r e a l i s m and symbolism and language m a s t e r y are a e s t h e t i c a l l y p l e a s i n g a s p e c t s of the n o v e l . T h i s i s n o t t o say t h a t t h e r e i s a complete absence of a r t i s t i c d e s i g n , but t h a t The F i r s t C i r c l e i s fragmented i n s t r u c t u r e . There i s coherence, f o r the c e n t r a l m o t i v e i s never l o s t t o v i e w . There are elements o f u n i t y e x t e r n a l t o c o n s i d e r a t i o n s o f p l o t : as Deming Brown p o i n t s o u t , s t r u c t -u r a l coherence r e s i d e s i n p a r t i n the c o n s i s t e n t l y downward i m p u l s e i n the f a t e of the p r i n c i p a l c h a r a c t e r s . There i s Deming Brown, \"Cancer Ward and The F i r s t C i r c l e , \" S l a v i c Review. X X V I I I : 2 ( J u l y 1969), pp. 311-12. - 11 -a r t i s t i c u n i t y a l s o i n the p o r t r a i t g a l l e r y which i s \" c a r e -f u l l y designed and m e t i c u l o u s l y i n t e g r a t e d , \" ^ although the s u r f e i t of d e t a i l s compressed i n t o a seventy-hour time span has the e f f e c t of c o m p l i c a t i n g the reader's p e r c e p t i o n , and the c h a r a c t e r s o c c a s i o n a l l y seem to have submerged i n t o the amorphous mass of sub-plot i n c i d e n t s . The v e r y magnitude of S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s s e l f - a p p o i n t e d t a s k prevents the f u s i n g of h i s heterogeneous themes i n t o a u n i f i e d whole. The more than f i f t y c h a r a c t e r s who comprise the dramatis personae r e p r e s e n t a wide v a r i e t y of p o i n t s of view. These cannot be examined i n d e t a i l i n t h i s fragmented s t r u c t u r e . Yet i n t h i s connection too the n o v e l i s redeemed i n p a r t by the f e r v o u r and the h i s t o r i c a l and human authen-t i c i t y of the n a r r a t i v e . The F i r s t C i r c l e may be compared to a cinematograph p r o j e c t i n g a sequence of \" s t i l l s \" i n r a p i d s u c c e s s i o n . T h i s technique i s an i n h e r e n t f e a t u r e of S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s l i t e r a r y method. The fragmentary p r e s e n t a t i o n to which i t g i v e s r i s e i n t h i s n o v e l c o n s i s t s of approximately seventy scenes. The s c e n i c e f f e c t does not allow f o r the complete p s y c h o l o g i c a l and p h i l o s o p h i c a l i l l u m i n a t i o n of c h a r a c t e r which i s one of the d i s t i n g u i s h i n g f e a t u r e s of Russian c l a s s i c a l l i t e r a t u r e i n g e n e r a l and of T o l s t o y ' s method i n p a r t i c u l a r . And while I b i d . , p. 309. - 12 -S o l z h e n i t s y n r i v a l s h i s predecessor i n h i s a b i l i t y to apply the p s y c h o l o g i c a l method - and, on o c c a s i o n , even surpasses him, The F i r s t C i r c l e i s not a s u c c e s s f u l work i n t h i s way. The second n o v e l Cancer Ward i s again s u p e r i o r i n i t s exam-i n a t i o n of man i n c r i s i s . One important e x c e p t i o n i s S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s p o r t r a y a l of the simple Russian peasant: S p i r i d o n Yegorov i s a l i v i n g r e s u r r e c t i o n of P l a t o n Karatayev of T o l s t o y ' s n o v e l War and Peace. Each i s a \" j a c k of a l l t r a d e s \" ( l i k e Ivan Shukhov i n the c o n c e n t r a t i o n camp), and r e a c t s to s i t u a t i o n s spontane-o u s l y ; each has an innocent and y o u t h f u l e x p r e s s i o n , and i s p o r t r a y e d i n the l i g h t of t h a t p e c u l i a r u n f a t h o m a b i l i t y and i n s t i n c t i v e behaviour which have always p u z z l e d the Russian i n t e l l e c t u a l and which have been at the same time the cause of h i s g r e a t a d m i r a t i o n . Platon's p r o v e r b i a l \"Where th e r e ' s judgment, the re there's f alsehood,\"- 1- 0 sounds l i k e S p i r i d o n ' s \"That's why there's a d e v i l - to judge the priests.\"(3:189) And T o l s t o y ' s d e s c r i p t i o n of P l a t o n as an \" e v e r l a s t i n g per-s o n i f i c a t i o n of the s p i r i t of s i m p l i c i t y and t r u t h \" i s j u s t as a p p l i c a b l e to S p i r i d o n , and even to Ivan Shukhov.\"'\"\"1\" The F i r s t C i r c l e i s peopled by s t a t i c , c o n s i s t e n t l y lOcount Leo T o l s t o y , War and Peace,trans. Constance Garnett, New York: Random House (The Modern L i b r a r y ) , n.d., p. 902. 1 1 I b i d . , p. 906. - 13 -motivated i n d i v i d u a l s . Each one i s d e s c r i b e d p h y s i c a l l y and g i v e n a biography. The reader observes each one's behaviour i n the (predominantly male) c o l l e c t i v e and h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h h i s f e l l o w s . Yet i t i s o n l y the p r i n c i p a l s who are r e -v e a l e d f u l l y and r e a l i z e d as i n l i f e . The group of rounded c h a r a c t e r s i n c l u d e s N e r z h i n , h i s wife Nadya, Rubin, S t a l i n , V o l o d i n and Yegorov. Those who might be considered \" f l a t , \" were i t not f o r some i n d i v i d u a l i z i n g marks, i n c l u d e the two kumy or o p e r a t i v e s ( S h i k i n and Myshin), the Party S e c r e t a r y (Step anov), the Head of the P r i s o n ( K l i m e n t i e v ) , the J u n i o r Lieutenant (Nadelashin), the S e r b i a n M a r x i s t (Radovich),the Prosecutor (Makarygin), and the p r i s o n e r s Potapov, Adamson, Kondrashev-Ivanov and Kagan. Between these c a t e g o r i e s there i s a t h i r d group i n c l u d i n g the p r i s o n e r s S o l o g d i n , Doronin, and G-erasimovich, the Head and Deputy Head of the I n s t i t u t e Yakonov and Roitman, the w r i t e r Galakhov, the P r o s e c u t o r ' s daughter K l a r a Makarygin and the M i n i s t e r V i c t o r Abakumov. I f the secondary and t e r t i a r y c h a r a c t e r s o f t e n seem t r a n s i t o r y , as Brown has suggested, i t may be due i n p a r t to the l a c k of a prominent p l o t to which they could r e l a t e . But i t i s a l s o a t t r i b u t a b l e to the f a c t t h a t each c h a r a c t e r i s a thematic embodiment of an i d e o l o g i c a l or p h i l o s o p h i c a l p o i n t of view, and the space of a chapter (or p a r t t h e r e o f ) Brown, op. c i t . , p. 3 H \u00C2\u00BB - 1 1 + -does not f a c i l i t a t e complete i l l u m i n a t i o n . Ivan D y r s i n , f o r example, i s assigned no f i c t i o n a l r o l e . His s o l e purpose i s to r e v e a l the a b s u r d i t i e s and i n c o n s i s t e n c i e s of the e n t i r e e r a . (The a d m i n i s t r a t i o n r e q u ests him to w r i t e a \" c h e e r f u l r e p l y \" (bodryi otvet) to the p e s s i m i s t i c l e t t e r s o f h i s now despondent w i f e , and even to advise her to b e l i e v e i n God!) But t h i s looseness of s t r u c t u r e has one a r t i s t i c advantage: removal of one or another \"character-theme\" does not reduce the s t y l i s t i c e f f e c t i v e n e s s of the n o v e l . But the e f f e c t of the f i n i s h e d p i c t u r e o f S o v i e t l i f e presented by the author would have been markedly d i m i n i s h e d . In terms of s t r u c t u r e the most s i g n i f i c a n t p a r t s of the n o v e l are Chapter 1, Chapter 55 (approximately c e n t r a l ) and the conclu d i n g l i n e s of the e p i l o g u e . The f i r s t chapter i s a prologue which serves to set the atmosphere of s u s p i c i o n and f e a r which g r i p s Moscow and to i n i t i a t e the a c t i o n of the framework s t o r y of I n n o k e n t i i V o l o d i n . T h i s dramatic s t o r y c o n s t i t u t e s the n a r r a t i v e f a b r r i c of the n o v e l . In h i s o f f i c i a l c a p a c i t y as a diplomat i n the M i n i s t r y o f F o r e i g n A f f a i r s , V o l o d i n has l e a r n e d of the danger t h r e a t e n i n g h i s mother's former p h y s i c i a n , Dr Dobro-umov, who has c a r e l e s s l y promised to share a recent m e d i c a l d i s c o v e r y w i t h f o r e i g n c o l l e a g u e s . V o l o d i n warns him on the telephone, and the c a l l i s recorded on tape. (The doct o r i s under s u r v e i l l a n c e . ) V o l o d i n ' s act enhances the importance - 15 -o f the l a b o r a t o r y work a t M a v r i n o , where attem p t s are b e i n g made t o r a i s e phonoscopy t o the l e v e l o f a s c i e n c e w i t h the same r e l i a b i l i t y as d a c t y l o s c o p y . The substance o f the Mav-r i n o a c t i o n t r a c e s the e v o l u t i o n o f a v o i c e - e n c o d i n g d e v i c e w h i c h has been o r d e r e d by S t a l i n , and w h i c h i s brought i n t o p l a y i n the e f f o r t t o d i s t i n g u i s h the c a l l e r from the o t h e r s u s p e c t s . The s t o r y - l i n e i s a c t e d out i n about s e v e n t y h o u r s . The time i s the C h r i s t m a s p e r i o d o f 1914-9: from l4.:05 p.m. on S a t u r d a y (2I4. December) t o around noon on Tuesday (27 Decem-b e r ) . Prom the i n i t i a t i o n of the a c t i o n t o the c l i m a x w i t h V o l o d i n ' s a r r e s t , the i n c i d e n t s i n b r i e f are as f o l l o w s . At around l4_:l5 p.m. on C h r i s t m a s Eve V o l o d i n phones Dobroumov. The c a l l i s r e c o r d e d . At m i d n i g h t Abakumov meets w i t h Osko-l u p o v , Sevastyanov and Yakonov t o d i s c u s s the M a v r i n o work. At t e n o ' c l o c k on C h r i s t m a s Day R u b i n h e a r s the taped c a l l , and r e c e i v e s the l i s t o f f i v e s u s p e c t s . Around s i x o ' c l o c k V o l o d i n c a l l s M a k a r y g i n ' s apartment; s i n c e he i s one of the f i v e s u s p e c t s , h i s t e l e p h o n e i s b e i n g tapped. The r e c o r d i n g i s d e l i v e r e d t o R u b i n f o r comparison w i t h the f i r s t one. At 3:15 p.m. on 26 December R u b i n d e c l a r e s t h a t phonoscopy has a \" r a t i o n a l c o r e , \" and he e x c u l p a t e s t h r e e o f the s u s p e c t s . V o l o d i n i s a r r e s t e d around s i x o ' c l o c k . I t i s i n Chapter 55 t h a t V o l o d i n u s e s h i s t e l e p h o n e t o c a l l the M a k a r y g i n apartment. H i s s i s t e r - i n - l a w , K l a r a , - 16 -who i s a f r e e employee i n the vacuum l a b o r a t o r y at Mavrino, answers the telephone. At t h i s p o i n t , w i t h the c o i n c i d e n c e of Dickens, a few threads of the p l o t converge. K l a r a i s i n love w i t h the p r i s o n e r Ruska Doronin who, h a t i n g p r i v i l e g e , has aroused her s o c i a l consciousness and turned her a g a i n s t her own \" c l a s s . \" She r e a l i z e s t h a t her f a t h e r has c o n v i c t e d (on order) a number of innocent men. And, f i n a l l y , there i s the seemingly absurd \" i n t e r f e r e n c e \" of the c o n v i c t Rubin i n the l i f e of the diplomat. These \" c o i n c i d e n c e s \" are regarded by H e i n r i c h B o l l as the device of a mathematician. He c a l l s i t \"a macabre t r i b u t e to the c l a s s i c a l novel.\"^3 The c l o s i n g l i n e s of the n o v e l provide some i n s i g h t i n t o S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s a t t i t u d e s . A F r e n c h correspondent, see-i n g a d e l i v e r y van i n s c r i b e d MEAT i n f o u r languages, remem-bers having seen o t h e r s throughout the day. He j o t s down i n h i s notebook t h a t Moscow i s w e l l p r o v i s i o n e d . The van i s a camouflaged B l a c k M a r i a i n which twenty p r i s o n e r s are being t r a n s p o r t e d from the sharashka back to the camps. I t seems s i g n i f i c a n t t h a t S o l z h e n i t s y n chose to end h i s n o v e l w i t h a \"wholesale box on the ear f o r O c c i d e n t a l s t u p i d i t y . ..lij. T h l s \"^He w r i t e s : \"Nur i n d i e s e n beiden [ s i c ] K a p i t e l n , d i e genau i n der M i t t e des Romans l i e g e n , und das i s t b e i einem Mathematiker gewiB k e i n Z u f a l l , wird dem k l a s s i s c h e n Roman e i n makabrer Z o l l g e z a h l t , wird S c h i c k s a l 'zusammen-g e f u h r t ' . \" B o l l , op. c i t . , p. 1+00. 1 [ j - I b i d . , p. bj6. - 17 -tongue-in-cheek i n c i d e n t a d v e r t i s e s the super-secrecy which enveloped S t a l i n ' s o p e r a t i o n s . But i t serves a second pur-pose: i t assembles the threads of the S l a v o p h i l e p h i l o s o p h y which courses through the n o v e l . 2 I f the n a r r a t i v e looseness of The F i r s t C i r c l e i s a source of a e s t h e t i c d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n , the s t y l e of the n o v e l redeems i t . T h i s s e c t i o n examines S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s c h a r a c t e r -i s t i c mode of expression,which has won him c r i t i c a l r e s p e c t as the l e a d i n g s t y l i s t of contemporary Russian prose. T h i s problem i s too complex to d e a l w i t h i t f u l l y . The aim here i s to survey the s y n t a c t i c d evices and f i g u r a t i v e system of h i s work. Though the fundamental p o i n t of r e f e r e n c e i s the novel.The F i r s t C i r c l e , the d i s c u s s i o n i s supplemented w i t h examples from other works. In t h i s way i t i s hoped to avoid s u p e r f i c i a l i t y . S e v e r a l s c h o l a r l y a r t i c l e s have been devoted to the problem at hand. These are a l l l i n g u i s t i c a l l y o r i e n t e d and mixed i n c h a r a c t e r , d e a l i n g w i t h problems of both s t y l e and d i c t i o n . I t i s u s e f u l to summarize v e r y b r i e f l y the content of each. The S o v i e t l i n g u i s t , T. G. Vinokur, i n h i s paper, \"0 yazyke i s t i l e p o v e s t i A . I . S o l z h e n i t s y n a Odin den' Ivana D e n i s o v i c h a , \" has t r e a t e d the v a r i o u s speech l e v e l s of t h i s n o v e l l a and some of i t s skaz elements i n an attempt to show - 18 -I'D the I n n e r u n i t y o f i t s v e r b a l - f i g u r a t i v e c o m p o s i t i o n . The b r i e f r e v i e w a r t i c l e by L u d m i l a K o e h l e r , \" A l e x a n d e r S o l z h e -n i t s y n and R u s s i a n L i t e r a r y T r a d i t i o n , \" compares Leskov and S o l z h e n i t s y n and i n t r o d u c e s some of the l i n g u i s t i c and s yn-- i L t a c t i c d e v i c e s o f h i s e a r l y s t o r i e s . L e o n i d Rzhevsky has c o n t r i b u t e d two papers t o the d i s c u s s i o n . The f i r s t , \"Obraz r a s s k a z c h i k a v p o v e s t i S o l z h e n i t s y n a H d i n den' I v a n a D e n i s -o v i c h a , \" examines the language o f b o t h n a r r a t o r and c e n t r a l c h a r a c t e r o f the s t o r y and shows where S o l z h e n i t s y n d e p a r t s 17 from the s k a z . The second, \"Tvorcheskoye s l o v o u S o l z h e -n i t s y n a , \" i s a g e n e r a l d i s c u s s i o n o f some of S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s s u c c e s s e s and f a i l u r e s as he s e a r c h e s f o r e x p r e s s i v e forms. The a r t i c l e s t r e s s e s the R u s s i a n f o l k speech and c o l l o q u i a l s p o n t a n e i t y of h i s p r o s e . F i n a l l y , i n h i s paper \" ' L a g e r -n y i yazyk' po p r o i z v e d e n i y a m A. I . S o l z h e n i t s y n a , \" E. S h i l -yayev p r o v i d e s an i n t r o d u c t o r y d i s c u s s i o n of c e r t a i n morph-o l o g i c a l c a t e g o r i e s of camp language and c l a s s i f i e s v a r i o u s g r a m m a t i c a l forms. 7 W h i l e a l l these s t u d i e s have produced \"'\"-'in V o p r o sy k u l ' t u r y r e c h i , Vypusk 6, Moskva: I z d a t e l ' s t v o \"Nauka,\" 1965, pp. 16-32. l 6 T h e R u s s i a n Review,XXVI: 2 ( A p r i l 1967), PP.I76-8I4.. 17 See S t u d i e s i n S l a v i c L i n g u i s t i c s and P o e t i c s i n Honor of B o r i s 0. Unbegaun, ed. Robert M a g i d o f f e t . a l . , New York: New Y o r k U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1968, pp. 165-78. l 8 N o v y i Z h u r n a l , No.96 (September 1969), pp. 76-90. 1 9 N o v y i Z h u r n a l , No.95 (June 1969), pp. 232-I4.7. - 19 -v a l u a b l e r e s u l t s , the q u e s t i o n of syntax and f i g u r a t i v e de-v i c e s r e q u i r e s f u r t h e r i n v e s t i g a t i o n . The s t y l i s t i c f e a t u r e which d i s t i n g u i s h e s the prose under examination here i s i t s s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d q u a l i t y . The labour-camp t a l e p a r t i c u l a r l y i s a c o n t r o l l e d , a s c e t i c a l l y -executed r e p o r t on human f o r t i t u d e i n a h o s t i l e m i l i e u . In S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s r e p r o d u c t i o n of the camp tragedy there i s no c r y of outraged d i g n i t y . The extremely s u b t l e i r o n y i s ev-i d e n t o n l y i n the t w i s t s and t u r n s of the f a t e of the cent-r a l c h a r a c t e r . In the l a t e r n o v e l s S o l z h e n i t s y n i s l e s s r e -s t r a i n e d : i r o n y abounds i n v a r i o u s shades of i n t e n s i t y , and 20 \"the element of combative abusiveness\" i s more marked. The c h a r a c t e r i s t i c p r o p e r t y of the s y n t a c t i c d e s i g n i s l a c o n i c i s m . The conciseness which can be observed i n the chapters and paragraphs of The F i r s t C i r c l e i s a l s o t y p i c a l of i t s sentences. Each statement conveys only the e s s e n t i a l i n f o r m a t i o n . T h i s procedure i s f o l l o w e d whether the comment renders a p e r s o n a l o p i n i o n on a l i f e phenomenon or a s o c i a l or p o l i t i c a l judgment. S t r i c t avoidance of e l a b o r a t i o n and the s t r i v i n g f o r candor impose a search f o r s t y l i s t i c means whereby emotion can be communicated. Exclamations and verb-omissions, which are d i s t i n c t i v e marks of e l l i p t i c a l syntax, are commonly employed. Some examples are the f o l l o w i n g : Brown, op. c i t . , p. 307. - 20 -Summa summarum s t a l i n s k o g o p r a v o s u d i y a l (i+t512) Budushcheye obshchestvol 0 nyom g o v o r i l i tak l e g k o l ik'k3S) Eto b y l pocherk S t a l i n a J - to v e l i k o l e p n o y e uravneniye d r u z e i i vragov, kotoroye v y d e l y a l o yego i z o v s e i chelovecheskoi i s t o r i i l (3:223) T h i s e l l i p t i c a l c o n s t r u c t i o n i s p a r t i c u l a r l y adapt-able to the mental a c t i o n o f the characters,where i t serves i n the immediate t r a n s m i s s i o n o f a thought or an i d e a . F o r example: \"Gospodii Svoimi nogami - da na v o l y u , a?\" (1:52) In the f o l l o w i n g passage (from Cancer Ward), t h i s technique has f a c i l i t a t e d the author's compressing of s e v e r a l a c t i o n s i n t o one; the e f f e c t i s not s e r i o u s l y reduced by the i n t e r -posed p a r e n t h e s i s : \" T e p e r ' t k l e i - devushke, meshok - v r u k i (on mezhdu nogami vsyo vremya, chtob ne u p e r l i ) , pis'ma - v yashc h i k , a samomu - begoml\" (2:5^7) E l l i p s i s i s one of the p r o p e r t i e s which g i v e t o the prose of the labour-camp s t o r y i t s d i s t i n g u i s h e d c h a r a c t e r . To achieve the d e s i r e d a r t i s t i c e f f e c t s , the syntax must be subordinated to the p o p u l a r - f o l k o r i e n t a t i o n of the v i l l a g e speech of the main c h a r a c t e r . T h e r e f o r e d e v i a t i o n s from the PI normal syntax occ u r . The sentence may l o s e a c o n j u n c t i o n or g a i n an i n t e r j e c t i o n : V i d i t Shukhov - zametalsya T s e z a r ' , tyk-myk, da pozdno. (1:121+) These are t r e a t e d by L. Rzhevsky i n \"Obraz r a s -ska z c h i k a . . . ,\" op. c i t . . p. 169. - 21 -Vosemnadtsatym i Shukhov v t i s n u l s y a . Da begom k svoyei vagonke, da na podporochku nogu z a k i n u l -s h a s t ' l - i uzh naverkhu. (1:132) Another d i s t i n c t i v e mark of S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s l a c o n i c -ism i s i t s p r o v e r b i a l bent. The concentration-camp s t o r y i s i n s p i r e d by the wisdom o f sayings and by-words which convey the rudimentary Weltanschauung of the u n p r e t e n t i o u s peasant and h i s o b s e r v a t i o n s on the c o n d i t i o n s of p r i s o n l i f e . Here the conciseness of the syntax has t h a t q u a l i t y which Burton 22 Rubin d e s c r i b e s as \" s t a c c a t o b r e v i t y . \" T h i s i s the e f f e c t produced by judgments d e l i v e r e d i n p a s s i n g . Since the p o i n t of view i s t h a t of a simple peasant, genuine p r o v e r b i a l i t y i s achieved by r e n d e r i n g the verb i n f i n a l p o s i t i o n . A f t e r the method of Rzhevsky, three fundamental c a t e g o r i e s may be d i s t i n g u i s h e d . ^ Two borrowings from V l a d i m i r Dai's Poslov- i t s y russkogo naroda (Moskva: G-IKhL, 1957) are i n the f i r s t c l a s s : K r y a k h t i da gnis'.A upryosh'sya - perelomish' sya. (1: ) Bryukho - z l o d e i , starogo dobra ne pomnit. \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 . .(1:112) The members of the second group are v a r i a t i o n s of types a l -ready e x i s t i n g i n the language: Ispytok ne ubytok. . . . (1:7) 2 2 \" H i g h l i g h t s of the 1962-1963 Thaw,\" i n S o v i e t L i t e r a t u r e i n the S i x t i e s : An I n t e r n a t i o n a l Symposium, ed. Max Hayward and Edward L. Crowley, New York: Praeger, 196I4-, p. 90. 23 Rzhevsky, op. c i t . , pp. 168-9. - 22 -T y o p l y i z y a b l o g o r a z v e kogda poimyot? (1:20) B i t o l sobake t o l ' k o p l e t ' p o k a z h i . d : i m Kto kogo smozhet, t o t togo i g l o z h e t . (1:56) Gretomu myorzlogo ne p o n y a t ' . (1:88) S t y l i s t i c a l l y , t h e t h i r d c a t e g o r y i s the most i m p o r t a n t , f o r i t s components t e s t i f y t o S o l z h e n i t s y n 1 s o r i g i n a l i t y i n the f i e l d o f p o p u l a r - f o l k p h r a s e o l o g y . The f o l l o w i n g a p h o r i s t i c judgments on the phenomena o f camp l i f e show t h a t the n a r r -a t o r has p e n e t r a t e d c o m p l e t e l y the mind o f the c e n t r a l f i g -u r e : V k a l y v a i na s o v e s t ' - odno s p a s e n i y e . (1:7) D l y a l y u d e i d e l a y e s h ' - k a c h e s t v o d a i , d l y a d u r a k a d e l a y e s h ' - d a i pokazukhu. (1:13) Ne v y k u s i s h ' - ne v y p r o s i s h ' . (1:[|_2) D v e s t i gramm z h i z n ' y u p r a v y a t . (1:1+7) Mi s k i n e s t i - ne rukavom t r y a s t i . (1:110) Khuzhe n e t , kak bryukho r a s t r a v i s h ' , da popustu.(1:117) Kak v o t b y s t r a y a v o s h k a vsegda p e r v a y a S o l z h e n i t s y n o c c a s i o n a l l y employs the p r o v e r b as a d i d a c t i c v e h i c l e . W h i l e the t r a n s p o r t from M a v r i n o i s g e t t i n g under way, Khorobrov's comment a f f i r m s the m o r a l Tightness o f the p r i s o n e r s ' r e f u s a l s t o c o o p e r a t e i n the l a b o r a t o r y schemes: \"Net, r e b y a t a - l u c h s h e k h l e b s v o d o i , chem p i r o g s b e d o i . \" (l+:803) And S p i r i d o n Yegorov's i n s t i n c t i v e r e a c t i o n t o the problem o f good and e v i l i s a r e p r o d u c t i o n o f the f o l k a t t -n grebeshok popadayet. (1:122) - 23 -itu.de: \"Volkodav - prav, a lyudoyed - n e t l \" ( I 4 . S ^ 6 1 ) S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s chosen u n i t o f r e s p o n s i b i l i t y i n The F i r s t C i r c l e i s the sentence r a t h e r than the paragraph. The sentence i s designed to focus the reader's a t t e n t i o n on one t h i n g at a time. T h e r e f o r e a l l the nece s s a r y i n f o r m a t i o n on the matter at hand i s g i v e n at the same time. I f a d d i t i o n a l i n f o r m a t i o n i s r e q u i r e d , i t i s u s u a l l y r e p o r t e d i n a paren-t h e s i s ; S o l z h e n i t s y n r a r e l y puts i t i n a separate sentence. The m u l t i p l i c i t y o f s i n g l e - s e n t e n c e paragraphs i n The F i r s t C i r c l e may be a t t r i b u t e d to t h i s d e v i c e . To promote i n the paragraphs the l a c o n i c p r o p e r t i e s of the sentences, v a r i o u s techniques are used. F o r example, S o l z h e n i t s y n b r i l l i a n t l y e x p l o i t s the p r e d i l e c t i o n f o r par-t i c i p i a l c o n s t r u c t i o n s i n c o l l o q u i a l speech. The f o l l o w i n g n o n p e r i o d i c sentence-paragraph drawn from the i n i t i a l scene of the n o v e l i s an e x c e l l e n t i l l u s t r a t i o n : Wezatumanennyye dvoinyye s t e k l a vysokogo okna, nachinayushchegosya ot samogo p o l a , o t k r y v a l i g l a z u gde-to v n i z u t o r o p l i v o y e snovaniye u l i t s y i d v o r n i -kov, sgrebavshikh t o l ' k o chto v y p a v s h i i , no uzhe o t y a z h e l e v s h i i , k o r i c h n e v o - g r y a z n y i sneg i z - p o d nog peshekhodov. (3*5>) Common f e a t u r e s o f the lo n g e r sentences are s t r i n g s of verb forms and r e p e t i t i o n s . These d e v i c e s a s s i s t i n the c h a r a c t e r i z i n g of An d r e i Potapov, where the r e p e t i t i o n s l a y s t r e s s on h i s morning h a b i t s : Potapov i z pervykh v s t a l , g u l y a l , i z pervykh po-z a v t r a k a l , uzhe p o p i l i chayu, uzhe z a p r a v i l k oiku v - 214. \" z h y o s t k i i p a r a l l e l e p i p e d , s i d e l c h i t a l gazetu - no dushoi r v a l s y a na rabotu (yemu p r e d s t o y a l o segodnya g r a d u i r o v a t ' i n t e r e s n y i p r i b o r , im samim s d e l a n n y i ) . (1^:770) T h i s passage a l s o e x e m p l i f i e s S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s i n c l i n a t i o n to s u b s t i t u t e an independent p r o p o s i t i o n f o r a c a u s a l c l a u s e . The complex s y n t a c t i c p e r i o d i s f r e q u e n t l y a source of a e s t h e t i c p l e a s u r e . The p r o p e r t y which c h a r a c t e r i z e s the excerpt i n t r o d u c e d below i s i t s double i n t o n a t i o n , i n which the p a r e n t h e s i s does s e r v i c e as a rhythmic pause to balance the l o g i c a l l y s t r e s s e d members of the sentence. On d o l o z h i l , chto nochnoye dezhurstvo p r o s h l o v polnom poryadke, n a r u s h e n i i n i k a k i k h ne b y l o , chrez-vychainnykh zhe p r o i s s h e s t v i i dva: odno i z l o z h e n o v r a p o r t e (on p o l o z h i l pered Kliment'yevym r a p o r t na u g o l s t o l a , no r a p o r t t o t c h a s zhe s o r v a l s y a i po za-my s l o v a t o i k r i v o i s p l a n i r o v a l pod d a l ' n i i s t u l . Nade-l a s h i n k i n u l s y a za nim tuda i snova p r i n y o s na s t o l ) , vtoroye zhe s o s t o y a l o v vyzove zaklyuchyonnykh Bobi -n i n a i Pryanchikova k m i n i s t r u Gosbezopasnosti. (3:210) The scene has two l e v e l s of a c t i o n which operate simultane-o u s l y : while N a d e l a s h i n d e l i v e r s the r e p o r t , the author, as the omniscient n a r r a t o r , a t t r a c t s the reader's a t t e n t i o n by i n t e r j e c t i n g . The p a r e n t h e t i c humour does double duty: i t makes a show of Nadelashin's discomposure and u t t e r i n e p t i -tude i n the presence of h i s s u p e r i o r , and i t s u b t l y d e r i d e s the whole b u r e a u c r a t i c p r o c e e d i n g . S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s penchant f o r b r e v i t y guides the f i g -u r a t i v e system of h i s work. He does not experiment i n t h i s f i e l d , a n d as a r e s u l t h i s comparisons are o f t e n commanding. - 25 -L i k e T o l s t o y , he does not r e s o r t t o f i g u r a t i v e language f o r a e s t h e t i c e f f e c t s . I n s t e a d , these are c r e a t e d by eloquence. His metaphors are d i s t i n g u i s h e d by o r i g i n a l i t y , a n d the more ex p r e s s i v e of them are u n d e r l a i n by coarse humour. The camp s t o r y c o n t a i n s the f o l l o w i n g examples: namordnik d o r o z h n y i . In p r i s o n j a r g o n the namordnik i s a \"muzzle,\" a s c r e e n p l a c e d over the c e l l window to conceal the view, yet admit l i g h t . In the combination here i t s i g -n i f i e s a b i t of rag to \"muzzle\" the p r i s o n e r ' s face a g a i n s t the b i t t e r c o l d as he goes out to work beyond the camp con-f i n e s : \"Namordnik do r o z h n y i , tryapochka, za dorogu vsya o t -mokla ot dykhaniya i koi-gde morozom p r i k h v a t i l a s ' , k o r k o i s t a l a l e d y a n o i . \" (1:35) b u s h l a t derevyannyi. T h i s e x p r e s s i o n , which comes from Ru s s i a n t h i e v e s ' cant, f i n d s i t s E n g l i s h counterpart i n the \"wooden overcoat\" of underworld s l a n g . \"Doktora e t i v bush-l a t derevyannyi l e c h a t . \" (1:93) A f i n a l example i s the f o l l o w i n g metonymical d e s c r i p t i o n of the lOl+th brigade as \"bryukhi pustyye poyasami brezentovymi zatyanuty.\" (1:14-5) The Bolshaya Lubyanka p r i s o n i n Moscow i s d e s c r i b e d i n such a way as to c o n t r i b u t e to the atmosphere of impend-i n g doom which p r e v a i l s around V o l o d i n . The combination of v metaphor and s i m i l e imparts to i t a t h r e a t e n i n g aspect and, i t seems, pr e s e n t s i t as a symbol of S t a l i n ' s T e r r o r : \" E t a - 26 -sero-chyornaya d e v y a t i e t a z h n a y a tusha b y l a l i n k o r , i vosem-na d t s a t ' p i l y a s t r o v kak vosemnadtsat' o r u d i i n y k h bashen vy-s i l i s ' po pravomu yeyo b o r t u . \" (3:8) S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s metaphors are o f t e n employed f o r the purpose of i r o n y . The d e s c r i p t i o n of the n o v e l Far From Us i s s a r c a s t i c i n the extreme and has the e f f e c t of e x c l u d i n g s o c i a l i s t r e a l i s m from l i t e r a t u r e : \" E t a k n i g a b y l a - p i r o g bez n a c h i n k i , y a i t s o s vytekshim soderzhimym, chuchelo ot u b i t o i p t i t s y . . . . \" (3:3214.) S i m i l e s are much more numerous i n h i s works. These too are p r e c i s e and simple, and are p a r t i c u l a r l y s u c c e s s f u l i n conveying the harshness of p r i s o n l i f e . In many of them S o l z h e n i t s y n e x p l o i t s pathos. The v i s u a l imagery and sense appeal are poignant i n the f o l l o w i n g examples: . . . kozha na l i t s e - kak kora dubovaya. (1:36) . . . o k r u z h i l i t u pechku, kak babu, vse obnimat' l e z u t . (1:51+-) . . . k a s h i t s u i . . . k n e i so svyashchen-nym trepetom pr i o b r a s h c h a y e s h ' s y a , p r i c h a -shchayesh'syal - kak k t o i prane i o g o v l (3:l+-9) S o l z h e n i t s y n has a keen s e n s i b i l i t y t o the o r d i n a r y phenomena of l i f e . His d e s c r i p t i o n of the young K l a r a Maka-r y g i n i n the hands of d e s t i n y r e v e a l t h a t d e l i c a c y of f e e l -i n g : \"Ona ne b y l a v i n o v a t a , chto n a s t u p i l o yeyo posledneye predel'noye sozrevaniye i neumolimym zakonom p r i r o d y ona dolzhna b y l a , kak sentyabr'skoye yabloko, upast' v r u k i t o -- 27 -mu, kto yeyo p o d k h v a t i t . \" ([).:528-9) S o v i e t o f f i c i a l s are t r e a t e d w i t h the contempt they deserve. At the beginning of The F i r s t C i r c l e the m i n i s t e r s of the government are s u i t a b l y d i m i n i s h e d f o r the amusement of the reader: \"Znaya nochnyye povadki v l a d y k i , vse shest' desyatkov m i n i s t r o v , kak s h k o l ' n i k i , bdyat v o z h i d a n i i vy-zova.\" (3:6) The C h r i s t i a n resonance which u n d e r l i e s the f o l l o w -i n g s i m i l e from Cancer Ward i s p a r t i c u l a r l y s t r i k i n g . Here S o l z h e n i t s y n mentions the ease w i t h which e x i l e s and former camp martyrs r e c o g n i z e each o t h e r : \"Khotya ne b y l o im uch-rezhdeno s r e d i o s t a l ' n y k h n i pogon, n i yavnoi formy, n i na-rukavnoi p o v y a z k i , - a o n i legko o p o z n a v a l i drug druga: kak budto po kakomu-to svetyashchemusya znaku vo l b u ; kak budto po stigmatam na kostyakh l a d o n i i plyusny.\" (2:525) I t i s , perhaps, a t r i b u t e to the a r t i s t r y t h a t the symbolism needs no e l a b o r a t i o n . The rhythm of the l o n g e r passages i n The F i r s t C i r - c l e i s a t t r i b u t a b l e i n l a r g e p a r t to S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s f a c u l t y f o r f i n d i n g the c o r r e c t combination of words. T h i s f e l i c i t y can be seen i n h i s choice of e p i t h e t s . There i s nothing un-expected or s u r p r i s i n g i n h i s s e l e c t i o n of m e t a p h o r i c a l ad-j e c t i v e s i n the f o l l o w i n g e x t r a c t ; indeed, t h e i r p a r t i c u l a r aptness r e s i d e s i n t h e i r v e r y usualness ( i f t h e i r frequency i n p o e t i c d i c t i o n i s c o n s i d e r e d ) : \". . . m o s k v i c h i , p r i y e z -- 28 -zhayushchiye po voskresen'yam v roshchu, ne mogli by pred-s t a v i t ' , skol'ko nezauryadnikh z h i z n e i , rastoptannykh pory- vov, vzmetennykh s t r a s t e i i gosudarstvennykh t a i n b y l o sob-rano, s t i s n u t o , s p l e t e n o i dokrasna nakaleno v etom podgo-rodnem odinokom starinnom z d a n i i [My i t a l i c s ] . \" (3:280) The e f f e c t i v e n e s s of the f i r s t three elements i n the i t a l i c i z e d sequence above i s enhanced by t h e i r being p l a c e d s y n t a c t i c -a l l y p a r a l l e l w i t h the f o u r t h e x p r e s s i o n , the a n t i c l i m a c t i c \"gosudarstvennyye t a i n y . \" Passages of pure d e s c r i p t i o n o f t e n have the q u a l i t y of prose p o e t r y . The v i v i d imagery of the phrase \" s h c h e d r y i t s a r s t v e n n y i i n e i \" (3:183), f o r example, has the same f i n e -ness of p e r c e p t i o n which d i s t i n g u i s h e s the prose poems, the Krokhotnyye r a s s k a z y . And, whatever the purpose, the e p i t h -e t s a p p l i e d to the d e s c r i p t i o n o f Yakonov's o f f i c e have the d i s t i n c t i v e s i g n s of p o e t i c e x p r e s s i o n : \". . . v b a r k h a t i s -t o i t i s h i n e i polirovannom uyute k a b i n e t a . . . . \" (3:271) When the scene changes from the sanctuary of nature to the i n f e r n a l S i b e r i a n \"underworld,\" the language of poe-t r y i s , a p p r o p r i a t e l y , f o r s a k e n . The e p i t h e t s , however, r e -main p e r t i n e n t . F o r example: \"V etom ledyanom mire, k o t o r y i . . . otshtampoval Olegu dushu. . . ,\" (2:52!+) \" v o l ' c h i za-kony GULAGa\" (3:95) and many o t h e r s . S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s prose i s never formal or o r a t o r i c a l ; e m bellished language f i n d s no place i n h i s s t y l e . His prose - 29 -i s candid, s i n c e r e and honest; i t does not have the s o p h i s -t i c a t i o n of much Western l i t e r a t u r e . The s i n c e r i t y r e s i d e s i n h i s s t r i v i n g f o r the sp o n t a n e i t y of c o l l o q u i a l and popu-l a r phraseology. His s k i l f u l use of new grammatical forms, d i a l e c t a l and a r c h a i c e x p r e s s i o n s and neologisms ( i n c l u d i n g s l i g h t l y m o d i f i e d borrowings from V l a d i m i r D a l ' , words and phrases used w i t h semantic change and others c o n s t r u c t e d by a f f i x a t i o n ) a c t s as a r e s t o r a t i v e and makes a v a l u a b l e con-t r i b u t i o n t o the contemporary l i t e r a r y language. I t has not been p o s s i b l e i n t h i s essay to d e a l w i t h a l l problems of s t y l e . Those q u e s t i o n s which s t i l l r e q u i r e i n v e s t i g a t i n g i n c l u d e d i a l o g u e s t r u c t u r e (which c o n t r i b u t e s i n important measure to the drama of the n o v e l ) , the use of symbol, the r e l a t e d problem of i r o n i c tone, and the e f f e c t s of v o c a b u l a r y and phraseology on s y n t a c t i c s t r u c t u r e . CHAPTER I I THE LANGUAGE OF THE CAMPS The primary purpose of t h i s chapter i s to de a l w i t h the d i c t i o n of the p r i s o n s and c o n c e n t r a t i o n camps as i t i s set down by S o l z h e n i t s y n . His two works One Day i n the L i f e of Ivan D e n i s o v i c h and The F i r s t C i r c l e are r i c h sources of the v o c a b u l a r y i n q u e s t i o n . The r e t i c e n c e of the government about the system of compulsory l a b o u r impedes i n v e s t i g a t i o n i n t h i s branch of l i n g u i s t i c s . Perhaps understandably, the censors do not p u b l i s h works t r e a t i n g p o l i t i c a l l y s e n s i t i v e themes. E x c e p t i o n a l l y , a few s t o r i e s and a r t i c l e s appeared d u r i n g the s o - c a l l e d \"thaw\" of the e a r l y 1960s. These works ( i n c l u d i n g S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s f i r s t s tory) are an embarrassment to the present l e a d e r s of the S o v i e t Union. Since S o l z h e n i t s y n was imprisoned under A r t i c l e $8, he served h i s sentence i n s p e c i a l i n s t i t u t i o n s r e s e r v e d f o r p o l i t i c a l o f f e n d e r s : f o u r years i n a s p e c i a l p r i s o n such as Mavrino, f o u r years i n a s p e c i a l camp. Therefore h i s n o v e l s do not f u r n i s h the l i n g u i s t w i t h a complete l e x i c o n of camp language. The w r i t t e n testimony of former inmates i n d i c a t e s t h a t word usage v a r i e d r e g i o n a l l y , and S o l z h e n i t s y n 1 s works do not i n c l u d e some of the v a r i a n t s . N e v e r t h e l e s s , h i s con-- 31 -t r i b u t i o n i s of c o n s i d e r a b l e v a l u e . The i n h a b i t a n t s of the penal i n s t i t u t i o n s came from d i v e r s e s o c i a l environments and d i f f e r e n t walks of l i f e and were of v a r i o u s p o l i t i c a l and r e l i g i o u s p e r s u a s i o n s and ed-u c a t i o n a l l e v e l s . I t i s not s u r p r i s i n g t h a t the language of the camps developed i n t o a p e c u l i a r l i n g u i s t i c conglomerate which d e r i v e d i t s components from the j a r g o n of p r o f e s s i o n s and t r a d e s , o f f i c i a l nomenclature, the slang of the \"under-world\" (the t h i e v e s ' cant known as b l a t n a y a muzyka) and the s l a n g elements which evolved i n s i d e the barbed wire i t s e l f . Prison-camp slang proper and the p o p u l a r - v u l g a r elements of everyday speech are no doubt mobile and m u t u a l l y r e p l e n i s h -i n g c a t e g o r i e s ; t h e r e f o r e they cannot be d i s t i n g u i s h e d w i t h c e r t a i n t y . T h i s essay employs the method of c l a s s i f y i n g and e x e m p l i f y i n g S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s use of v a r i o u s word groups. !\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 Nouns and S u b s t a n t i v e s Camp j a r g o n has been h i g h l y p r o d u c t i v e i n the f i e l d of noun f o r m a t i o n . The l a r g e number of neologisms t h a t have developed i n the e r a of the camps shows the tendency of the R u ssian language g e n e r a l l y to produce words by s u f f i x a t i o n . In p r i s o n usage many of these words have d i s p a r a g i n g conno-t a t i o n s , though the s u f f i x e s i n q u e s t i o n are not those which are u s u a l l y put to producing p e j o r a t i v e s . The s u f f i x - i s h k a (-ishko), f o r example, i s r a r e l y encountered. Instead, an-- 32 -imal imagery p l a y s a c o n s i d e r a b l e p a r t i n producing d i s d a i n or contempt. To t h i s category belong the f o l l o w i n g : shakal (cadger), popka ( s e n t r y i n the tower), and v o l k ( i n f o r m e r ) . The l a s t term i s ambiguous; i n the e x p r e s s i o n l a g e r n y i v o l k i t r e f e r s to a hardened p r i s o n e r . The f o l l o w i n g q u o t a t i o n s r e v e a l the ambiguity and c l a r i f y the usage: A Shukhovu krepko z a p o m n i l i s ' s l o v a yego pervogo b r i g a d i r a Kuzyomina - s t a r y i b y l l a g e r n y i v o l k , s i d e l k devyat'sot sorok tret'yemu godu uzhe dve-nad t s a t ' l e t . . . . (1:5-6) . . . i kogda N e r z h i n s t a l nakhazhivat' k S p i r i -donu - S p i r i d o n i yego sosedi po koikam druzhno o p r e d e l i l i , chto N e r z h i n - v o l k i rys k a y e t za do-by chei d l y a kuma. (1+: 5J+I4.) The abusive v o c a t i v e forms of the f i g u r a t i v e slang are a l s o u n d e r l a i n by animal imagery, but these are not neologisms. The process of s u f f i x a t i o n has produced a number of nouns which d i s t i n g u i s h the v a r i o u s ranks and l e v e l s of the p r i s o n s o c i e t y or name the items of penal p a r a p h e r n a l i a . I t i s convenient to group these nouns by s u f f i x . 1. Terminations i n - i k , - n i k , - c h i k . - s h c h i k are q u i t e common and f a l l i n t o two groups. Those which belong to the camp jar g o n proper, w i t h an approximate E n g l i s h e q u i v a l e n t , are:, l a g e r n i k (a camp inmate), b y t o v i k (a p r i s o n e r c o n v i c -te d f o r a domestic c r i m e ) . d v o i n i k ( i n S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s usage, a \"double agent\"), p o v t o r n i k ( r e c i d i v i s t ) , n amordnik(either a screen over the c e l l window or used synonymously w i t h the phrase po rogam - v. i n f r a ) , k r e s t i k (a person c o n v i c t e d on - 33 -r e l i g i o u s grounds), u k a z c h i k (a p r i s o n e r c o n v i c t e d f o r v i o -l a t i n g a government decree or u k a z ) , o t k a z c h i k (one who r e -f u s e s to work), predzonnik (the pre-zone a r e a ) . The second group c o n t a i n s the words i n t r o d u c e d i n t o the camp language. Those which are well-known beyond the p r i s o n s i n c l u d e : nor-m i r o v s h c h i k (norm-setter), d e s y a t n i k (job foreman), naryad-c h i k (work a s s i g n o r ) , b e z d e l ' n i k ( l o a f e r , i d l e r ) , b r i g a d n i k (a member of a brigade or work-gang), and n a c h a l ' n i k (boss, c h i e f , commander, e t c . ) . 2. Terminations i n -ka. -ovka, -yashka compose a l a r g e c l a s s . I t i s i m p o s s i b l e to separate the neologisms i n t h i s category from the terms i n use i n p r e - r e v o l u t i o n a r y p r i s o n s and f o r c e d - l a b o u r i n s t i t u t i o n s . I t i s reasonable to suggest t h a t vol'nyashka (a d e p r e c i a t o r y v a r i a n t of v o l ' n y i and the slang vol'nyaga, d e s i g n a t i n g a c i v i l i a n h i r e d by the p r i s o n a u t h o r i t i e s ) i s a neologism of the S t a l i n e r a . Zanachka (a \"fence\") i s c l e a r l y d e r i v e d from t h i e v e s ' cant. The o r i g i n of the neologism shalashovka (a woman p r i s o n e r of easy v i r -tue) has been e x p l a i n e d by S h i l y a y e v . 2 ^ \" The word comes from shalash, a temporary s h e l t e r f o r such women. Popka (parrot) has been mentioned above. Pa i k a and p o l p a i k a are r e f e r e n c e s to the bread r a t i o n . The minimum guaranteed r a t i o n i s a l s o known as the g a r a n t i i k a . The p r i s o n bunks, made of p l a n k s , 2 ^ S h i l y a y e v , op. c i t . , p. 2I4.O - 3h -were arranged i n t i e r s of f o u r ; each was c a l l e d a vagonka. an e x p r e s s i o n which a l s o designates a group of f o u r p r i s o n -e r s . Other terms are: prozharka ( r o a s t e r - f o r d i s i n f e c t i n g c l o t h e s ) , zapretka ( f o r b i d d e n zone), r a z d a t k a ( d i s t r i b u t i o n p r e m i s e s ) , komandirovka (a p l a c e of temporary work - an ex-ample of semantic change from the m i l i t a r y usage), posadka (both a p r i s o n sentence and the act of i m p r i s o n i n g ) , kormu-shka (feeding s l o t i n a c e l l door - a semantic e x t e n s i o n o f \"fe e d i n g t r o u g h \" ) , shestyorka (a p r i s o n e r i n the s e r v i c e of the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n and attached to the s e r v i n g c l a s s i n the m e s s - h a l l ) , and desyatka (a ten-year term - probably a neo-lo g i s m of the S t a l i n e r a ) . Mostyrka ( s i m u l a t i o n or fak i n g ) i s one of many terms s i g n i f y i n g f a k e r y : \" . . . Rus'ka . . . r a s s k a z y v a l . . . kak on do k h o d i l v s y r o i shakhte, kak s t a l d e l a t ' sebe mostyrku - yezhednevnuyu temperaturu, nagrevaya obe podmyshki kamnyami odinakovoi massy. . . .\"(3:361) The word sharashka, the p r i s o n e r s ' d i s d a i n f u l name f o r the Mav-r i n o I n s t i t u t e , i s an i n s t a n c e of semantic change; the word d e r i v e s from a S o v i e t s l a n g e x p r e s s i o n s i g n i f y i n g a d e c e i t -f u l , s i n i s t e r e n t e r p r i s e . F i n a l l y , the word zechka (female p r i s o n e r ) i s the counterpart of zek. 3. Terminations i n -aga (-yaga) i n c l u d e a small number of words which, apart from b l a t y a g a ( c r i m i n a l a l s o known as b l a t a r ' and b l a t n o i who l i v e s by b l a t or \" c o n n e c t i o n \" ) , are a l l f i r m l y a s s o c i a t e d w i t h the camps and p r i s o n s . They are: - 35 -vol'nyaga (v. supra), bedolaga (the most unf o r t u n a t e or un-l u c k y of men), rabotyaga (an o r d i n a r y p r i s o n e r who i s doing g e n e r a l assignment hard l a b o u r i n the zone), and dokhodyaga (a rabotyaga i n the f i n a l stages of p h y s i c a l exhaustion who i s f a c i n g death). 1+.. C o l l e c t i v e s and p l u r a l s are r a r e . Among those which occur i n S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s works are the f o l l o w i n g : s i d k i i s a g e n e r a l p l u r a l f o r p r i s o n e r s s e r v i n g a sentence; i t d e r i v e s from the verb s i d e t ' (to s i t ) ; p e r e s i d k i are those who have \"o v e r s a t , \" t h a t i s , served more than the a l l o t t e d sentence j 'fc^ie p r i d u r n y a or p r i d u r k i are the \" t r u s t i e s \" who c o n s t i t u t e the s e r v i n g c l a s s . S o l z h e n i t s y n d e s c r i b e s them as f o l l o w s : No eto b y l i ne seryye z e k i , a tvyordyye lagernyye p r i d u r k i , pervyye s v o l o c h i , s i d e v s h i y e v zone. Lyu-dei e t i k h r a b o t y a g i s c h i t a l i n i z h e der'ma (kak i te s t a v i l i r a b o t y a g ) . No s p o r i t ' s nimi b y l o b e s p o l e z -no: u p r i d u r n i mezh soboi s p a i k a i s n a d z i r a t e l y a m i tozhe. (1:103) The s u b s t a n t i v e b l a t n y y e i s the p o l i t i c a l p r i s o n e r s ' d e s i g -n a t i o n of the common c r i m i n a l s who c a l l themselves u r k i . 5. M i s c e l l a n e o u s t e r m i n a t i o n s . The s u f f i x - s tvo occurs i n the f a m i l i a r dezhurstvo (duty) and n a c h a l ' s t v o (adminis-t r a t i o n ) . A t h i r d , gadstvo (approximately e q u i v a l e n t to ga-d o s t ' ) , appears to be one of S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s neologisms. The d i s d a i n f u l s u f f i x -yak occurs i n dezhurnyak (dezhurnyi nad-z i r a t e l ' ) . A few nouns end i n -ok: p r i d u r o k i s the s i n g u l a r \u00C2\u00B0f P r i d u r k i ; potok (wave of p r i s o n e r s ) ; g l a z o k (peephole i n - 36 -a c e l l d oor); and voronok (diminutive of voron, the R u s s i a n e q u i v a l e n t of B l a c k M a r i a ) . The t e r m i n a t i o n -ach appears i n the forms stukach (informer) and s t r o g a c h ( s t r i c t s o l i t a r y , a l s o d esignated by the a d j e c t i v e s t r o g i i ) . S e v e r a l nouns which are c l o s e l y a s s o c i a t e d w i t h the concentration-camp p e r i o d cannot be c l a s s i f i e d i n t h i s way. Three which have undergone semantic s h i f t are: shmon (body-search) , parasha (rumour), and kum (the p r i s o n e r s ' name f o r the s e c r e t p o l i c e o p e r a t i v e ) . Parasha continues to be used i n the meaning \"slop-bucket,\" but a shmon i s much more than an obysk. The f o l l o w i n g e x t r a c t s i l l u s t r a t e the usage: Krasnoguben'kii o t k r y l portsigar,tol\u00C2\u00BBko chto po-darennyi Potapovym, posmotrel mundshtuki vsekh p a p i -ros,ne zapryatano l i chto v n i k h , pokovyryalsya mezh spichek v korobke, net l i pod n i m i , p r o v e r i l r u b c h i k i nosovogo p l a t k a , ne z a s h i t o l i chto - i nichego dru-gogo v karmanakh ne o b n a r u z h i l . Togda, prosunuv r u k i mezhdu n i z h n e i rubashkoi i rasstyognutym pidzhakom, on obkhlopal ves' korpus Nerzhina, nashchupivaya,net l i chego zasunutogo pod rubashku i i i mezhdu rubash-k o i i manishkoi. Potom on p r i c e l na k o r t o c h k i i t e c -nym obkhvatom dvukh g o r s t e i p r o v y o l sverkhu v n i z po odnoi noge Nerzhina, potom po d r u g o i . (3:268) Chtob napugat' vsekh, nado bylo khot' chast' o t p r a -v i t ' . Po lageryam p o l z l i groznyye p a r a s h i o skorykh etapakh na Sever. (3:293) B y l kum - l a g e r n y i oper s t a r s h i i l e i t e n a n t Kamy-shan, o d i n n a d t s a t ' mesyatsev k r e s t i v s h i i yego na v t o r o i srok, na novuyu desyatku. (3:21+5) The p r i s o n jargon, has s e v e r a l methods of expressing f a k e r y . The nouns employed are: mostyrka (v. supra), chernukha, and tukhta. T h e i r meanings are shown i n the f o l l o w i n g examples: - 37 -A mezhdu tern vsyo eto by l a chernukha ( p u t a n i -tsa) , Nerzhin t e m n i l po vecheram na s l u c h a i za-khoda n a c h a l ' s t v a . (3:30) Potom on s i d e l , o t k r y v d l y a chernukhi spravoch-n i k i poglyadyvaya, chto d e l a y e t s y a s yego l i s t o r a d a i ' s h e . (i+:608) Pro sebya S p i r i d o n , yeshchyo kogda g o v o r i l o generale Yegorove, uzhe prekrasno dogadalsya, chto v y z v a l i yego ne i z - z a kakol Germanii, chto f o t o -g r a f i y a b y l a tukhta, kum t e m n l l , a v y z v a l iraenno i z - z a tokarnogo stanka. . . . (l+:676) E x t e r n a l evidence suggests t h a t t u k h t a i s a r e g i o n a l v a r i a -t i o n . In Unto P a r v i l a h t i ' s memoirs the meaning given to the word i s much wider. ^There i t i s a g e n e r a l term f o r f r a u d u -l e n c e . P a r v i l a h t i ' s e x p l a n a t i o n of t u k h t a corresponds pre-c i s e l y w i t h what E l i n o r L i p p e r c a l l s t u f t a . She w r i t e s : T u f t a i s f a k e r y of a l l k i n d s . . . . A man who understands the a r t of t u f t a can always t u r n out s a t i s f a c t o r y work, although i n r e a l i t y h i s work should not pass. In the evening, f o r example, two wood choppers show t h e i r p i l e of wood to the f r e e b r i g a d i e r . He checks i t and notes down: twelve cu-b i c y ards. That i s a r e s p e c t a b l e performance. N e v e r t h e l e s s , the two wood choppers are not n o t i c e * a b l y t i r e d . In a c t u a l i t y they have f e l l e d j u s t en-ough wood to camouflage a r t f u l l y a p i l e of brush. That i s t u f t a . 2 6 L i p p e r served her sentence i n Kolyma, P a r v i l a h t i h i s i n the Temnikovsky Camp i n the autonomous Mord v i n i a n R e p u b l i c , and 2^Unto P a r v i l a h t i , B e r i a ' s Gardens: Ten Years' Cap- t i v i t y i n R u s s i a and S i b e r i a , t r a n s , from F i n n i s h by A l a n B l a i r , London: Hutchinson, 1959. See pp. 99-100. E l i n o r L i p p e r , E l e v e n Years i n S o v i e t P r i s o n Camps, t r a n s , from German by R i c h a r d and C l a r a Winston, London: H o l l i s and C a r t e r , 1951. See pp. 11+9-50. - 38 -hence c l o s e r to the scene of S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s imprisonment i n Kazakhstan. T h i s may account f o r the v a r i a n t s p e l l i n g . Other nouns i n t h i s c l a s s are v e r t u k h a i (camp over-seer) , s f i n k s (sphinx, a guard), f i t i l ' (a m o r a l l y and phy-s i c a l l y exhausted p r i s o n e r ) and f r a i e r (a t e n d e r f o o t - usu-a l l y a \" p o l i t i c a l \" and an o b j e c t of e x p l o i t a t i o n by the or-d i n a r y c r i m i n a l s ) \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 The neologism zek i s of i n t e r e s t . In s e v e r a l p l a c e s i n S o l z h e n i t s y n the word i s w r i t t e n i n the form ze-ka; t h i s i n d i c a t e s i t s o r i g i n . The o f f i c i a l d e s i g n a t i o n of p r i s o n e r (zaklyuchyonnyi) was i n s c r i b e d z/k (read: ze-ka). S o l z h e n i -tsyn's n o v e l s show t h a t by the time of h i s imprisonment the neologism had acquired both gender forms (zek, zechka), the p l u r a l z e k i , (and even an a d j e c t i v a l form z e k o v s k i i ) , which a l l f o l l o w the r e g u l a r d e c l e n s i o n a l paradigm f o r t h e i r r e s -p e c t i v e c l a s s e s . To a s p e c i a l category belong the nouns which d e r i v e from the process of c o n t r a c t i o n . The b u c o l i c - s o u n d i n g camp names are mostly complete s y l l a b i c c o n t r a c t i o n s . These are: Osoblag, Rechlag, Dubrovlag, O z e r l a g , S t e p l a g , and Peschan-l a g . The o n l y e x c e p t i o n i s L u g l a g , i n which the f i r s t s y l l -able i s a complete word. Other toponymies are d e r i v e d from the g e o g r a p h i c a l l o c a t i o n o f the camps: S e v u r a l l a g , I v d e l ' -l a g , K a r g o p o l l a g . There are two kinds of combined co n t r a c -t i o n . The f i r s t f o l l o w s Luglag, the second r e v e r s e s the or-- 39 -der of word and s y l l a b l e . S e l e c t i o n s : k o n t s l a g e r . lagpunkt, vagonzak, spetsbarak, spetstyur'ma, spetsodezhda, spetstema (of Nadya's u n i v e r s i t y d i s s e r t a t i o n ) , spetszadaniye, and on trie r o o t oper the s u b s t a n t i v e operupolnomochennyi. The l i t -e r a l c o n t r a c t i o n s , l i k e the combined c o n t r a c t i o n s , are a l s o subordinated to the grammatical r u l e s . The common ones are: BUR, burovets; VOKhR, vokhrovets; URCh, u r c h e v t s y . In con-c l u s i o n , i t needs to be noted that S o l z h e n i t s y n uses o n l y a s m a l l number of s y l l a b i c c o n t r a c t i o n s ; most of the ones not l i s t e d above e x i s t beyond the camps and are w e l l known. 2. Verbs In t h i s s e c t i o n an attempt i s made to c l a s s i f y some of the slan g verbs which occur i n S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s usage. The l i s t i s supplemented i n the next s e c t i o n of the essay. Even so, i t remains incomplete; the number of verbs i s too great to g i v e a f u l l a n a l y s i s here. The o r i g i n of many of them i s obscure; t h e r e f o r e the c l a s s i f i c a t i o n i s t e n t a t i v e . Most of the q u o t a t i o n s below have been taken from The F i r s t C i r c l e . Of the f i v e passages which come from One Day i n the L i f e of Ivan D e n i s o v i c h , one i s u n a v o i d a b l e , and the others p r e f e r -able . 1. \" B l a t \" v e r b s . The verbs z a n a c h i t ' (to f i l c h ) , s t u -c h a t ' ( t o denounce) and temnit' (to b l u f f ) can be c l a s s i f i e d w i t h c o n v i c t i o n . They t r a c e t h e i r o r i g i n to t h i e v e s ' cant, - 1+0 -and t h e i r meanings have been known f o r many y e a r s , even be-yond p r i s o n w a l l s . 2 7 Masterka tak p r o s t o b r o s i t ' n e l ' z y a . Mozhet, z a v t r a Shukhov ne vyidet,mozhet, b r i g a d u na Sotsgorodok za-t u r n u t , mozhet, syuda yeshchyo polgoda ne popadyosh' - masterok propadai? Z a n a c h i t ' tak z a n a c h i t ' I (1 :l83-l|.) V l a g e r e vot kto pogibayet: kto m i s k i l i z h e t , kto na sanchast' nadeyetsya da kto k kumu khodit s t u c h a t ' . (1:6) V A k u s t i c h e s k o i tern vremenem, khotya vse uzhe z n a l i o p r i y e z d e n a c h a l ' s t v o , r e s h i t e l ' n o ne m o g l i v sebe pre-o d o l e t ' m u c h i t e l ' n o i i n e r t s i i b e z d e i s t v i y a , poetomu t e m n i l i , l e n i v o k o p a l i s ' v yashchikakh s radiolampami, p r o d l y a d y v a l i skhemy v z h u r n a l a k h , z e v a l i v okno.(3:261) 2. Neologisms. The verbs s h e s t e r i t ' (to work as a camp servant, i . e . a s h e s t y o r k a ) , o s h a r a s h i t ' s y a (to become used to the l i f e of the sharashka), and r a s k u r o c h i t ' (to d e p r i v e someone of h i s property) have been newly coined i n the camp p e r i o d . Kto v zone o s t a y o t s y a , yeshchyo tak s h e s t e r y a t : p r o c h t u t na doshchechke, komu po s y l k a , v s t r e -chayut yego t u t , na l i n e i k e , s r a z u i nomer soob-shchayut. (1:100-1) Spasibo, s t a r i k , no t y tak o s h a r a s h i l s y a , chto z a b y l lagernyye p o r y a d k i . Kto zhe v l a g e r e dast mne b r i t ' s y a samomu? (L|.:785) . . . Orobintsev . . . v b o g a t o i shube i shapke, v kotorykh k h o d i l na v o l e (on ne pobyval dazhe na p e r e s y l k a k h , i yego ne u s p e l i yeshchyo r a s k u r o c h i t ' . (lj.: 652-3) 3. Verbs showing semantic change are e s p e c i a l l y numer-ous. To t h i s group belong: v k a l y v a t ' (to work i n t e n s i v e l y ) , z a l u p a t ' s y a (to tempt f a t e , to i n v i t e t r o u b l e ) , kapnut' (to See Vinokur, op. c i t . , p. 27. - kl -l e t f a l l I n f o r m a t i o n ) , z a k o s i t 1 (to get by ruse),razmenyat' (to put i n t i m e ) , zagnut'sya (to d i e ) , z a t s e p i t ' s y a (to get a good j o b ) , z a v a l i t ' (to i n f o r m ) . Tut kak: i i i vsem d o p o l n i t e l ' n o y e , i i i vsem pody-k h a i t e . Ty ne rabotayesh', gad, a ya i z - z a tebya golodnym s i d e t ' budu? Net, v k a l y v a i , p a d l o i (1:1+6) I l ' y a T e r e n t ' i c h l Zabyvayesh' vtoruyu arestantskuyu zapoved': ne z a l u p a i s y a . (3:229) No on sam o s t e r e g a l s y a s v o i k h sobstvennykh n a d z i r a -t e l e i i sobstvennykh zaklyuchyonnykh - inyye i z n i k h s o s t o y a l i na osvedomitel'noi sluzhbe i mogli na K l i -ment'yeva zhe kapnut'. (3:313) . . . vozmozhno dazhe, chto on z a k o s i l l i s h n i y e k h l o -pchatobumazhnyye b r y u c h k i . . . . (l+:77l+) No r e s h i t e l ' n o s t ' zeka tern boleye padayet, chem men'-she yemu o s t a y o t s y a do osvobozhdeniya. D y r s i n zhe razmenyal p o s l e d n i i god. (11:61+5) . . . on b y l dovolen i e t o i s v o y e i r a b o t o i v podvale, govorya, chto v l a g e r e davno by uzhe zagnulsya. . . . (1+:1+13) H i yemu p o s c h a s t l i v i t ' s y a d a t 1 l a p u , v s t r e t i t ' zna-komogo - iuon z a t s e p i t s y a dneval'nym, sanitarom i i i dazhe pomoshchnikom kaptyora? (l+:775) Ona d e r z h a l a s 1 s zekami p r e z r i t e l ' n o , v y s k a z y v a l a s ' , chto i k h nado p e r e s t r e l y a t * . . . i sama z a v a l i l a d voikh - odnogo na s v y a z i s devushkoi, drugogo - na i z g o t o v l e n i i chemodana i z kazennykh m a t e r i a l o v . (3:361+-5) The r o o t morpheme shmon i s the semantic v e h i c l e f o r a group of verbs which present a s p e c i a l problem. In V l a d i -m i r Dai's d i c t i o n a r y shmonit' means \"to l o a f about.\" P r i s o n j a r g o n shows t h a t the word has now undergone a c o n s i d e r a b l e semantic s h i f t . The n e a r e s t synonym i s o b y s k i v a t ' , meaning - k2 -\"to search.\" A more accurate r e n d e r i n g of the verb shmonit' i s \" to f r i s k , \" s i n c e the word d e r i v e s o r i g i n a l l y from b l a t . S o l z h e n i t s y n uses s e v e r a l v a r i a n t s : shmonat 1 and shmonyat' evidence a change i n thematic morpheme; proshmanivat', pro-shmonit' and doshmanivat' are the r e s u l t of p r e f i x a t i o n and i n f i x a t i o n . The f o l l o w i n g e x c e r p t s i l l u s t r a t e t h e i r usage: Uzh golovy kolonny shmonyali, kogda. \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 . . (1:96) Okolo o d i n n a d t s a t i chasov, kogda N e r z h i n , vyzvannyi i z A k u s t i c h e s k o i , p r i s h y o l na shmon, - shestero os-t a l ' n y k h , yekhavshikh na s v i d a n i y e , b y l i uzhe tarn. Odnikh doshmanivali, drugiye b y l i proshmoneny i o z h i d a l i . . . . (3:267) Po mere togo, kak etapiruyemykh a r e s t a n t o v sgo-n y a l i v shtab tyur'my,- i k h shmonali, a po mere t o -go,kak i k h p r o s h m a n i v a l i , - i k h p e r e g o n y a l i v zapas-nuyu pustuyu komnatu shtaba. . . . (I(.:791) As S h i l y a y e v suggests, the apparent l a c k of c o o r d i n a t i o n i n S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s use of these verbs cannot be e x p l a i n e d as an o v e r s i g h t on h i s p a r t . S h i l y a y e v reasons t h a t B o r i s Dyakov ( i n P o v e s t i o perezhitom) employs one form on l y - shmonat 1, because t h i s form was c u r r e n t usage i n the camps of E a s t e r n S i b e r i a d e s c r i b e d by Dyakov. He t h e r e f o r e argues the theory of r e g i o n a l variants. 2\u00C2\u00AE In the case of the p r e f i x e d forms a d i f f e r e n t e x p l a n a t i o n seems p l a u s i b l e . Given the context of the second q u o t a t i o n above, i t i s c l e a r t h a t proshmonit' i s the p e r f e c t i v e aspect of a verb d e s i g n a t i n g a completed act (the p a s t p a s s i v e p a r t i c i p l e proshmonennyi- shor t form pro-S h i l y a y e v , op. c i t . . p. 2I4JL4. - 1+3 -shmoneny - i s i t s d e r i v a t i v e ) . Furthermore, the search had begun before Nerzhin's a r r i v a l ; the p r e f i x do- i s t h e r e f o r e used here i n one of i t s primary f u n c t i o n s , t h a t of p o i n t i n g out the c o n c l u d i n g of an i n t e r r u p t e d a c t i o n . The i m p e r f e c t -i v e aspect doshmanivat 1 i s s u i t a b l e to t h i s o c c a s i o n , s i n c e S o l z h e n i t s y n i s o b s e r v i n g the s e a r c h i n the process of com-p l e t i o n . In the t h i r d q u o t a t i o n the forms shmonat' and pro- shmanivat 1 are both being used i n a g e n e r a l i z i n g sense. I t i s one of the f u n c t i o n s of the past tense of the i m p e r f e c t -i v e aspect to communicate t h i s sense. Shmonat 1 conveys o n l y t h a t a search took p l a c e ; proshmanivat' p o i n t s out t h a t the act was being concluded. I n n e i t h e r case i s there s p e c i f i c r e f e r e n c e to the beginning or end of the search. I f t h i s i s a s a t i s f a c t o r y e x p l a n a t i o n f o r the p r e f i x e d v e r b s , i t s t i l l does not d i s t i n g u i s h between the primary v a r i a n t s shmonyat 1 (used i n the f i r s t q u otation) and shmonat 1. In the absence of e x t e r n a l evidence, i t i s i m p o s s i b l e to u n r a v e l the prob-lem at t h i s stage. 3. E x p r e s s i o n s S o l z h e n i t s y n uses a number of apt e x p r e s s i o n s which are e i t h e r h i s o r i g i n a l s or are borrowed from the corpus of standard p r i s o n by-words - neologisms of camp j a r g o n . Those which have m e t a p h o r i c a l connotations have been d i s c u s s e d i n the p r e v i o u s chapter i n the s e c t i o n on f i g u r a t i v e language. - kh -The aim here i s to exemplify the use of c e r t a i n e x p r e s s i o n s which have become c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f the p r i s o n v o c a b u l a r y . ot puza. In p r i s o n j a r g o n the e x p r e s s i o n means \"to your h e a r t ' s content,\" \" a - p l e n t y \" : \"Doshla kasha - s e i c h a s san-i n s t r u k t o r u : yesh' ot puza. I sam - ot puza.\" (1:56) Again, i n The F i r s t C i r c l e : \"Rubaite ot puza, t o l ' k o ne l o p n i t e j \" (3:13) In view of the c o n d i t i o n s of hunger which e x i s t e d i n the camps, the use of such an e x p r e s s i o n i n connection w i t h food i s not s u r p r i s i n g , but i t has another use: \"Chem v ka-torzhnom l a g e r e khorosho - svobody zdes' ot puza.\" (1:116) po rogam. The use of the word \"roga\" i n t h i s phrase i s an example of semantic s h i f t . The saying means \" d e p r i v a t i o n of r i g h t s . \" Under S t a l i n i t was customary f o r \" p o l i t i c a l s \" to l o s e t h e i r c i v i l r i g h t s f o r the f i v e years f o l l o w i n g the p r i s o n sentence. \"Bud' eto chelovek postoronnii,yemu by da-l i chetvertnuyu i pyat' po rogam. . . . \" (3:68) And again: \". . . v i n o v a t , ne v i n o v a t - desyat' v zuby, pyat' po rogam - i v l a g e r ' . \" (3:322) S o l z h e n i t s y n o f t e n e x p l a i n s the un-u s u a l e x p r e s s i o n s he us e s : \" . . . Potapov b y l nakazan vsego l i s h ' desyat'yu godami z a k l y u c h e n i y a i pyat'yu godami l i s h -e n i y a prav, chto na arestantskom yazyke n a z y v a l o s ' desyat' i pyat' po rogam.\" (3:221) kachat' prava. In g e n e r a l use t h i s e x p r e s s i o n means i n S o v i e t p r i s o n s \" t o demand one's r i g h t s as guaranteed by the c o n s t i t u t i o n . \" The phrase i s a f u r t h e r example of semantic change. \" . . . t a k s e i c h a s o n i v p o k h v a l u N e r z h i n u vspomni-l i , kakim l y u b i t e l e m k a c h a t ' p r a v a on b y l . . . \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 ** (Lj_s 78I4-) I n One Day i n the L i f e o f I v a n D e n i s o v i c h the s a y i n g o c c u r s i n c o m b i n a t i o n w i t h the v e r b shumet' i n i t s c o l l o q u i a l meaning \" t o k i c k up a row\": \". . . i k h o t ' shumet' i k a c h a t ' p r a v a on, kak c h e l o v e k r o b k i i , n e smel. . . . \" (1:21) p a y a t ' s r o k . T h i s p h r a s e o l o g i s m , meaning \" t o e x t e n d the sen t e n c e , \" shows an a r t f u l s emantic s h i f t from the o r i g i n a l meaning o f the v e r b , \" t o sweat\" (by s o l d e r i n g ) . \" G o v o r i l i v torn s m y s l e , c h t o p a y a t ' yemu s r o k a uzhe nekuda - no ne p e r e -k v a l i f i t s i r o v a l i b yemu d v a d t s a t ' p y a t ' ITL na d v a d t s a t ' p y a t ' odinochnogo. . . .\" (i+s771) The p e r f e c t i v e a s p e c t i s p r i p a y a t ' : \" V t o r o i s r o k p r i p a y a y u t , - v z d o k h n u l D y r s i n . \" (I|.:6l4.5) A n o t h e r phrase has the same meaning: s o v a t ' novuyu d e s y a t k u , \" t o shove on an o t h e r t e n - y e a r s t r e t c h . \" o t b u k h a t ' d e s y a t k u . The l i t e r a l sense i s \" t o knock o f f a t e n - y e a r term\": \"Odni . . . z h i z n e r a d o s t n o dokazyvayut v t a k i k h s l u c h a y a k h , c h t o l u c h s h e s e s t ' v molodyye gody: zdes' uspevayesh' p o n y a t ' , chto z n a c h i t z h i z n ' , c h t o v z h i z n i do-r o g o , a chto der'mo, i u z h l e t s t r i d t s a t i p y a t i , otbukhav d e s y a t k u , c h e l o v e k s t r o i t z h i z n ' n a razumnykh o s n o v a n i y a k h . \" s o v a t ' na l a p u . T h i s r e f e r s t o b r i b e r y i n the camps. I n o r d e r t o s u r v i v e , a p r i s o n e r had t o d i s t r i b u t e the c o n t e n t s of a p a r c e l , and b r i b e r y had t o be p r a c t i s e d by the b r i g a d e - b.6 -l e a d e r s i n order to get the norm-setters to \" f i x \" the work-r e p o r t . T h i s e x p r e s s i o n , then, i s an e x t e n s i o n of the mean-in g of n a l o z h i t ' svoyu l a p u na kogo-nibud' (to spread one's i n f l u e n c e over somebody). I t i s perhaps best t r a n s l a t e d by \"to grease a palm\": \"Dlya n i k h [kovrov - J.M.] razvyaznost' nuzhna, n a k h a l ' s t v o , komu-to l a p u sovat'.\" (1:3!+) A r e l a t e d phrase i s dat' l a p u i n the meaning \"to g i v e someone a h e l p -i n g hand.\" tyanut' r e z i n u . R e l a t e d to the verb temnit'. t h i s neo-lo g i s m means l i t e r a l l y \" t o s t r e t c h the e l a s t i c . \" Hence the f i g u r a t i v e sense \"to p r e tend\": \"Akh, mozhno b y l o smolchat'. Mozhno b y l o temnit'. Kak zavedeno u zekov, mozhno by l o p r i -nyat' zadaniye, a potom tyanut' r e z i n u , ne d e l a t ' . \" (L(.:696) protsentovku z a k r y t ' . \"To conceal the percentage of the labour-norm f u l f i l l e d , \" t h a t i s , to f a l s i f y the work-report i n favour of the p r i s o n e r s . T h i s p r a c t i c e i s a l s o known as t u k h t a (v. s u p r a ) . \"Ty o s t a v a i s y a t u t , d e r z h i krepko. Mne s e i c h a s protsentovku z a k r y v a t ' i d t i . \" (l:l|_7) d l y a ponta. T h i s i s the camp jar g o n e q u i v a l e n t f o r the u s u a l Russian d l y a v i d i m o s t i , \" f o r outward show or e f f e c t . \" \"Lupa b y l a yemu absolyutno ne nuzhna, tak kak VTR d a v a l za-p i s i samyye r a z l y a p i s t y y e , no d e l a l o s ' e t o , po lagernomu v y r a z h e n i y u , d l y a ponta, i N e r z h i n vnutrenne khokhotal....\" (3:265) dokhodit' na obshchikh. General-assignment heavy labou r - U.7 -i s obshchaya r a b o t a . The phraseologism above means \"to per-i s h \" g r a d u a l l y at such work. \"Mezhdu prochim, odnu i z devo-chek ya potom na Pechore o t b l a g o d a r i l : ona v t r i d t s a t ' pya-tom v Kirovskom potoke popala, d o k h o d i l a na obshchikh, ya yeyo v portnyazhnuyu u s t r o i l . \" (1:68-9) [(.. Obscenity Obscenity p r e s e n t s the modern Russian w r i t e r w i t h a s e r i o u s problem. The demands o f the p r u d i s h S o v i e t censor-s h i p must be met. In h i s foreword to One Day i n the L i f e of Ivan D e n i s o v i c h Alexander Tvardovsky a n t i c i p a t e d the c r i t i -c a l r e a c t i o n the s t o r y was bound to evoke when he mentioned t h a t \"the author's use - however s p a r i n g and to the p o i n t -of c e r t a i n words and e x p r e s s i o n s t y p i c a l of the s e t t i n g i n which the hero l i v e d and worked w i l l o f f e n d a p a r t i c u l a r l y f a s t i d i o u s t a s t e . \" 2 < ^ S h i l y a y e v has the f o l l o w i n g to say, to which some credence must be g i v e n : I t i s important to note t h a t A. S o l z h e n i t s y n wrote h i s works f o r the S o v i e t reader, counting on having them p u b l i s h e d i n the S o v i e t Union. Knowing the s t r i c t n e s s of the censorship and the d i r e c t i o n s of the communist a u t h o r i t i e s , i t must be thought he was r a t h e r moderate i n h i s use of camp vo c a b u l a r y and s l a n g expressions.30 But i f the demands of c e n s o r s h i p must be met, so must those 29 See Labedz, op. c i t . , p. 10. 30 S h i l y a y e v , op. c i t . . p. 233\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 - h.8 -of r e a l i s m , and t h a t S o l z h e n i t s y n i n c l u d e d t h i s language i n h i s n o v e l s i s a t r i b u t e to h i s s t a t u s as a w r i t e r of t r u t h . From the standpoint of l i t e r a t u r e , the o b j e c t i o n s r a i s e d by S o v i e t c r i t i c s are g r o u n d l e s s . C o n s i d e r i n g the m i l l i o n s who passed through S t a l i n ' s camps, no doubt the jargon has l o n g s i n c e been absorbed permanently i n t o the R u ssian language. The coarse slang of the p r i s o n s i s d i s t i n g u i s h e d by a wide v a r i e t y of oaths, o b s c e n i t i e s and e x p l e t i v e s . A l l of these are c h a r a c t e r i s t i c p r o p e r t i e s of the speech of bosses and p r i s o n e r s a l i k e . S h i l y a y e v argues t h a t the s u p e r v i s o r y and a d m i n i s t r a t i v e s t a f f r e s o r t to v u l g a r speech more o f t e n than the p r i s o n e r s . I t i s i m p o s s i b l e to see the f o r c e of t h i s c o n t e n t i o n . In view of S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s r e p o r t e d speech, S h i l y a y e v stands c o r r e c t e d . He i s on f i r m ground, however, when he observes t h a t the opprobrious forms of address used by the p r i s o n custodians e f f e c t i v e l y promoted the \"dehuman-i z a t i o n \" of t h e i r charges.-^ 2 In terms of s o c i a l a c c e p t i b i l i t y , the v i l e s t speech i n the R u ssian language i s known as mat. T h i s i s a c o l l e c t -i v e noun which r e f e r s to t h a t body of words and e x p r e s s i o n s grouped around mat' (mother). The word mat i t s e l f i s a pop-u l a r - c o l l o q u i a l term. The act of r e s o r t i n g to mother oaths i s s i g n i f i e d i n S o l z h e n i t s y n by the verbs matyugat'sya, ma-31 32 I b i d . , p. 2I4.5. Loc. c i t . - U3 -t e r i t ' sya and mater-nut'. I t i s c l e a r t h a t the use of mat i s an important element i n the speech of the c r i m i n a l and p o l -i t i c a l p r i s o n e r a l i k e , and i t has a p p a r e n t l y developed i n t o a f i n e a r t . S o l z h e n i t s y n says of N e r z h i n as he prepares f o r the t r a n s p o r t : Razve izyskannymi slovami v y r a z i t 1 v o i ushchemlen-nogo? Imenno s e i c h a s , oblachayas' v lagernoye i ye-duchi v l a g e r ' , N e r z h i n i sam oshchushchal,chto voz-vr a s h c h a y e t s y a k vazhnomu elementu muzhskoi svobody: kazhdoye pyatoye s l o v o s t a v i t ' maternoye. (l|_:796) E v i d e n t l y S o l z h e n i t s y n was s u r p r i s e d to encounter i n p r i s o n someone who r e f r a i n e d from e x p r e s s i n g h i s annoyance i n such terms. T h i s e x c e p t i o n a l c h a r a c t e r i s the J u n i o r L i e u t e n a n t N a d e l a s h i n , of whom S o l z h e n i t s y n w r i t e s : N a d e l a s h i n b y l chelovekom i s k l y u c h i t e l ' n y m ne t o l ' k o s r e d i tyuremshchikov . . . no i voobshche s r e d i svo-i k h yedinoplemennikov. V s t r a n e , gde kazhdyi v t o r o i p r o s h y o l lagernuyu i i i frontovuyu akademiyu r u g a n i , gde maternyye r u g a t e l ' s t v a zaprosto u p o t r e b l y a l i s ' ne t o l ' k o p'yanymi v o k r u z h e n i i d e t e i (a det'mi - v mladencheskikh I g r a k h ) , ne t o l ' k o p r i posadke na za-gorodnyi avtobus, no inogda i v zadushevnykh besedakh (osobenno - na s l e d s t v i y a k h ) , N a d e l a s h i n ne umel n i m a t e r i t ' s y a , n i dazhe u p o t r e b l y a t ' t a k i y e s l o v a , kak \" c h y o r t \" i \" s v o l o c h ' \" . (3:199) The d e v i c e s employed by S o l z h e n i t s y n i n t o n i n g down the o b s c e n i t y are v a r i o u s . He changes the i n i t i a l l e t t e r of a word or adds a l e t t e r or two to the beginning of an oath. Elsewhere he i n t r o d u c e s e l l i p s i s at the b e g i n n i n g , the end or w i t h i n a word, or omits a complete word. Such techniques e f f e c t i v e l y obscure meanings, and the u n i n i t i a t e d reader i s u n f a v o u r a b l y impressed by a number of seeming m i s p r i n t s . CHAPTER I I I THE ETHICAL PROBLEM Dostoyevsky wrote h i s b r o t h e r i n 1806: \" B e l i e v e me, th a t having been i n as much t u r m o i l as I, i n the end y o u ' l l e x t r a c t from l i f e a l i t t l e p h i l o s o p h y , a word which you can i n t e r p r e t as you l i k e . \" T h i s \" t u r m o i l \" had been a profound r e l i g i o u s c r i s i s occasioned by f o u r years at katorga (penal s e r v i t u d e ) which he completed i n 185U-- In 1953 S o l z h e n i t s y n was r e l e a s e d i n t o e x i l e f o l l o w i n g an e i g h t - y e a r sentence i n S t a l i n ' s camps. F o r S o l z h e n i t s y n too imprisonment had been a s p i r i t u a l c r u c i b l e . His ph i l o s o p h y , e x t r a c t e d \"from human biographies,\"(3^50) i s r e v e a l e d i n the search f o r moral and s p i r i t u a l f u l f i l m e n t which p r o v i d e s the key to the i d i o s y n -c r a s y o f the p r o t a g o n i s t o f The F i r s t C i r c l e (G-leb Nerzhin) and motivates the e n t i r e novel i n the s p i r i t of Dostoyevsky and T o l s t o y . The s u f f e r i n g i n p r i s o n has a p o s i t i v e consequence: i t i s an o c c a s i o n f o r moral development and s p i r i t u a l s e l f -r e a l i z a t i o n . A man denied i s a f r e e man, and h e r e i n r e s i d e s \u00E2\u0080\u00A2^Quoted by K o n s t a n t i n Mochulsky i n Dostoevsky: His L i f e and Work, t r a n s . M i c h a e l A. Minihan, P r i n c e t o n : P r i n c e -ton U n i v e r s i t y Press, 1967, p. 197. - 51 -the r e i g n i n g paradox of the n o v e l : i n S t a l i n i s t R u s s i a o n l y a p r i s o n e r was f r e e to d e a l h o n e s t l y w i t h h i s f e l l o w s ; o n l y a p r i s o n e r could withstand the encroachments of the h a t e f u l 2 regime. Courage horn of t r i b u l a t i o n f i n d s i t s most sublime e x p r e s s i o n i n an exchange between Bobynin and Abakumov, the M i n i s t e r of S t a t e S e c u r i t y , who attempts to i n t i m i d a t e him. But as a seasoned v e t e r a n of the GULAG o r b i t Bobynin enjoys immunity to Abakumov's t h r e a t s . He d e c l a r e s : As a r u l e , understand and pass on to anyone above who needs to know t h a t you're strong o n l y as long as you don't deprive people of e v e r y t h i n g . For a man you've taken e v e r y t h i n g from i s no l o n g e r i n your power. He's f r e e a l l over again. (3:119) Hence, by a c u r i o u s i r o n y , the martyrs of the system become 3 i t s conquerors. There i s an awareness of e t e r n i t y i n S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s works which imbues them w i t h h i s sense of m i s s i o n and t h e i r fundamental themes w i t h a u n i v e r s a l v a l i d i t y . His treatment of c onscience, good and e v i l , l i f e and death, and man's r e -l a t i o n to s o c i e t y r e f l e c t s the moral p a s s i o n w i t h which the n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y c r i t i c a l r e a l i s t s ( T o l s t o y and Dostoyev-sky i n p a r t i c u l a r ) approached the s p i r i t u a l dilemmas of the human c o n d i t i o n , which p l a c e s him f i r m l y i n the main stream 2 [ A r k a d y B e l i n k o v ] , \"The W r i t e r as Russia's Con-s c i e n c e , \" Time. XCII: 13 (27 September 1968), p. 3I4.. \u00E2\u0080\u00A2^Horst Bienek, \" L i t e r a t u r des I n f e r n o s : Alexander S o l s c h e n i z y n und der neue k r i t i s c h e Realismus,\" Neue Rund-schau, LXXX: 1 (1969), p. 157. - 52 -of R ussian l i t e r a r y t r a d i t i o n . The Nobel P r i z e c i t a t i o n f o r S o l z h e n i t s y n i s t h e r e f o r e s i n g u l a r l y a p t . ^ I f the f u l l e s t meaning of s p i r i t u a l i t y i s expounded as the most sublime moral and i n t e l l e c t u a l q u a l i t i e s of man apropos h i s r e l a t i o n to God and n a t u r e , to h i m s e l f and h i s f e l l o w men, ' then i t does not seem extravagant to d e s c r i b e S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s work as \"the Renaissance of R u s s i a n s p i r i t u -a l l i f e . \" k Indeed, judging by contents and themes,his w r i -t i n g s may be c o n f i d e n t l y c h a r a c t e r i z e d as a s p i r i t u a l o a s i s i n the moral and i n t e l l e c t u a l d e s e r t t h a t s o c i a l i s t r e a l i s m i s today.' His w r i t i n g i s genuine r e a l i s m p r e c i s e l y because i t r e p r e s e n t s r e a l i t y i n i t s e n t i r e t y : the world i t c r e a t e s embraces bo t h the m a t e r i a l and s p i r i t u a l phenomena of l i f e . As the n a r r a t o r , S o l z h e n i t s y n does not s p e c i f i c a l l y comment upon s p i r i t u a l e x p e r i e n c e s ; r a t h e r , h i s s p i r i t u a l i t y i s r e -f l e c t e d i n the thoughts and c o n v e r s a t i o n s of h i s c h a r a c t e r s ^\"For the e t h i c a l f o r c e w i t h which he has pursued the i n d i s p e n s a b l e t r a d i t i o n s of R ussian l i t e r a t u r e . \" See Labedz, op. c i t . , , p. 175. \" T h i s i s G. P. Pedotov's d e f i n i t i o n . See A T r e a s u r y of R u s s i a n S p i r i t u a l i t y , London: Sheed and Ward, 1952, p. v i n the P r e f a c e . Arkady B e l i n k o v ' s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n , i n \"Obsuzhdeniye p e r v o i c h a s t i p o v e s t i Rakovyi korpus na z a s e d a n i i s e k t s i i prozy moskovskoi p i s a t e l ' s k o i o r g a n i z a t s i i 17 noyabrya 1968 goda.\" See Aleksandr S o l z h e n i t s y n , Works, V o l . 6, p. 182. 7 ' S o l z h e n i t s y n h i m s e l f d e s c r i b e s contemporary S o v i e t l i t e r a t u r e as \"cosmetics.\" See Labedz, op. c i t . , p. 8. - 53 -and i n those themes which occupy the centre of h i s a r t i s t i c v i s i o n of human l i f e . The c r i t i c Arkady B e l i n k o v adheres to the view t h a t \" S o l z h e n i t s y n stands at the moral center of the movement to cleanse R u s s i a of the s p i r i t of Stalinism.\"\u00C2\u00AE T h i s formula-t i o n shares the p o p u l a r i t y of i m p r e s s i o n i s t i c judgments; i t g a i n s i n p r e c i s i o n i f the s p i r i t of S t a l i n i s m i s understood as the s p i r i t of p o l i t i c a l despotism and s o c i a l o p p r e s s i o n . I t i s r e a d i l y acknowledged t h a t S o l z h e n i t s y n has become the symbolic conscience of modern R u s s i a , but the c o n t e n t i o n of h i s c r i t i c s t h a t h i s work m a n i f e s t s a l l e g i a n c e to some s o r t of p o l i t i c a l o p p o s i t i o n i n h i s own country i s untenable. He formulates h i s own a r t i s t i c m i s s i o n i n the f o l l o w i n g terms: A w r i t e r ' s t a s k s concern the more u n i v e r s a l and e t e r n a l themes. They t r e a t the m y s t e r i e s of the human heart and conscience, the c o n f r o n t a t i o n of l i f e and death, the overcoming of the anguish of the s o u l , and those laws of c o n t i n u i n g humanity t h a t were born i n the depths of time immemorial and t h a t w i l l cease to be o n l y when the sun i s extinguished.\u00C2\u00B0 Hence, S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s m i s s i o n i s to arouse the con-sci e n c e and consciousness o f a l l mankind, to i n s t i l i n t o i t an unwavering l o v e of t r u t h and p a s s i o n f o r j u s t i c e , and to evoke a compassionate understanding of man as an i n d i v i d u a l and s o c i a l b e i n g . S o v i e t man i s a microcosm of a u n i v e r s a l 8 , \"The W r i t e r as Russia's Conscience,\" op. c i t . , P. 32. o \" Z a p i s ' zasedaniya s e k r e t a r i a t a soyuza p i s a t e l e i SSSR 22 sentyabrya 1967,\" Works, V o l . 6, p. 53. - $h -human c o n d i t i o n . For S o l z h e n i t s y n modern l i f e i s the capt-i v e of technology, the i n f l u e n c e of r e l i g i o n i s waning, and man i s engrossed i n the p u r s u i t of m a t e r i a l p r o s p e r i t y . The w r i t e r must f i l l up \"the empty s p a c e s . \" 1 ^ The p h i l o s o p h i c a l f o u n d a t i o n of S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s work i s pravda, the concept which suggests to the Russian mind a harmonious compound of t r u t h and j u s t i c e . T h i s ambiguity i s s t r i k i n g l y caught by the o l d e x p r e s s i o n z h i t ' po pravde (to l i v e by t r u t h ) , meaning to l i v e i n accordance w i t h j u s t i c e . The concept of pravda i s i m p e r f e c t l y apprehended when taken as an embracement o f two independent though c o e x i s t i n g con-s t i t u e n t s . The e s s e n t i a l p o i n t i s made by M i k h a i l o v s k y . He says the f o l l o w i n g , which may be taken as r e p r e s e n t a t i v e of Russian views: Every time the word \"pravda\" comes Into my mind, I cannot help admiring i t s a s t o n i s h i n g i n n e r beauty . . . o n l y i n R u s s i a n , i t seems, are \" t r u t h \" and \" j u s t i c e \" d e s i g n a t e d by the same word, f u s i n g as i t were i n t o one g r e a t whole. \"Pravda\" - i n t h i s v a s t meaning of the word T-,has always been the g o a l of my s e a r c h i n g s . . . . To S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s mind pravda i s the a b s o l u t e ; i t i s a r u l e f o r l i v i n g which t o l e r a t e s no compromise. There i s no need to rehearse the rampant i n j u s t i c e s 1 0\"uprazdnene miesto.\" See \"Jedneho dna u Alexandra I s a j e v i c a S o l z e n i c y n a , \" op. c i t . , p. 10. 11 Quoted i n V. V. Zenkovsky, A H i s t o r y of Russian Philosophy, t r a n s . George L. K l i n e , London: Routledge and Kegan Paul L t d , 1953, V o l . 2, p. 7. - 55 -of the S t a l i n e r a o r , indeed, of Russian h i s t o r y g e n e r a l l y ; i t i s r e p l e t e w i t h i n s t a n c e s of v i g o r o u s s u p p r e s s i o n of the t r u t h . As N e r z h i n says, there was always something t o stop those \"who might scream the t r u t h or seek j u s t i c e . \" (3:270) I t i s r e a d i l y understandable t h a t S t a l i n i s t i n j u s t i c e would d r i v e some S o v i e t c i t i z e n s i n t o a l i f e of i l l e g a l i t y . Such i s Ruska Doronin, who has been a l i e n a t e d by the s o c i a l sys-tem. \"Circumstances make d e v i l s of us,\" he says. \"I myself am a l l f o r an honest l i f e , but f o r everyone . . . f o r every s i n g l e p e r s o n i \" (3:32l|.) His \"mischievous innocence\" induces the reader t o concur w i t h J e r i Laber t h a t he would be prone to f l o u t the law i n any s o c i e t y ; i n S t a l i n i s t s o c i e t y , \" h i s 12 d e s t r u c t i o n i s preordained.\" But the q u e s t i o n has a more important s i d e : Doronin f i n d s j u s t i f i c a t i o n f o r h i s a c t i o n s i n the lawles s n e s s which p r e v a i l s around him. The u n i v e r s a l s o c i a l i n j u s t i c e i n t e n s i f i e s h i s pe r v e r s e n e s s . For him the honest l i f e does not demand obedience to s t a t e law; i t i s a l i f e of j u s t i c e and e q u a l i t y . He pronounces against s o c i a l i n j u s t i c e i n the f o l l o w i n g terms: What d i d the r e v o l u t i o n r i s e against? A g a i n s t p r i v -i l e g e s ! What was i t th a t d i s g u s t e d the Russian peo-ple? P r i v i l e g e s . Some were dressed i n o v e r a l l s , and others i n s a b l e s , some went about on f o o t - others i n phaetons, some waited f o r the f a c t o r y hooter and others f e d t h e i r f a c e s i n r e s t a u r a n t s . (3:32l+-5) l 2 J e r i Laber, \"Indictment of S o v i e t T e r r o r , \" The New R e p u b l i c . CLIX: 16, Issue 2 8 l l (19 October 1968), p.33. - 56 -The Russian has had contempt f o r the law throughout h i s t o r y . The r a d i c a l i n t e l l e c t u a l Alexander Herzen, who was h i m s e l f a seeker of freedom and s o c i a l j u s t i c e , comments on the cause of t h i s a t t i t u d e : The l a c k of l e g a l o r d e r , which has from the ear-l i e s t times hung l i k e a cloud over the people, has at the same time been something i n the nature of a s c h o o l i n g . The c r y i n g i n j u s t i c e of one h a l f of i t s laws has taught the Russian people to hate the oth-er as w e l l : the Russian submits to the law from f o r c e alone. Complete i n e q u a l i t y before the c o u r t s has k i l l e d i n him a l l r e s p e c t f o r l e g a l i t y . A Russ-i a n , whatever h i s c a l l i n g , evades or v i o l a t e s the law whenever he can do so w i t h impunity, and the government does e x a c t l y the same.1-3 I t i s s i g n i f i c a n t t h a t S o l z h e n i t s y n , w i t h the i n t e l l e c t u a l s of the p r e v i o u s century, s u b s c r i b e s to a \" v i s i o n of anarchy engendered by d e s p a i r . \" 1 ^ \" F o r i t shows t h a t the r e v o l u t i o n has f a i l e d to meet i t s primary o b l i g a t i o n : R u s s i a n humanity i s not y e t f r e e of the shackles of o p p r e s s i o n . S o l z h e n i t s y n was t r a i n e d i n t h i s m i s t r u s t of the l e g a l order i n a school of agony without e q u a l . \"The law can be stood on i t s head,\" he observes. \"When one ten-year s t r e t c h ends, t h e y ' l l say: here's another one f o r you. Or e x i l e you.\" (1:52) There i s no doubt t h a t a l l f e e l i n g f o r l e g a l i t y and hope f o r j u s t i c e was i r r e v o c a b l y suppressed by the minions of S t a l i n ' s penal \u00E2\u0080\u00A2^Quoted by Leonard Schapiro i n \"The Pre-Revolu-t i o n a r y I n t e l l i g e n t s i a and the L e g a l Order,\" i n The Russian I n t e l l i g e n t s i a , ed. R i c h a r d P i p e s , New York: Columbia Univ-e r s i t y P r ess, 1961. See p. 20. \u00E2\u0080\u00A2^Loc. c i t . - 57 -a p p a r a t u s , w h i c h was d e l i b e r a t e l y c a l c u l a t e d t o t h a t e n d . 1 ^ S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s l a c k of c o n f i d e n c e i n l e g a l i n s t i t u -t i o n s and i n s i s t e n c e on the m o r a l p r i n c i p l e as the g u i d e t o the honest l i f e r e v e a l s h i s a f f i n i t y w i t h the \" c o n s e r v a t i v e a n a r c h i s m \" o f the S l a v o p h i l e s . As i t appeared by the m i d d l e of the n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y , the d e v e l o p e d c r e e d o f the S l a v -o p h i l e s embraced two fundamental t e n e t s : the f i r s t i n s i s t e d on the pre-eminence o f the m o r a l and r e l i g i o u s l a w over the w r i t t e n s t a t e l a w ; the second a v e r r e d t h a t t h e u n r e f l e c t i n g r e a s o n e x c e l l e d the l o w e r d i s s e c t i n g r e a s o n . The S l a v o p h i l e system combined i n t u i t i o n and i n s t i n c t , w h i c h were found i n O l d R u s s i a , a n c e s t r a l t r a d i t i o n and the Orthodox Church,not i n t he Roman Church o r Western European i n s t i t u t i o n s . K o n s t a n t i n Aksakov, one o f the more r o m a n t i c o f the s e c o n d - g e n e r a t i o n S l a v o p h i l e s , made a comparative s t u d y o f the o r i g i n s o f the R u s s i a n and Western European s t a t e s . The f o u n d a t i o n o f the l a t t e r , he w r o t e , was \" f o r c e , s l a v e r y and h o s t i l i t y , \" o f the former \" f r e e w i l l , l i b e r t y and p e a c e . \" 1 7 He went on t o expound the t h e o r y t h a t R u s s i a had an i n t e l l -\u00E2\u0080\u00A2^See V. L a k s h i n , \" I v a n D e n i s o v i c h , yego d r u z y a i n e d r u g i , \" i n Works, V o l . 6, pp. 270-1. -i L D. S. M i r s k y , A H i s t o r y o f R u s s i a n L i t e r a t u r e , ed. F r a n c i s J . W h i t f i e l d , New York: A l f r e d A. Knopf, 1961;, P. 162. 17 Quoted by M i c h a e l C h e r n i a v s k y i n T s a r and P e o p l e : S t u d i e s i n R u s s i a n Myths, 2d ed., New Yo r k : Random House, 1969, P. 180. - 58 -e c t u a l and r e l i g i o u s m i s s i o n t o f u l f i l i n Europe. A s i m i l a r b e l i e f i n the power o f E a s t e r n European l i t e r a t u r e t o p o i n t the way out o f the w o r l d ' s m a t e r i a l i s t i c impasse i s h e l d by S o l z h e n i t s y n . Western European l i t e r a t u r e would n o t be a b l e t o c a r r y out t h i s t a s k , he c o n t e nds, f o r Western Europe has 18 not e x p e r i e n c e d any c a t a c l y s m s i n r e c e n t y e a r s . The h i s t o r i a n B e r n a r d Pares has o b s e r v e d t h a t e v e r y R u s s i a n has i n him l a t e n t l y two s e t s o f i n s t i n c t s : t hose of 19 the S l a v o p h i l e and those o f the W e s t e r n i z e r . 7 S o l z h e n i t s y n seems t o c o n f i r m t h i s c o n v i c t i o n . There i s a passage i n the n o v e l where he a d v o c a t e s a compromise between the two v i e w s o f R u s s i a n a f f a i r s . Two p r i s o n e r s are d i s c u s s i n g P e t e r the G r e a t : One o f them s c o l d e d him . . . f o r h a v i n g d i s t o r t e d and removed R u s s i a n f o l k d r e s s , t h e r e b y d e p r i v i n g h i s p e o p l e of t h e i r i n d i v i d u a l i t y . . . . He argued t h a t even now i t was not too l a t e t o r e v i v e c e r t a i n p a r t s o f t h a t d r e s s w h i c h c o u l d be c o n v e n i e n t l y and c o m f o r t a b l y combined w i t h modern c l o t h i n g , and t h a t P a r i s s h o u l d not be c o p i e d b l i n d l y . (3:208) The l a y t h e o l o g i a n and p h i l o s o p h e r A l e x e i Khomyakov h e l d t o h i s b e l i e f t h a t R u s s i a was i n the p r o c e s s o f becoming \"Holy R u s s i a . \" The Moscow S l a v o p h i l e s o f the time i n s i s t e d on the observance o f r i t u a l and custom,anddthe f a n a t i c a l d e s i r e t o l 8 S e e \"A V i s i t t o S o l z h e n i t s y n by the Czech W r i t e r , P a v e l L i c k o , \" The L i s t e n e r . LXXXI: 2086 (20 March 1 9 6 9 ) , P. 372. 19 B e r n a r d P a r e s , A H i s t o r y of R u s s i a . New Y ork: A l f r e d A. Knopf, 1961+, p. 31+8. - 59 -20 be t r u l y Russian induced Khomyakov to wear f o l k d r e s s . The S l a v o p h i l e t e a c h i n g subordinates r a t i o n a l l o g i c to s p o n t a n e i t y . T h e r e f o r e , i n the S l a v o p h i l e ' s o p i n i o n , the l o g i c a l process of reasoned t h i n k i n g to which the Westerner was g i v e n rendered him i n c a p a b l e of judging a c c u r a t e l y , and t h i s deprived him of the e s s e n t i a l experience of l i f e which i n v o l u n t a r y responses p r o v i d e d . T h i s submitting, to the de-mands of the h e a r t and conscience d i s t i n g u i s h e s the heroine of S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s charming s t o r y Matryonin dvor (Matryona's Home). The o l d l a d y i s a model of supreme e x c e l l e n c e : . . . she i s t h a t v e r y r i g h t e o u s one, without whom, according to the proverb, the v i l l a g e cannot stand. Nor any town. Nor our whole l a n d . (1:231) The F i r s t C i r c l e c o n t a i n s i n c o n t r o v e r t i b l e evidence t h a t S o l z h e n i t s y n c o n s i d e r s Westerners to be e a s i l y seduced by r a t i o n a l l o g i c . The Butyrskaya P r i s o n i s the scene of a \"Potemkin v i l l a g e \" s i t u a t i o n . Here a c e l l has been g i v e n an e n t i r e l y f r a u d u l e n t appearance to work a d e c e i t upon a cer-t a i n Mrs. R- (Mrs. Roosevelt) who has come on an i n s p e c t i o n t o u r as a r e p r e s e n t a t i v e of UNRRA. She l e a v e s the \" m a g n i f i -cent p r i s o n , \" f u l l y \"convinced of the f a l s i t y of the i n s i n -u a t i o n s being spread by h o s t i l e people i n the West,\" (l+: 1+71) and s a t i s f i e d t h a t c o n d i t i o n s i n S o v i e t p r i s o n s are conduc-i v e to the reforming of i t s d e l i n q u e n t c i t i z e n s . Cherniavsky, op. c i t . , p. 167. - 60 -Since appearances can be m i s l e a d i n g , r a t i o n a l l o g i c i s not t r u s t w o r t h y . Instead, S o l z h e n i t s y n b e l i e v e s that one must obey h i s i n n e r f e e l i n g s . A human being's r e a d i n e s s t o s u f f e r f o r h i s c o n s c i e n t i o u s c o n v i c t i o n s i s the supreme t e s t of n o b i l i t y . The e x a c t i t u d e of the code of honour set down i n the no v e l i s m a n i f e s t i n the case of Gerasimovich. When the a u t h o r i t i e s o f f e r him freedom i n exchange f o r engineer-in g s p e c i a l cameras t o be used f o r s u r v e i l l a n c e by n i g h t (a task a l l e g e d to be i n h i s f i e l d ) , he d e c l i n e s i n s t i n c t i v e l y and e m p h a t i c a l l y . \"Nol That's not i n my f i e l d l \" he i n s i s t s . \"I don't s p e c i a l i z e i n i m p r i s o n i n g people! I'm not a f i s h e r of meni I t ' s enough t h a t we were imprisoned.\" (lj.:696) In a s i m i l a r circumstance N e r z h i n g i v e s up \"the food of the gods f o r l e n t i l soup\" (326I4.) when he r e f u s e s t o cooperate i n the cryptography work. In S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s view these men make the c o r r e c t choice i n s t i n c t i v e l y , out of repugnance a g a i n s t the moral consequences which would f l o w from cooperating i n the schemes of the a u t h o r i t i e s . The extremely important p l a c e occupied by pravda i n S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s conception o f the world i s made known i n the extant p a r t of a l e t t e r w r i t t e n to three s t u d e n t s . What he says there i s r e p r e s e n t a t i v e of h i s i d e o l o g i c a l m i l i t a n c y : There i s no t h i n g r e l a t i v e about j u s t i c e , as there i s nothing r e l a t i v e about conscience. I n d e e d , j u s t i c e ijs conscience, not a p e r s o n a l conscience but the consc-ience of the whole of humanity.Those who c l e a r l y r e -cognize the v o i c e of t h e i r own conscience u s u a l l y re-cognize a l s o the v o i c e of j u s t i c e . . . . They can - 61 -shout, they can take you by the t h r o a t , they can t e a r your b r e a s t , but c o n v i c t i o n s based on con-s c i e n c e are as i n f a l l i b l e as the i n t e r n a l rhythm of the heart (and one knows t h a t i n p r i v a t e l i f e i t i s the v o i c e of conscience which we o f t e n t r y to s u p p r e s s ) . 2 1 The diplomat V o l o d i n embodies t h i s s t r u g g l e w i t h conscience i n p r i v a t e l i f e . His d e c i s i o n to c a l l Dobroumov i s preceded by an a g o n i z i n g mental c o n f r o n t a t i o n between conscience and expediency t h a t suggests the t u r p i t u d e of the times. In the atmosphere of s u s p i c i o n and f e a r c r e a t e d by S t a l i n ' s t e r r o r the o p e r a t i n g b e h a v i o u r a l word was \" c a u t i o n . \" S o l z h e n i t s y n asks a momentous q u e s t i o n : \" I f we are always c a u t i o u s , can we remain human being s ? \" (3:8) T h i s i r r e s o l u t i o n emphasizes the u n f o r t u n a t e tendency of a l l people to suppress the con-s c i e n c e . And i f the diplomat's u l t i m a t e d e c i s i o n i s a v i c -t o r y f o r m o r a l i t y , i t i s a l s o the e x c e p t i o n that proves the r u l e . S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s f a i t h i n the i n f a l l i b i l i t y of judge-ments of conscience and h i s d e n i a l of any r e l a t i v i t y toward them i s an e s s e n t i a l l y a n a c h r o n i s t i c p o i n t of view. On t h a t account i t would a t t r a c t few adherents among modern p h i l o s -ophers. I n t u i t i v e l y , conscience i s commonly understood as a k i n d of i n t e r i o r judge which possesses the m y s t i c a l a b i l i t y to a r b i t r a t e i n the e t h i c a l d i s p u t e s imposed on the mind of man and to i n d i c a t e (perhaps by d i v i n e i n s p i r a t i o n ) m o r a l l y T r a n s l a t e d i n Labedz, op. c i t . , p. 101 acceptable courses of a c t i o n . T h i s conception embraces two d i s t i n c t senses: a r e t r o s p e c t i v e one which can be t r a c e d t o a p r e - S o c r a t i c antecedent (which i s invoked i n the examina-t i o n o f the S o v i e t Union's S t a l i n i s t p a s t ) , and a pro s p e c t -i v e one which was f i r s t mentioned i n a Paul i n e e p i s t l e (and to which V o l o d i n makes h i s a p p e a l ) . 2 2 Conscience as a p h i l -osophic concept thus has a long h i s t o r y . The most important a n a l y s i s of conscience seems to have been made by St Thomas Aquinas who e x p l a i n e d i t i n the medieval f a s h i o n . He argued t h a t the reason was endowed w i t h both t h e o r e t i c a l and moral p r i n c i p l e s . As the f a c u l t y of apprehending fundamental mor-a l p r i n c i p l e s , reason was c a l l e d s y n t e r e s i s . The s y n t e r e s i s f u r n i s h e s the major premise of a s y l l o g i s m : a l l e v i l should be avoided; an i n f e r i o r reason p r o v i d e s the minor premise: a s s i s t i n g the s e c r e t p o l i c e i s e v i l ; c o n s c i e n c e ( s y n e i d e s i s ) draws the c o n c l u s i o n : a s s i s t i n g the s e c r e t p o l i c e should be 2\"3 avoided. J The d o c t r i n e that the conscience i s s u s c e p t i b l e to e r r o r has been g i v e n p h i l o s o p h i c a l r e c o g n i t i o n since the time of St Pa u l . Modern t h e o l o g i a n s acknowledge that there i s scope f o r s e l f - d e c e p t i o n , and t h i s a p p l i e s both to man's 2 2 F o r t h i s d i s t i n c t i o n I am indebted to Dr Ilmar Tammello i n \"Conscience, a l i e n a t i o n and v i o l e n c e , \" from The Sydney Morning Her a l d , 12 June 1971, p. 6. 2 3 See Frank T h . i l l y and Ledger Wood, A H i s t o r y of Philosophy, 3d ed., New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1958, P. 23b,. - 63 -understanding of what c o n s t i t u t e s the good and the goodness of a p a r t i c u l a r intended a c t , while modern s e c u l a r t h i n k e r s i n t e r p r e t conscience as a r e f l e c t i o n of the s o c i e t a l f o r c e s w i t h which man must contend. But t h i s says t h a t conscience i s a r e l a t i v e phenomenon: i t i s as good (or bad) and strong (or weak) as the i n f l u e n c e s which a man's s o c i a l environment e x e r t s upon him. Thus i n d i v i d u a l conscience may be s i l e n c e d or deformed i n p r o p o r t i o n to the number of c o r r u p t i n g i d e a s which p r e v a i l i n s o c i e t y . I f credence i s g i v e n to the modern p o i n t of view, then c o n v i c t i o n s founded on the judgments of an i n t e r i o r a r b i t r a t o r , however d i v i n e l y i n s p i r e d , are ren-dered suspect. Because of the p o s s i b i l i t y of c o n s c i e n t i o u s e r r o r , spontaneous responses might prove l e s s r e l i a b l e than c o n s c i e n t i o u s judgements based on an o b j e c t i v e a p p r a i s a l of a l l the f a c t s i n any s o c i a l or p o l i t i c a l s i t u a t i o n . The f o r e g o i n g commentary has an a p p r o p r i a t e connec-t i o n w i t h the tragedy of Rubin, whose d e l u s i o n i s a symptom of c o n s c i e n t i o u s e r r o r . Rubin i s a b r i l l i a n t p h i l o l o g i s t , a man of l a t e n t unimpeachable moral r e c t i t u d e , but the v i c t i m of h i s r e v o l u t i o n a r y z e a l . His s e l f - d e c e p t i o n proceeds from h i s a l l e g i a n c e to an i d e o l o g y a l i e n to the R u ssian n a t i o n a l c h a r a c t e r (Russian communism i s a Western i m p o r t ) . I n Rubin the author shows t h a t s u b t l e process of s e l f - i n d o c t r i n a t i o n by which a man b e l i e v e s t h a t \" s o c i a l i s t t r u t h at times pro-gresses i n a roundabout d i s t o r t e d way.\" (3:20) On t h i s pre-- 61+ -mise he e x p l a i n s away the S t a l i n i s t a b e r r a t i o n and f a i l s to make an o b j e c t i v e a n a l y s i s of the f a c t t h a t the country was \" p r e s s i n g on and on i n the wrong d i r e c t i o n . \" 707) B l i n d e d by h i s f a i t h i n the cause - \"Despite e v e r y t h i n g . . . w e ' l l triumph\" (l+.t707) - he i s convinced t h a t he i s bound by duty to p l a c e h i s s c i e n t i f i c knowledge at the d i s p o s i t i o n of the a u t h o r i t i e s and to h e l p t r a p V o l o d i n . The tragedy c o n s i s t s i n t h i s s u b o r d i n a t i n g of p e r s o n a l f e e l i n g s to the i n t e r e s t s of the s t a t e . S o l z h e n i t s y n a p p r e c i a t e s Rubin's motives, and the s c o l d i n g of h i s d e u t e r a g o n i s t as \"the r e p r e s e n t a t i v e of p r o g r e s s i v e i d e o l o g y i n the sharashka\" (l+:532) i s intended l e s s as a rebuke of the man h i m s e l f than as an i n d i r e c t r e -p u d i a t i o n of a d o c t r i n e t h a t causes a man to s u s t a i n such a moral paradox. As Horst Bienek says, S o l z h e n i t s y n d e s t r o y s the \"communist dream\" and damages \"the d e l i c a t e e q u i l i b r i u m o f r e a l i t y and dream which i s being p r e s e r v e d d i l i g e n t l y by the P a r t y even a f t e r S t a l i n and Khrushchev.\" 2^ - And i n doing so S o l z h e n i t s y n i m p l i e s t h a t the r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r Rubin's c o n d i t i o n l i e s w i t h the P a r t y . In S l a v o p h i l i s t i c manner, he i n t i m a t e s t h a t communism has superimposed on R u s s i a a f a l s e i d e a l i s m which has c o r r u p t e d i t s adherents and rendered the Rubins i n c a p a b l e of seeing t h a t t h e i r a c t i o n s do not accord (| 2^-\"Denn S o l s c h e n i z y n i s t der e r s t e , der r a d i k a l und g r u n d l i c h den Kommunistischen Traum z e r s t o r t und das emp-f i n d l i c h e G l e i c h g e w i c h t von R e a l i t a t und V i s i o n , das von der P a r t e i auch nach S t a l i n und Chruschtschow muhsam auf-r e c h t e r h a l t e n w i r d , v e r l e t z t . \" Bienek, op. c i t . t pp. 11+7-8. - 65 -w i t h m o r a l i t y . 2 5 Prom a p u r e l y R u s s i a n s t a n d p o i n t , Rubin's e r r o r may be e x p l a i n e d i n terms of p r a v d a . F o r R u b i n the t r u t h i s the u l t i m a t e t r i u m p h of communism, y e t S o v i e t r e a l i t y i n d i c a t e s t h a t the M a r x i s t r e v o l u t i o n has been b e t r a y e d . A Western a n t h r o p o l o g i s t made the f o l l o w i n g o b s e r v a t i o n about p r a v d a . w h i c h s e r v e s t o e x p l a i n why Rubin's f e l l o w p r i s o n e r s do n o t share h i s c o n v i c t i o n s : A l l men o f good w i l l must r e c o g n i z e the T r u t h when i t i s p o i n t e d out t o them. . . . To a c c e p t the de-c i s i o n o f the m a j o r i t y , w i t h o u t t h e a p p r o p r i a t e i n t e r n a l c o n v i c t i o n s , i s f o r G r e a t R u s s i a n s the abandonment o f a l l honour and s e l f - r e s p e c t ; t o sub-m i t w i l l i n g l y t o those you are c o n v i n c e d do n o t po s s e s s the T r u t h i s an a c t o f baseness.27 R u b i n c o n s i d e r s m a t e r i a l p r o g r e s s i n the system e v i d e n c e o f a s u p e r i o r p r i n c i p l e u n d e r l y i n g the S o v i e t s t a t e ; t h e r e f o r e he defends S t a l i n ' s p e n a l system, s a n c t i o n s the b a r b a r i t i e s o f the e x i s t i n g o r d e r as a n e c e s s a r y a d j u n c t t o the a c h i e v -i n g o f i t s g o a l , and d e f e r s t o the P a r t y as h i s c o n s c i e n c e . p S e e K y r i l F i t z l y o n ' s r e v i e w of The F i r s t C i r c l e i n London Magazine, V I I I : 10 ( J a n u a r y 1 9 69), p. 101. Edward Crankshaw w r i t e s : \"Today when we compare the r e a l i t y o f S o v i e t R u s s i a w i t h L e n i n ' s dream i t i s a l l t o o easy t o see what has gone wrong. What i s n o t so easy t o see, because the r o u t e t r a c e d by the march of p r o g r e s s i s obscured i n i t s own d u s t , i s t h a t the dream had been aband-oned l o n g b e f o r e S t a l i n took o v e r from L e n i n . \" See R u s s i a by D a y l i g h t , London: M i c h a e l J o s e p h , 1951, P\u00C2\u00BB 80. ^ G e o f f r e y G o r e r and John Rickman, The People o f Great R u s s i a : A P s y c h o l o g i c a l S t u d y , London: The C r e s s e t P r e s s , 1914-9, p. 187. - 66 -What Rubin f a i l s to understand c l e a r l y i s t h a t the achieve-ments of the S o v i e t Union i n the S t a l i n e r a are not a t t r i b -u t a b l e to the s u p e r i o r i t y which he c o n s i d e r s to be i n h e r e n t i n communism or to the i m p l i c i t v a l i d i t y of d i a l e c t i c a l and h i s t o r i c a l m a t e r i a l i s m ; r a t h e r , they are sound testimony to the e f f e c t i v e n e s s of o r g a n i z e d compulsion and c o e r c i o n . The remarks of N e r z h i n to the s e m i - l i t e r a t e peasant Yegorov are a comment on Rubin's d e l u s i o n and,by e x t e n s i o n , on the i l l -examined motives of a l l Soviet:ncommunists: Perhaps a l l people d e s i r e the good, or t h i n k they do, but not everyone i s g u i l t l e s s or f r e e from mis-takes - some are even q u i t e c o n s c i e n c e l e s s , a n d they cause each other so much harm. They convince them-s e l v e s they are doing good, but i n f a c t i t turns out to be e v i l . Or, as your proverb has i t , they sow rye and i t comes up weeds. (L|_t^60) T h i s a l s o suggests t h a t S o l z h e n i t s y n i n v i t e s the l e a d e r s h i p and, perhaps, the e n t i r e S o v i e t p o p u l a t i o n , to examine i t s conscience. By 19I+9 S t a l i n had long s i n c e become the undisputed master of the Kremlin. P r a c t i c a l l y , he was the Party, hence the conscience of men l i k e Rubin. Perhaps S t a l i n c o u l d not a f f o r d a d e l i c a t e conscience; the r e a l reason f o r h i s e a r l y b i d f o r absolute c o n t r o l of the P a r t y was to save a country 28 d r i v e n to the verge of economic c o l l a p s e . That aim would be u n i v e r s a l l y approved. C r i t i c i s m of S t a l i n ' s a c t i o n s i n -^ Hellmut A n d i c s , Rule of T e r r o r , t r a n s . Alexander L i e v e n , London: Constable, 1969, p. H 3 \u00C2\u00AB - 67 -v a r i a b l y centres on h i s methods. As i s o f t e n suggested, the t e r r o r may have been the unavoidable concomitant of r e v o l u -t i o n , but t e r r o r on the S t a l i n i s t s c a l e cannot be approved by any normal moral standard. For S t a l i n was concerned l e s s w i t h r e v o l u t i o n than w i t h p r o t e c t i n g h i s e x c l u s i v e c o n t r o l of the P a r t y . I t i s not a c o i n c i d e n c e t h a t when the Yezhov-shchina had e x p i r e d S t a l i n was the sole s u r v i v o r of Lenin's o r i g i n a l p o l i t b u r o . A c c o r d i n g l y , any i n v e s t i g a t i o n i n t o the m o r a l i t y of the r e v o l u t i o n must g i v e due weight to S t a l i n ' s p e r s o n a l motives. The r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r the \" v i o l a t i o n s of s o c i a l i s t l e g a l i t y \" (as S t a l i n ' s crimes are e u p h e m i s t i c a l l y c a l l e d i n o f f i c i a l S o v i e t j a r g o n ) , however, cannot be borne by him alone; as the n o v e l shows, the g u i l t i s c o l l e c t i v e . S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s concern w i t h the moral imperative i s almost an o b s e s s i o n . There i s a scene i n Cancer Ward where Shu l u b i n formulates a theory of e t h i c a l s o c i a l i s m which, i n the absence of e x t e r n a l evidence, throws t e n t a t i v e l i g h t on S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s conception of s o c i e t y and forms a complement to the e t h i c a l theme of The F i r s t C i r c l e : We have to show the world a s o c i e t y where a l l r e -l a t i o n s h i p s , fundamental p r i n c i p l e s and laws have t h e i r source i n e t h i c s - and o n l y i n i t I A l l con-s i d e r a t i o n s must be determined o n l y by the demands of e t h i c s : how to r a i s e c h i l d r e n , what to t r a i n them f o r , to what end the work of a d u l t s i s to be d i r e c t e d , and how t h e i r l e i s u r e time i s to be oc-cupied. In s c i e n t i f i c r e s e a r c h o n l y t h a t would be p e r m i t t e d which i s not d e t r i m e n t a l to m o r a l i t y -and, i n the f i r s t i n s t a n c e , to the r e s e a r c h e r s themselves. The same goes f o r f o r e i g n p o l i c y l On - 68 -the q u e s t i o n o f f r o n t i e r s , we should not be motiva-ted by how much a c e r t a i n move w i l l e n r i c h or strengthen us or enhance our p r e s t i g e , but by one t h i n g o n l y : to what extent i s i t e t h i c a l ? (2:I(.89-90) T h i s system i s not founded on happiness, but on \"mutual a f f -e c t i o n \" (vzaimnoye raspolozheniye) which, i n S o l z h e n i t s y n 1 s o p i n i o n , i s the w o r t h i e s t of human a s p i r a t i o n s . I n the manner of T o l s t o y i n the n i n e t e e n t h century, and Pasternak i n the t w e n t i e t h , S o l z h e n i t s y n g i v e s thematic e x p r e s s i o n to h i s i m p l i c i t v a l u e s i n what Henry G i f f o r d has c a l l e d \"the s e l f - d e c e i t and mutual t o r t u r e s of men.''^*7 His a p p r a i s a l of the motives, c h a r a c t e r and meaning of the rev-o l u t i o n i n a l l i t s p r o f u n d i t y and c o n t r a d i c t o r i n e s s f o l l o w s the l i t e r a r y precedent e s t a b l i s h e d by such w r i t e r s as Babel, P i l n y a k and Pasternak. He endorses Pasternak i n h i s defense of man a g a i n s t the i n t r u s i o n s of syst e m a t i c thought, and he presents h i s e t h i c a l s o c i a l i s m as a c o n s c i e n t i o u s o b j e c t i o n to the expedient p o l i t i c a l p h i l o s o p h i e s which have obtained currency i n the t w e n t i e t h century. In the present-day world, where both i n t e r n a t i o n a l and domestic r e l a t i o n s are being i n f l u e n c e d i n c r e a s i n g l y by p o l i t i c a l i d e a s , and e s p e c i a l l y i n a country where p o l i t i c s has been viewed o f f i c i a l l y f o r over f i f t y years as the s o l e panacea of the human c o n d i t i o n , S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s scheme f o r a The Novel i n R u s s i a : From Pushkin to Pasternak, New York: Harper and Row (Colophon Books), 1965, P. 187. - 6 9 -s o c i e t y founded on e t h i c s w i l l be taken as the quintessence of i d e a l i s m or e c c e n t r i c i t y . Whether or not t h i s p r o p o s a l c o n t a i n s the seeds of p o l i t i c a l i d e o l o g y , i t i s an i n c i s i v e c r i t i c i s m of t h a t \" d i s e a s e d \" s o c i e t y symbolized by the can-cer ward. And that t h i s s o c i e t y stands i n need of regenera-t i o n i s a t t r i b u t a b l e at l e a s t i n p a r t to the i n d i s c r i m i n a t e use (or abuse) of the end-means p r i n c i p l e . The f a m i l i a r and complex q u e s t i o n of ends and means i s the c e n t r a l i d e o l o g i c a l i s s u e of The F i r s t C i r c l e . Rubin contends: \"In the e n t i r e h i s t o r y of mankind our aim i s the f i r s t t h a t i s so h i g h we can say i t j u s t i f i e s the means em-ployed to achieve i t . \" ( I 4 . : 5 6 I 4 . ) Rubin n e a t l y d i v o r c e s p r i v a t e from s o c i a l m o r a l i t y , i n s i s t i n g t h a t they are q u a l i t a t i v e l y d i f f e r e n t , and a f f i r m s the m o r a l i t y of r e v o l u t i o n a r y means. His opponent, S o l o g d i n , m a i n t a i n s t h a t \"the h i g h e r the aim, the h i g h e r must be the means I P e r f i d i o u s means de s t r o y the aim i t s e l f ! \" R e j e c t i n g Rubin's M a c h i a v e l l i a n double standard as \" f i l t h \" (gadstvo), he d e c l a r e s : M o r a l i t y shouldn't l o s e i t s f o r c e as i t widens i t s scope I Otherwise, i f you p e r s o n a l l y k i l l or b e t r a y 3 \u00C2\u00B0 M a n y a H a r a r i noted S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s deep a b i d i n g humanism, but i n v i t e d the S o v i e t d i s s i d e n t s c o l l e c t i v e l y to g i v e more thought to the l i m i t e d a p p l i c a t i o n of p o l i t i c s to s o c i e t y i n order to a v o i d \"perpetuating the e x i s t i n g con-f u s i o n \" which r e s u l t s from a l l o w i n g p o l i t i c s (or e t h i c s as a s u b s t i t u t e ) to become a r e l i g i o n . See \" S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s Cancer Ward - Part I I , \" Survey. No. 6 9 (October 1 9 6 8 ) , p. I I 4 . 8 . Deming Brown has c a l l e d S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s e t h i c a l so-c i a l i s m an ingenuous p o l i t i c a l n o t i o n . See Brown, op. c i t . , p. 3 0 6 . - 7 0 -someone, t h a t ' s v i l l a i n y . But i f the One-and-Only and I n f a l l i b l e bumps o f f a mere f i v e or ten m i l l i o n , then t h a t accords w i t h n a t u r a l law and ought to be understood i n a p r o g r e s s i v e sense, I suppose? ( 1 + : 5 6 5 ) F o r Rubin m o r a l i t y i s r e l a t i v e : what i s p e r m i t t e d the s t a t e i s not p e r m i t t e d the i n d i v i d u a l i n p r i v a t e l i f e ; f o r Solog-d i n m o r a l i t y i s a b s o l u t e : there e x i s t s some u n i v e r s a l moral p r i n c i p l e , i n the l i g h t of which a l l e x t e r n a l a c t s must be examined. The a u t h o r i t y of the Greco-Roman-Christian t r a d i -t i o n , w i t h i t s i n s i s t e n c e on the primacy of the i n d i v i d u a l c o n s cience, stands behind the c o n t e n t i o n t h a t good ends are not wrought by e v i l means. Yet h i s t o r y r e c o r d s c o n t r a r y cases. Adequate moral grounds cannot be adduced f o r the Norman Conquest, which i s not t h e r e f o r e condemned by h i s t o r i a n s , because i t b e n e f i t e d England to the utmost.-^ But the H e g e l i a n d i a l e c t i c , which h o l d s the h i s t o r i c a l process to be r a t i o n a l l y predetermined, does not admit of h i s t o r i c a l a c c i d e n t . Although Marx denied predeterminism, he agreed t h a t events were more than chance o c c u r r e n c e s . He developed a theory of determinism. These d e t e r m i n i s t i c views do not admit of a m o r a l i t y d e c l a r e d un-i v e r s a l l y v a l i d . Kant's c a t e g o r i c a l i m p e r a t i v e s subordinate the group to the i n d i v i d u a l ; Hegel t h e r e f o r e r e j e c t e d them, ^R. N. Carew Hunt, The Theory and P r a c t i c e of Communism, London: P e l i c a n Books, 1 9 5 0 , p. 1 1 1 . 3 2 S i d n e y Hook, From Hegel to Marx: S t u d i e s i n the I n t e l l e c t u a l Development of K a r l Marx, Ann A r b o r : U n i v e r s i t y of Michigan Press (Paperback e d . ) , 1 9 6 2 , p. 3 8 . - 71 -because he c o n s i d e r e d the process of h i s t o r y to be founded on a higher e t h i c s . Hegel i n s i s t e d t h a t s o c i a l t i e s precede e t h i c a l commands; t h e r e f o r e the purpose of the l a t t e r i s to enforce the f o r m e r . M a r x saw the d i a l e c t i c of h i s t o r y at work i n the c l a s s s t r u g g l e ; f o r him, then, the group i s the c l a s s , and i t produces i t s own e t h i c s . Thus both Hegel and Marx r e p u d i a t e d a b s t r a c t e t h i c a l i d e a l i s m . I f S o l z h e n i t s y n i s i m p l y i n g t h a t l i f e i n the S o v i e t Union has been b r u t a l i z e d because t h e o r e t i c a l communism has been i n t e r p r e t e d d i s t o r t e d l y , and that t h i s has drained the d o c t r i n e of i t s true message to humanity, then the e t h i c a l f o u n d a t i o n of communism i n v i t e s i n v e s t i g a t i o n . - ^ F o r i t i s g e n e r a l l y advanced by S o v i e t communists t h a t t h e i r b a r b a r i c s t y l e accords w i t h the i n t e r e s t s of Marxism-Leninism. T h i s movement has induced Rubin to a s s i s t i n causing d e s t r u c t i o n and death dur i n g the c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n of the peasantry; yet he s t i l l stands f i r m on the m o r a l i t y of r e v o l u t i o n a r y means. Thus, the M a r x i s t e t h i c must be c h a l l e n g e d . S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s o p i n i o n of L e n i n i s not c o n s i s t e n t l y set f o r t h i n h i s n o v e l s : he e x t o l s some of Lenin's v i r t u e s , but does not c r i t i c i z e a l l h i s f a u l t s . Yet i t was L e n i n who i n t e r p r e t e d the Marxian e t h i c i n one of i t s standard formu-l a t i o n s . I n h i s Address to the 3 r d Congress of the R ussian Young Communist League (2 October 1920) L e n i n disavowed the 3 3 i b i d . , p. 1+8. ^ i t z i y o n , \u00C2\u00B0P\u00C2\u00AB c i t . , p. 99. - 72 -e t h i c s of the b o u r g e o i s i e and d e f i n e d communist m o r a l i t y as that which serves to d e s t r o y c a p i t a l i s t s o c i e t y and create p r o l e t a r i a n s o c i e t y . The M a r x i s t ' s conception of m o r a l i t y w i l l not w i t h -stand s e v e r a l primary o b j e c t i o n s . F i r s t l y , i f the e t h i c s of a s o c i e t y r e f l e c t o n l y the i n t e r e s t s of the dominant c l a s s , then p r o l e t a r i a n s o c i e t y w i l l r e f l e c t the i n t e r e s t s of the working c l a s s , but no standards e x i s t to e s t a b l i s h the sup-e r i o r i t y of p r o l e t a r i a n over bourgeois morals. Secondly, to p r e f e r the former because the d i a l e c t i c ensures the triumph of the workers does not accord w i t h any e t h i c a l system; the u n a v o i d a b i l i t y of a t h i n g need not imply i t s d e s i r a b i l i t y . T h i r d l y , i t i s d i f f i c u l t to accept the Marxian a n t i p a t h y to a b s t r a c t e t h i c a l i d e a l i s m ; t h i s i s a d e n i a l of t h a t innate sense of r i g h t and wrong which seems to have i n f l u e n c e d the moral judgments of men throughout h i s t o r y . F i n a l l y , i n the name of the c l a s s s t r u g g l e the worker i s exhorted to employ v i o l e n c e ; the Communist M a n i f e s t o i s t h e r e f o r e l i t t l e more than a p r e s c r i p t i o n f o r murder, and k i l l i n g contravenes a l l codes of e t h i c a l behaviour. Despite Lenin's p r o t e s t a t i o n to the c o n t r a r y , h i s f o r m u l a t i o n of communist e t h i c s i s a repu-d i a t i o n of a l l e t h i c a l systems; indeed, \"communist e t h i c s \" i s v i r t u a l l y a c o n t r a d i c t i o n i n terms. I t might be argued, -^See David Shub, L e n i n ; A Biography, Penguin Books, 1966, pp. I4.50-I. - 73 -then, t h a t the f e r v o u r w i t h which the M a r x i s t s pursue t h e i r communist i d e a l merely emphasizes the i n h e r e n t amoralism of the Russian r e v o l u t i o n a r y movement.-^6 The i d e o l o g u e s of compulsion, who f i n d a convenient endorsement of t h e i r i d e a s i n the a u t h o r i t y of M a c h i a v e l l i , argue p e r s i s t e n t l y t h a t p o l i t i c a l l i f e f o l l o w s i t s own laws and l o g i c , independent o f e t h i c s . But M a c h i a v e l l i proposed an absolute despotism to r e a l i z e h i s i d e a l of a s t r o n g , i n -dependent s t a t e ; i t was to t h i s end t h a t h i s p r i n c e was i n -v e s t e d w i t h the power to invoke the end-means p r i n c i p l e . I n view of the a n a r c h i c a l and c o r r u p t c o n d i t i o n of Renaissance I t a l y , h i s pessimism i s , i f not pardonable, at l e a s t under-sta n d a b l e . But the modern a p o l o g i s t who expounds h i s theory o f p o l i t i c a l expediency i n the absence of these c o n d i t i o n s i s undoubtedly i n s p i r e d w i t h an excess of pragmatism. There i s an e q u a l l y popular view t h a t the h o l d e r of p u b l i c o f f i c e i s o b l i g e d t o invoke the end-means p r i n c i p l e because absolute moral standards to guide him cannot be de-f i n e d . The o b j e c t i o n s to t h i s c o n t e n t i o n are obvious. At no time i n h i s t o r y has the g u i d i n g p r i n c i p l e of any government been tender c o n s i d e r a t i o n f o r i t s s u b j e c t s , but the govern-ment which g a i n s power and subsequently runs i t s e l f on the understanding t h a t anything i s j u s t i f i e d i f i t c o n t r i b u t e s The problem of the Marxian e t h i c has been n e a t l y u n r a v e l l e d by Garew Hunt, to whom the f o r e g o i n g paragraph i s deeply i n d e b t e d . See Hunt, op. c i t . , pp. 109-22. - 71+ -to the e s t a b l i s h i n g of a communist s o c i e t y must i n e v i t a b l y i n v i t e c r i t i c i s m . Since no true communist s o c i e t y e x i s t s i n the w o r l d , i t i s i m p o s s i b l e to know whether i t would b e n e f i t humanity. And the M a r x i s t ' s c l a i m to omniscience c e r t a i n l y does not help to decide the i s s u e . The h i s t o r y of p o l i t i c a l p h i l o s o p h y w i l l perhaps always o s c i l l a t e between the p o l e s of the e t h i c a l and the r u t h l e s s l y r e a l i s t i c , but to imbibe M a c h i a v e l l i a n pessimism and apply i t o u t r i g h t i s to concede the arena to the o p p o r t u n i s t s of h i s t o r y , l i k e the f a n a t i c s of Marxism-Leninism, that p a r t y of Russians who had got h o l d of a German p h i l -osophy of h i s t o r y which p r o v i d e d the more i n t e l l i g e n t of them w i t h an i n t e l l e c t u a l armoury and the l e s s i n -t e l l i g e n t w i t h an excuse to conduct themselves l i k e p e d a n t i c thugs and c a l l the r e s u l t h i s t o r i c a l necess-i t y . 3 ? S o l o g d i n i s a d i s c i p l e of Dostoyevsky,and the p o i n t f o r which he contends i n h i s a l t e r c a t i o n w i t h Rubin i s the l e s s o n of Crime and Punishment. There Dostoyevsky d e c l a r e d human l i f e to be i n v i o l a b l e by unmasking, i n the wording of Mochulsky, the \" b l a t a n t l i e \" of the \"humane u t i l i t a r i a n i s m \" which seduces Raskolnikov, and by showing that \"the 'econ-omic p r i n c i p l e ' does not l e a d to u n i v e r s a l p r o s p e r i t y , but r a t h e r t o mutual a n n i h i l a t i o n . \" - ^ I t i s d i f f i c u l t to support by l o g i c a l argumentation Crankshaw, op. c i t . , p. 19. Mochulsky, op. c i t . , p. 275. - 75 -the c o n t e n t i o n t h a t the B o l s h e v i k s c o n s c i o u s l y d e s i r e d e v i l , but S o l z h e n i t s y n shows t h a t no e f f o r t was made to a v o i d the endemic wastage of human l i f e t h a t d i s t i n g u i s h e d the S t a l i n e r a . Edward Crankshaw argues a cogent case a g a i n s t L e n i n as the fountainhead of B o l s h e v i k e v i l , but r e c o g n i z e s t h a t the source of the e v i l l a y i n Lenin's being a Ru s s i a n . \"To be a c o n s p i r a t o r i a l Russian,\" he says,\"and a n a t u r a l m a t e r i a l i s t i n t o the b a r g a i n o f f e r s u n p a r a l l e l e d o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r c h i -canery of every k i n d . \" 3 9 Crankshaw set about demonstrating that S t a l i n ' s achievement was merely to take Lenin's p o l i c -i e s to t h e i r l o g i c a l c o n c l u s i o n . M i l o v a n D j i l a s holds t h a t communists have e t h i c a l p r i n c i p l e s , but they have been cor-r u p t e d by t h e i r m e t hods.^ S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s t a s k has been t o show t h a t these methods d i s r u p t e d s o c i e t y by d i s t u r b i n g the d e l i c a t e e q u i l i b r i u m of good and e v i l , which d i s t o r t e d the moral foundations of human r e l a t i o n s . The B o l s h e v i k s taught t h a t \" ' p i t y ' was a shameful f e e l i n g , 'goodness' was l u d i c -rous, and 'conscience' was a p r i e s t ' s e x p r e s s i o n . \" ( 3 0&3) The F i r s t C i r c l e seeks, not to solve the problem of e v i l , but to expose the workings of e v i l i n r e a l l i f e . The l e n e e r of u n c e r t a i n t y which c e n t u r i e s of m e t a p h y s i c a l spec-u l a t i o n have p l a c e d over the problem i s thoroughly p e n e t r a -rankshaw, op. c i t . , p. 17. ^ M i l o v a n D j i l a s , The New C l a s s , London: Unwin Books, 1966, p. 137. - 76 -t e d , and a l l t h a t remains i s the source of e v i l : human mal-i c e and weakness. The essence of e v i l i s i d e n t i f i e d by the simple peasant, S p i r i d o n Yegorov: \"The wolfhound i s r i g h t , and the c a n n i b a l i s wrong!\" (lj.:5>6l) There i s no e v i l i n the r u s t l i n g of the cockroaches i n Matryona's d i l a p i d a t e d home; nor i s there e v i l i n the a c t i o n s of the dog. In t h i s there i s a r e a s s e r t i o n of the medieval t h e o l o g i c a l p o s i t i o n t h a t a t h i n g causes e v i l when i t contravenes the laws of i t s own na t u r e . Thus, e v i l comes w i t h the knock on the door at f o u r o ' c l o c k i n the morning. The e v i l c o n s c i o u s l y c r e a t e d i s the g r e a t e s t of a l l e v i l s . E v i l i s i n e r a d i c a b l e , but i t s f o r c e can be weakened by s t r i c t observance of the u n w r i t t e n moral laws and obedi-ence to the d i c t a t e s of he a r t and consc i e n c e . The s o l u t i o n to the modern dilemma l i e s i n Nerzhin's r e s o l u t i o n : \"A man must s t r i v e to temper, to shape h i s s o u l i n order to become a human being.\" S o l z h e n i t s y n endured war, p r i s o n , c o n c e n t r a t i o n camp and cancer, yet remained a human b e i n g . I n t h i s there i s an example f o r a l l mankind. One can b u i l d the Empire State B u i l d i n g , d i s c i -p l i n e the P r u s s i a n Army, e l e v a t e the h i e r a r c h y of the s t a t e above the throne of the Almighty, yet f a i l to overcome t h a t unaccountable s p i r i t u a l sup-e r i o r i t y of c e r t a i n human b e i n g s . (3 : 7 6 ) CONCLUSION Apart from i t s a r t i s t i c value t o the world l i t e r a r y community, The F i r s t C i r c l e i s a s i g n i f i c a n t n o v e l i n other r e s p e c t s . At a time when l i t e r a t u r e as a propaganda medium has become r o u t i n e i n the S o v i e t Union, the novel commands s p e c i a l a t t e n t i o n as a product of samizdat i n r e v e a l i n g how gr e a t l i t e r a t u r e i s being suppressed i n the i n t e r e s t of the Communist Pa r t y . The n o v e l p l a y s a double r o l e : i n t e r n a l l y , the p o r t r a y a l of the n o v e l i s t Galakhov exposes the s t r u g g l e between sycophancy and i n d i v i d u a l conscience and bears w i t -ness t o the unhappy f a t e of the many p o t e n t i a l l y g r e a t w r i -t e r s whom S t a l i n shaped i n t o \"engineers of the human s o u l \" ; e x t e r n a l l y , the n o v e l p r e s e n t s an i m p l i c i t challenge to the censorship by i n s i s t i n g on the r e c o r d i n g of t r u t h . Under a d e s p o t i c S t a l i n the t r u t h could not be t o l d completely, and a w r i t e r l i k e Galakhov who composed i n the p r e v a i l i n g c o n d i t i o n s merely compromised h i s conscience and d i g n i t y . Inwardly Galakhov longs to set down the t r u t h , but as he w r i t e s , and a n t i c i p a t e s the r e a c t i o n s of h i s c r i t i c s , the words f a l l o b e d i e n t l y i n t o p l a c e to create yet one more monument to the p e r s o n a l g l o r y of S t a l i n . Through Galakhov, S o l z h e n i t s y n censures t h i s p r o s t i t u t i o n of l i t e r a r y t a l e n t , - 78 -which strengthens the a l r e a d y i n t o l e r a b l e c e n s o r s h i p . Although the s t r u g g l e a g a i n s t sycophancy appears to have passed w i t h the d e c l i n e of one-man d i c t a t o r s h i p i n the p o s t - S t a l i n e r a , the p r e s c r i p t i o n s of s o c i a l i s t r e a l i s m r e -main. The method of \" r e v o l u t i o n a r y romanticism\" i n t r o d u c e d by S t a l i n continues to create a l i t e r a t u r e f o r w r i t e r s , not f o r r e a d e r s . Hence the importance of the works of samizdat. which keeps a l i v e the Great R u s s i a n l i t e r a r y t r a d i t i o n , and the importance of The F i r s t C i r c l e , a work w r i t t e n f u l l y i n t h a t t r a d i t i o n . While the n o v e l i t s e l f i s an i m p l i c i t p l e a f o r c r e -a t i v e freedom, i t s author has been e x p l i c i t i n h i s demands. His l e t t e r to the F o u r t h Congress of S o v i e t W r i t e r s was ar-guably the most courageous act witnessed i n the S o v i e t Un-i o n In recent y e a r s . That l e t t e r demanded the a b o l i t i o n of c e n s o r s h i p , which i s i l l e g a l because the c o n s t i t u t i o n does not provide f o r i t , and i n s i s t e d that good works were being d i s t o r t e d and suppressed when they c o u l d , i f p u b l i s h e d , ex-e r t a d e s i r a b l e i n f l u e n c e on the development of the s o c i a l conscience and the human s p i r i t . The concluding remarks are of p a r t i c u l a r i n t e r e s t : Of course, I am calmly c o n f i d e n t that I w i l l f u l f i l my w r i t e r ' s duty i n a l l circumstances, and from the grave even more s u c c e s s f u l l y and i n d i s p u t -a b l y than while a l i v e . No one can b a r r i c a d e the ways of t r u t h , and f o r i t s advancement I am prepared to accept even death. But perhaps many l e s s o n s w i l l t e a c h us, f i n a l l y , not to stop the w r i t e r ' s pen - 79 -while he l i v e s . Never has t h i s ennobled our h i s t o r y . S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s n o v e l s are eloquent testimony to h i s own courage and independent s p i r i t , and whatever r e p r i s a l s the a u t h o r i t i e s make ag a i n s t him, t h i s p e r s o n a l courage i s a l r e a d y a matter of h i s t o r i c a l r e c o r d . The p r o t e s t begun by the twenty-seven-year-old c a p t a i n of a r t i l l e r y , whose r a s h a u d a c i t y cost him e i g h t years of l i f e i n the \" i r o n p i p e \" of S t a l i n ' s h e l l , resounds i n the works of the f i f t y - t w o - y e a r -o l d m i l i t a n t r e a l i s t who now f i n d s h i m s e l f \"at the p a s s i o n -ate f o c a l p o i n t of the major i s s u e t h a t i n f l a m e s d i s s e n t and f r i g h t e n s the men i n the Kremlin today.\" In view of l a t t e r -day n e o - S t a l i n i s m , the s i g n i f i c a n c e of S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s work has i n c r e a s e d , and the regime i s f u l l y aware of the s e r i o u s t h r e a t i t r e p r e s e n t s . One of the conformist w r i t e r s , A l e x e i Surkov, has the f o l l o w i n g to say, which may be taken as r e -p r e s e n t a t i v e of o f f i c i a l views: . . . S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s works are more dangerous f o r us than those of Pasternak: Pasternak was a man detached from l i f e , but S o l z h e n i t s y n , w i t h h i s v i g o r o u s , m i l i - ^ t a n t , i d e o l o g i c a l temperament, i s a man of p r i n c i p l e . Surkov's statement i s a l s o an unintended compliment to S o l -z h e n i t s y n ' s s p i r i t u a l s t r e n g t h . The combination of l i t e r a r y \"^See Works, V o l . 6, p. 13. 2 \"The W r i t e r as Russia's Conscience,\" l o c . c i t . ^In Works, V o l . 6, p. I4.7. - 80 -t a l e n t and a c t i v e s o c i a l conscience makes him a troublesome adversary. The f a t e of the g r e a t e s t l i v i n g prose w r i t e r of the S o v i e t Union (as S o l z h e n i t s y n i s c a l l e d i n l i b e r a l l i t e r a r y c i r c l e s ) today hangs i n the b a l a n c e . He continues to w r i t e , i n d i c a t i n g that he has the courage of h i s c o n v i c t i o n s , but how long he w i l l be allowed to d e f y the e x i s t i n g order i s a matter of c o n j e c t u r e . The l a t e s t move made i n the campaign to d i s c r e d i t him o c c u r r e d i n November 1969, when he was ex-p e l l e d from the Union of S o v i e t W r i t e r s . His answer to the e x p u l s i o n was a f i e r y open l e t t e r to the S e c r e t a r i a t of the Union, from which i t i s a p p r o p r i a t e to repeat the f o l l o w i n g l i n e s : Wipe the dust from your watches. They are cen-t u r i e s behind the times. . . . I t ' s time to remember t h a t we belong, f i r s t of a l l , to humanity. And humanity has d i s t i n g u i s h e d i t s e l f from the animal world by thought and speech. And these by nature must be f r e e . I f they are f e t -t e r e d , we become animals again. P u b l i c i t y , honest and complete p u b l i c i t y , i s the primary c o n d i t i o n f o r the h e a l t h of every s o c i -e t y , ours too. And whoever does not d e s i r e p u b l i c -i t y f o r our country i s i n d i f f e r e n t to h i s mother-l a n d and t h i n k s o n l y of h i s own s e l f i s h i n t e r e s t s . . . . does not d e s i r e to cleanse, i t of d i s e a s e , but to d r i v e i t i n s i d e to putrefy.^\" Three p o i n t s must be s t r e s s e d here: f i r s t l y , S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s concern f o r the \"motherland\" shows him to be a l o y a l S o v i e t c i t i z e n and R u s s i a n p a t r i o t ; secondly, h i s a c c u s a t i o n t h a t ^Hforks. V o l . 6, pp. II4.8-50. - 81 -the a u t h o r i t i e s do not d e s i r e a cure f o r the s o c i a l i l l s of the S o v i e t Union suggests that he fa v o u r s the S o v i e t system of government, but not the a u t h o r i t a r i a n type of r u l e which has endured since the r e v o l u t i o n ; t h i r d l y , and most import-a n t l y , h i s p l e a on b e h a l f of humanity as a whole r e f l e c t s a d e s i r e , which has been growing among S o v i e t i n t e l l e c t u a l s , to see the n a t i o n s of the world \"converge\" i n the common i n -t e r e s t s of a l l mankind.-' In the meantime, S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s works have not been r e c e i v e d i n the s p i r i t i n which they were w r i t t e n . They are meant to urge Russians to face the past h o n e s t l y , t o confess that crimes, not \" e r r o r s , \" were committed i n the S t a l i n e r a and to set about making the necessary c o r r e c t i o n s . His ex-p u l s i o n from the W r i t e r s ' Union shows how much he i s f e a r e d and t e s t i f i e s to the government's d e s p a i r i n g defence of the r i g i d c e n s orship and i t s s u p p r e s s i o n of freedom of speech. V o l o d i n ' s remark i n The F i r s t C i r c l e i s f u l l y a p p l i c a b l e to S o l z h e n i t s y n h i m s e l f : \"A g r e a t w r i t e r . . . i s , as i t were, a second government. Th e r e f o r e no regime has ever loved i t s g r e a t w r i t e r s , o n l y i t s minor ones.\" (I).:\u00C2\u00A303) When S o l z h e n i t s y n ' s profound sense of tragedy, and i n s i s t e n c e on human d i g n i t y , n o b i l i t y and kindness i n human ^See George Pismenny, \"The E x c l u s i o n of Alexander S o l z h e n i t s y n from the W r i t e r s ' Union,\" B u l l e t i n : I n s t i t u t e f o r the Study of the USSR. XVII: 2 (February 1970), p. 23. - 82 -r e l a t i o n s , a l l of which pervade The F i r s t C i r c l e almost to the p o i n t of s u r f e i t , are considered i n the l i g h t of modern m a t e r i a l i s t i c p h i l o s o p h i e s , then i t becomes c l e a r t h a t f o r him the honest l i f e i s the apotheosis of the good. I t i s a l i f e of f i d e l i t y to the moral i m p e r a t i v e , t h a t i n d e f i n a b l e and immutable law of humanity, a c o n s t i t u e n t of the e t h i c a l continuum which reaches back to the embryonic moral p h i l o s -ophy of the a n c i e n t Greeks. L i k e Dostoyevsky before him, he has become the spokesman of the Russian people's s u f f e r i n g s and a s p i r a t i o n s , and he has taken i t upon h i m s e l f to t r y to combat the c o r r u p t i v e tendencies of the modern age. In view of the s u f f e r i n g and torment he has endured, h i s world could have become one of d e s p a i r and degradation; i n s t e a d , i t i s one of human grandeur, and t h i s c o n s t i t u t e s the essence of h i s e t e r n a l optimism. De s p i t e the slanderous d e n u n c i a t i o n by h i s hidebound d e t r a c t o r s , those c a p t i v e s of a c y n i c a l i d e o l o g y , S o l z h e n i t s y n * s f a i t h i n man w i l l be h i s l e g a c y to p o s t e r i t y . SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY I . PRIMARY SOURCES A. F i c t i o n Chukovskaya, L y d i a . The Deserted House. Trans. A l i n e Werth. London: Pan Books, 196b. Dostoyevsky, Fyodor. Crime and Punishment. Trans. Constance G a r n e t t . New York: The Modern L i b r a r y , 19E>0. Gouzenko, Igor. The F a l l of a T i t a n . T rans. Mervyn B l a c k . London: C a s s e l l and Company, 195U-. K o e s t l e r , A r t h u r . Darkness at Noon. Trans. Daphne Hardy. 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Reavey, George. \"Now I t Can Be T o l d i n Moscow.\" Saturday Review, 9 February 1963, 27-29, 1+0. Reeve, F. D. \"A Disease That Erodes What Is Human.\" Book World. I I : 1+7 (21+ November 1968), 6-7. S i e g e l , George. \"And We Are F r i g h t e n e d . \" D i s s e n t , X: 2 (Spring 1963), 187-189. APPENDIX I T r a n s l i t e r a t i o n Table Russian E n g l i s h R u s s i a n E n g l i s h A a A a n n P P B d B b p P R r B B V V c c S s r r G- g T T T t R D d y y U u E e Ye y e 1 $ P f \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 E e Yo yo X X Kh kh JK 3K Zh zh u Ts t s 3 3 Z z tj M Ch ch H H I i in in Sh sh M H I i m m Shch shch K K K k H y JI Jl L 1 9 3 E e M M M m K) JO Yu yu H H N n a Ya ya 0 o 0 o b LYe i s w r i t t e n i n i t i a l l y , a f t e r vowels or f o l l o w i n g the \" s o f t s i g n . \" Elsewhere i t i s r e p l a c e d by E e. APPENDIX I I o s o b l a g From o s o b y i l a g e r ' , s p e c i a l camp ( f o r p o l i t -i c a l p r i s o n e r s ) . s p e t s t y u r ' m a From s p e t s i a l ' n a y a . tyur'ma, s p e c i a l p r i s o n . The word \" s p e c i a l \" here has the c o n n o t a t i o n o f \" s p e c i a l i s t \" as a p p l i e d t o e n g i n e e r i n g or s c i e n t i f i c p roblems. samizdat T h i s i s a pun on G o s i z d a t from G o s u d a r s t v e n -noye i z d a t e l ' s t v o , S t a t e P u b l i s h i n g House. Samizdat d e r i v e s from Samoye i z d a t e l ' s t v o , \" S e l f \" P u b l i s h i n g House. T h i s i s the name of the l i t e r a r y underground i n the S o v i e t U n i o n . The organ o f s t a t e s e c u r i t y i n the S o v i e t U n i o n has been c a l l e d by v a r i o u s t i t l e s s i n c e i t was f i r s t i n s t i t u t e d i n December 1917j and has been known by the i n i t i a l s o f i t s R u s s i a n name. The c h r o n o l o g y w h i c h f o l l o w s s u p p l i e s the i n -i t i a l s , d a t e s , R u s s i a n and E n g l i s h t i t l e s f o r each stage i n the e v o l u t i o n of the s e c r e t p o l i c e organ. Gheka (1917-1922): C h r e z v y c h a i n a y a k o m i s s i y a po bor'be s k o n t r r e v o l y u t s i y e i i sabotazhem; E x t r a -o r d i n a r y Commission f o r the S t r u g g l e A g a i n s t C o u n t e r - r e v o l u t i o n and sabotage. ( A b o l i s h e d 8 F e b r u a r y 1922). GPU (1922): Gosudarstvennoye p o l i t i c h e s k o y e u p r a v l e n i y e ; S t a t e P o l i t i c a l A d m i n i s t r a t i o n . ( F u n c t i o n e d as such from F e b r u a r y t o December 1922). OGPU (1922-1931+) : When the USSR was e s t a b l i s h e d i n December 1922, the word ob'edinyonnoye ( u n i t e d o r c o n s o l i d a t e d ) was p r e f i x e d to the t i t l e GPU t o g i v e the organ a l l - u n i o n f u n c t i o n s . NKVD (193I+-191+3): N a r o d n y i k o m i s s a r i a t v n u t r e n n i k h d e l ; the P e o p l e ' s C o m m i s s a r i a t o f I n t e r n a l A f f a i r s . - 93 -NKGB (19l+3-19i|.6) : In A p r i l 191+3 the s e c u r i t y f u n c t i o n s were d i v i d e d between the NKVD and the NKGB,the Narodnyi k o m i s s a r i a t gosudarstvennoi bez-o p a s n o s t i ; People's Commissariat of S t a t e S e c u r i t y . MGB (191+6-1953) \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 In 191+6 the commissariats were renamed as M i n i s t r i e s . The NKVD became the MVD, the M i n i s t e r s t v o v n u t r e n n i k h d e l , and the NKGB became the MGB, s i m i l a r l y named, the M i n i s t r y of S t a t e S e c u r i t y . MVD (1953-1951+) : I n 1953 the m i n i s t r i e s were r e u n i t e d w i t h the name MVD as above, under the j u r i s d i c -t i o n of B e r i a . KGB (1951+ - ) Komitet gosudarstvennoi b e z o p a s n o s t i , or Committee of S t a t e S e c u r i t y , i s the name of the organ at p r e s e n t . GULAG From Glavnoye u p r a v l e n i y e i s p r a v i t e l ' n o - t r u d o v y k h l a g e r e i : Main A d m i n i s t r a t i o n of C o r r e c t i v e - L a b o u r Camps. T h i s body has since been renamed GUITK: the K s i g n i f i e s K o l o n i i , C o l o n i e s . OSSO From Osoboye soveshchaniye, S p e c i a l C o l l e g i u m or T r i b u n a l . The body u s u a l l y c o n s i s t e d of three men and was c o l l o q u i a l l y known as the t r o i k a , the Rus-s i a n word f o r group of t h r e e . The OSSO was attached to the NKVD and handed down sentences without the t r o u b l e of a formal t r i a l . A r t i c l e 58 of the C r i m i n a l Code of the RSFSR (Russian S o c i a l -i s t F ederated S o v i e t Republic) covered p o l i t i c a l crimes, which came to be known under S t a l i n as c o u n t e r - r e v o l u t i o n . The reader w i l l f i n d t h i s A r t i c l e l i s t e d i n f u l l i n Robert Conquest's book g i v e n i n the B i b l i o g r a p h y . A r t i c l e 58 was r e p e a l e d i n December 1958. SMERSH From the words smert' shpionam, l i t e r a l l y \"Death to S p i e s . \" SMERSH e x i s t e d d u r i n g World War I I as the Counter-espionage s e c t i o n of the NKVD. SMERSH was renamed i n 191+6 OKR - O t d e l k o n t r r a z v e d k i or C o u n t e r - i n t e l l i g e n c e S e c t i o n . SMERSH and OKR were su c c e s s i v e names f o r what had o r i g i n a l l y (1921) been e s t a b l i s h e d as Osobyye o t d e l y , S p e c i a l Sec-t i o n s of the I n t e r n a l A f f a i r s apparatus. "@en . "Thesis/Dissertation"@en . "10.14288/1.0093359"@en . "eng"@en . "European Studies"@en . "Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library"@en . "University of British Columbia"@en . "For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use."@en . "Graduate"@en . "Alexander Solzhenitsyn's novel : The first circle"@en . "Text"@en . "http://hdl.handle.net/2429/34420"@en .