Alexander Solzhenitsyn: Mostly Forgotten in the New Russia

Posted on August 6, 2008

The New York Times has an interesting article about the Russian reaction to the death of Nobel Prize winning author Alexander Solzhenitsyn. At one time his book, The Gulag Archipeligo, was furtively read by Russians who chafed under the Communist rule. But the New Russia is so different from the USSR that Solzhenitsyn seems to be almost unknown to the younger generation.

The service is to receive widespread coverage in the state-controlled media, but in interviews, young people said they would not pay much attention to it. Approached at a park in Moscow, Taisiya Gunicheva, 17, a college student, said she had heard of Mr. Solzhenitsyn, but could not name any of his books. She said his work was largely absent from her school curriculum. "Can you imagine, there is nothing about it at all," she said. "It is sad, but unfortunately, it's true."
Nearby was Anton Zimin, 26, an advertising copywriter, who said he was quite familiar with Mr. Solzhenitsyn but doubted that others in his generation were. He said people his age had lost touch with the struggles of their parents and grandparents.
"The problem is that now, it's all about consumption -- this spirit that has engulfed everybody," Mr. Zimin said. "People prefer to consume everything, the simplest things, and the faster, the better. Books are something that force you to think, reading books requires some effort. But they prefer entertainment."

His works changed millions of lives, but his words are just not resonating with the young. In a youthful society that is obsessed with material goods, his passion seems almost quaint. And that is a real shame.