A Tiny Village in Vermont Was the Perfect Spot to Hide Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
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Re: A Tiny Village in Vermont Was the Perfect Spot to Hide Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
#2I am sure I was not the only person here who chuckled at the last bit from this article:
> While there, he completed three volumes of The Red Wheel, and prepared his famous commencement address, given at Harvard in 1978. In it, he excoriated the West, and, in particular, America, for its godlessness, materialism, and weakness of spirit. One hopes that after his time in Cavendish, Solzhenitsyn would have changed that assessment.
In fact, Solzhenitsyn’s attacks on the West remained firm over the following decades. Also, by the end of his life, he had essentially adopted a view by which Russia needed a strong hand, basically dictatorship. The difference between this strong hand and Soviet-era Communism, is that the latter was "godless" but the former would be "spiritual".
This is an aspect of Solzhenitsyn’s character that still remains little known in the West. Yet the West should be aware that many of the Soviet dissidents whom it supported during the Soviet era completely flip-flopped their social and political positions in the 1990s. Some became outright nostalgic for the Soviet regime, others like Solzhenitsyn were desirous of a strong state just so long as it wasn’t Marxist-Leninist. One feels that some of the dissidents who died in the 1990s were lucky that they did so before they could tarnish their own legacies.
Re: A Tiny Village in Vermont Was the Perfect Spot to Hide Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
#3I am sure I was not the only person here who chuckled at the last bit from this article: > While there, he completed three volumes of The Red Wheel, and prepared his famous commencement address, given at Harvard in 1978. In it, he excoriated the West, and, in particular, America, for its godlessness, materialism, and weakness of spirit. One hopes that after his time in Cavendish, Solzhenitsyn would have changed that…
In fact, Solzhenitsyn's views can be described as Chernosotenstvo (Black Hundred) - a form of ultra-nationalism and xenophobia similar to that practiced by members of KKK. I never understood his appeal to people who thought of themselves as liberals and humanists.
Re: A Tiny Village in Vermont Was the Perfect Spot to Hide Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
#4Cavendish is a veritable metropolis compared to some of the villages in that area (Amsden, Downers Corner, Ascutney). If you're ever in the area, be sure to check out the Brewfest Brewing Corp. in Ludlow for an incredible selection of local VT beer.
Re: A Tiny Village in Vermont Was the Perfect Spot to Hide Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
#5I am sure I was not the only person here who chuckled at the last bit from this article: > While there, he completed three volumes of The Red Wheel, and prepared his famous commencement address, given at Harvard in 1978. In it, he excoriated the West, and, in particular, America, for its godlessness, materialism, and weakness of spirit. One hopes that after his time in Cavendish, Solzhenitsyn would have changed that…
In fact, Solzhenitsyn's views can be described as Chernosotenstvo (Black Hundred) - a form of ultra-nationalism and xenophobia similar to that practiced by members of KKK. I never understood his appeal to people who thought of themselves as liberals and humanists.
The literature stands on its own, aside from whatever personal political evolution occurred in his later years. In the 90s, it certainly appeared as though Russia was getting set up for exploitation by the west under Yeltsin. A nationalist move in ideology within that context is rational.
Re: A Tiny Village in Vermont Was the Perfect Spot to Hide Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
#6Earlier quoted context omitted.
In fact, Solzhenitsyn's views can be described as Chernosotenstvo (Black Hundred) - a form of ultra-nationalism and xenophobia similar to that practiced by members of KKK. I never understood his appeal to people who thought of themselves as liberals and humanists.
The literature stands on its own, aside from whatever personal political evolution occurred in his later years. In the 90s, it certainly appeared as though Russia was getting set up for exploitation by the west under Yeltsin. A nationalist move in ideology within that context is rational.
> A nationalist move in ideology within that context is rational.
It is one thing to be a little nationalist. It is another thing to suddenly start calling for the reintroduction of censorship and mass incarceration of dissidents, when you had built your entire career as a writer and thinker on attacking those very things.
Re: A Tiny Village in Vermont Was the Perfect Spot to Hide Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
#7Earlier quoted context omitted.
The literature stands on its own, aside from whatever personal political evolution occurred in his later years. In the 90s, it certainly appeared as though Russia was getting set up for exploitation by the west under Yeltsin. A nationalist move in ideology within that context is rational.
> A nationalist move in ideology within that context is rational. It is one thing to be a little nationalist. It is another thing to suddenly start calling for the reintroduction of censorship and mass incarceration of dissidents, when you had built your entire career as a writer and thinker on attacking those very things.
It's possible I'm unaware of how far to the right he went. I've held a soft spot for Solzhenitsyn from his earlier literature. The KKK reference struck me as a slime and I felt compelled to reply. I'm willing to stand corrected, where is he calling for the incarceration of dissidents?
Re: A Tiny Village in Vermont Was the Perfect Spot to Hide Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
#8Cavendish is a veritable metropolis compared to some of the villages in that area (Amsden, Downers Corner, Ascutney). If you're ever in the area, be sure to check out the Brewfest Brewing Corp. in Ludlow for an incredible selection of local VT beer.
It's weird that whenever talking about a remote place with nothing to do, people always recommend a brewery as the highlight.
Re: A Tiny Village in Vermont Was the Perfect Spot to Hide Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
#9I am sure I was not the only person here who chuckled at the last bit from this article: > While there, he completed three volumes of The Red Wheel, and prepared his famous commencement address, given at Harvard in 1978. In it, he excoriated the West, and, in particular, America, for its godlessness, materialism, and weakness of spirit. One hopes that after his time in Cavendish, Solzhenitsyn would have changed that…
In fact, Solzhenitsyn's views can be described as Chernosotenstvo (Black Hundred) - a form of ultra-nationalism and xenophobia similar to that practiced by members of KKK. I never understood his appeal to people who thought of themselves as liberals and humanists.
The way I understand it, is that the Cold War was actually a War, although we forget about it, but the propaganda arms of the governments did not allow anyone to be a human being, you must be either a heroic figure or a villain. Maybe it is human nature to idealize, and in conflict to hyper-idealize.
The thing we also don't hear about, is his book "Two hundred years together", which IIRC was never even translated because it was so anti-semitic.
Re: A Tiny Village in Vermont Was the Perfect Spot to Hide Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
#10I am sure I was not the only person here who chuckled at the last bit from this article: > While there, he completed three volumes of The Red Wheel, and prepared his famous commencement address, given at Harvard in 1978. In it, he excoriated the West, and, in particular, America, for its godlessness, materialism, and weakness of spirit. One hopes that after his time in Cavendish, Solzhenitsyn would have changed that…
Thought experiment. Would S. be supportive of Russia and Putin in 2018?