The work of Alexander Isaevich Solzhenitsyn, whose biography will be presented to your attention in the article, can be treated in completely different ways, but it is worth unambiguously recognizing his significant contribution to Russian literature. In addition, Solzhenitsyn was also a fairly popular public figure. For his handwritten work The Gulag Archipelago, the writer became a Nobel laureate, which is a direct confirmation of how fundamental his work has become. Briefly, the most important thing from Solzhenitsyn's biography, read on.
Interesting facts from childhood and youth
Solzhenitsyn was born in Kislovodsk in a relatively poor family. This significant event took place on December 11, 1918. His father was a peasant, and his mother was a Cossack. Due to the extremely difficult financial situation, the future writer, together withhis parents in 1924 was forced to move to Rostov-on-Don. And since 1926, he has been studying at one of the local schools.
Having successfully completed his studies in high school, Solzhenitsyn entered Rostov University in 1936. Here he is studying at the Faculty of Physics and Metallurgy, but at the same time he does not forget to simultaneously engage in active literature - the main vocation of his whole life.
Solzhenitsyn graduated from the University in 1941 and received a diploma of higher education with honors. But before that, in 1939, he also entered the Faculty of Literature at the Moscow Institute of Philosophy. Solzhenitsyn was supposed to study here in absentia, but his plans were thwarted by the Great Patriotic War, which the Soviet Union entered in 1941.
And in Solzhenitsyn's personal life, changes take place during this period: in 1940, the writer marries N. A. Reshetovskaya.
Difficult war years
Even with his poor he alth, Solzhenitsyn tried with all his might to go to the front in order to protect his country from fascist capture. Once on the front, he serves in the 74th transport-drawn battalion. In 1942 he was sent to study at a military school, after which he received the rank of lieutenant.
Already in 1943, thanks to his military rank, Solzhenitsyn was appointed commander of a specialized battery engaged in sound reconnaissance. Conducting his service conscientiously, the writer earned honorable awards for him - this is the Order of the Red Star and the Order of the Patriotic War of the 2nd degree. In the sameperiod he is assigned the next military rank - senior lieutenant.
Political position and difficulties associated with it
Solzhenitsyn was not afraid to openly criticize Stalin's activities, not at all hiding his own political position. And this is despite the fact that totalitarianism at that time flourished so vehemently on the territory of the entire USSR. This could be read, for example, in the letters that the writer addressed to Vitkevich, his friend. In them, he zealously condemned the entire ideology of Leninism, which he considered distorted. And for these actions, he paid with his own freedom, having ended up in camps for 8 years. But he did not waste time in places of deprivation of liberty. Here he wrote such well-known literary works as Tanks Know the Truth, In the First Circle, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, Love the Revolution.
He alth situation
In 1952, shortly before his release from the camps, Solzhenitsyn had he alth problems - he was diagnosed with stomach cancer. In this regard, the question arose about the operation, which the doctors successfully performed on February 12, 1952.
Life after imprisonment
A short biography of Alexander Solzhenitsyn contains information that on February 13, 1953 he left the camp, having served a prison sentence for criticizing the authorities. It was then that he was sent to Kazakhstan, to the Dzhambul region. The village where the writer settled was called Berlik. Here he got a job as a teacher and taught mathematics and physics in high school.
In January 1954comes to Tashkent for treatment in a special cancer unit. Here, doctors performed radiation therapy, which gave the writer confidence in the success of the fight against a terrible deadly disease. And indeed, a miracle happened - in March 1954, Solzhenitsyn felt much better and was discharged from the clinic.
But the situation with the disease remained in his memory for the rest of his life. In the story Cancer Ward, the writer describes in detail the situation with his unusual healing. Here he makes it clear to the reader that he was helped in a difficult life situation by faith in God, the dedication of doctors, as well as an inexhaustible desire to fight desperately for his own life until the very end.
Final rehabilitation
Solzhenitsyn was finally rehabilitated by the communist state regime only in 1957. In July of the same year, he becomes a completely free person and no longer fears various persecutions and oppressions. For his criticism, he received a lot of hardships from the USSR authorities, but this did not completely break his spirit and in no way affected his subsequent work.
It was during this period that the writer moved to Ryazan. There he successfully gets a job at a school and teaches astronomy to children. A school teacher is the profession for Solzhenitsyn, which did not limit his ability to do what he loves - literature.
New conflict with the authorities
Working at the Ryazan school, Solzhenitsyn actively expresses his thoughts and views on life innumerous literary works. However, in 1965, new tests await him - the KGB seizes the entire archive of the writer's manuscripts. Now he is already banned from creating new literary masterpieces, which is a disastrous punishment for any writer.
But Solzhenitsyn does not give up and tries in this period with all his might to correct the situation. For example, in 1967, in an open letter addressed to the Congress of Soviet Writers, he states his own position on what is stated in the works.
But this action had a negative effect, which turned against the well-known writer and historian. The fact is that in 1969 Solzhenitsyn was expelled from the Writers' Union of the USSR. A year earlier, in 1968, he finished writing the book The Gulag Archipelago, which made him popular all over the world. It was published in mass circulation only in 1974. It was then that the public was able to get acquainted with the work, since until now it had remained inaccessible to a wide range of readers. And then this fact happened only when the writer lived outside his country. The book was first published not in the author's homeland, but in Paris, the capital of France.
The main stages and features of life abroad
Solzhenitsyn did not return to live in his homeland for quite a long time, because, probably, in the depths of his soul he was very offended by her for all the repressions and hardships that he had to experience in the USSR. Between 1975 and 1994 the writermanaged to visit many countries of the world. In particular, he successfully visited Spain, France, Great Britain, Switzerland, Germany, Canada and the USA. The very wide geography of his travels in no small way contributed to the popularization of the writer among the general readership of these states.
Even in the briefest biography of Solzhenitsyn there is information that in Russia The Gulag Archipelago was published only in 1989, shortly before the final collapse of the USSR empire. It happened in the magazine "New World". His famous story "Matryona Dvor" is also published there.
Homecoming and new creativity
Only after the collapse of the USSR, Solzhenitsyn still decides to return to his homeland. It happened in 1994. In Russia, the writer is working on his new works, fully devoting himself to his beloved work. And in 2006 and 2007 whole volumes of all Solzhenitsyn's collections were published in modern binding. In total, this literary collection contains 30 volumes.
Death of a writer
Solzhenitsyn died already at an advanced age, having lived a very difficult life filled with many different difficulties and hardships. This sad event happened on May 3, 2008. The cause of death was heart failure.
Literally until his last breath, Solzhenitsyn remained true to himself and constantly created the next literary masterpieces, which are highly appreciated in many countries of the world. Probably, our descendants will also appreciate all that light andthe righteous that the writer wanted to convey to them.
Little Known Facts
Now you know a brief biography of Solzhenitsyn. It's time to highlight some little-known, but no less interesting facts. Of course, the whole life of such a world-famous writer can hardly go unnoticed by his admirers. After all, the fate of Solzhenitsyn is very diverse and unusual in its essence, perhaps even somewhere tragic. And while he was ill with cancer, for a certain time, he was just a hair away from premature death.
But there are a number of facts that can not be found in all sources that tell about the writer. Among the main ones are the following:
- By mistake, he entered the world literature with an erroneous middle name "Isaevich". The real middle name sounds a little different - Isaakievich. An error occurred while filling out Solzhenitsyn's passport page.
- In elementary school, Solzhenitsyn was ridiculed by his peers only for wearing a cross around his neck and attending church services.
- In the camp, the writer developed a unique method of memorizing texts with the help of a rosary. Thanks to the fact that he was sorting through this subject in his hands, Solzhenitsyn managed to keep in his own memory the most important moments, which he then fully reflected in his own literary works.
- In 1998 he was awarded the Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called, but unexpectedly for everyone, he nobly refused this recognition,motivating his action by the fact that he cannot accept the order from the Russian authorities, which led the country to its current sad state of development.
- Stalin the writer called "godfather" when distorting "Lenin's norms." This term was clearly not to the liking of Iosif Vissarionovich, which contributed to the inevitable further arrest of Solzhenitsyn.
- A lot of poems were written by a writer at the university. They were included in a special Poetry Collection, which was released in 1974. The publication of this book was undertaken by the Imka-press publishing organization, which actively worked in exile.
- Alexander Isaevich's favorite literary form should be considered the story "Polyphonic novel".
- In the Tagansky district of Moscow there is a street that was renamed in honor of Solzhenitsyn.
