A Fearless Voice of the Truth- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn - Prize in Literature 1970

“A great writer is, so to speak, a second government in his country. And for that reason no regime has ever loved great writers, only minor ones.” - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was born in Kislovodsk , Russia on December 11, 1918. He had a passion for writing and aspired to get a literary education in order to become a writer. At the time, however, this education was not exactly available in Russia, and it would have been too dangerous anyways. This is why Aleksandr studied Mathematics at Rostov University. Totalitarian Russia was not a safe place to live in, needless to say worse for a revolutionary mind. As you may know, Joseph Stalin, the absolute leader of the Soviet Union at that time, sought to avoid any potential upheavals against his government. This meant the use of many methods to eliminate opposition in thought and the pursuit of blind worship towards the totalitarian ruler. 

In 1945 Solzhenitsyn was arrested because he was accused of making some negative remarks against Joseph Stalin. He was condemned to work at labour camps, where he spent 11 years and then he was exiled. He wrote his experiences and found help out of Russia to help him publish his work. This served to aware the world of what was happening in the Soviet Union under Stalin´s regime. Some of Aleksandr´s most famous works are: "Th Gulag Archipelago", "The Cancer Ward", and "One day in the life of Ivan Denisovich". A man that against all odds stayed loyal to the literate truth of his nation and with great certitude criticized the oppression of his government, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970. 

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Bibliography: 

"The Nobel Prize in Literature 1970". Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2013. Web. 1 Dec 2013. <http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1970/>

"Alexandr Solzhenitsyn - Facts". Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2013. Web. 1 Dec 2013. <http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1970/solzhenitsyn-facts.html>

"Alexandr Solzhenitsyn - Biographical". Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2013. Web. 1 Dec 2013. <http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1970/solzhenitsyn-bio.html>

Picture: 

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. N.d. Photograph. Nobelprize.org. Nobelprize.org. Nobelprize.org. Web. 1 Dec. 2013. <http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1970/solzhenitsyn-bio.html>.