The Unknown Solzhenitsyn: The Genius of the First Spit

To the 100th anniversary of A. Solzhenitsyn’s birth. The greatest Russian writers, his contemporaries, welcomed his arrival in literature very warmly—some even enthusiastically. But over time, their attitude toward him changed dramatically. A. Tvardovsky, who spared no effort and trouble to publish a writer unknown to anyone in “Novy Mir,” later told him to his face: “You have nothing sacred…” M. Sholokhov, after reading the first story by this literary newcomer, asked Tvardovsky, on his behalf, to kiss the author in the right circumstances—and later wrote about him: “Some painful shamelessness…” The same can be said about L. Leonov’s, K. Simonov’s, and others’ views of him. After reading a book by one of the most authoritative public intellectuals of our time, Vladimir Bushin, who knew the writer personally, you will understand what Solzhenitsyn sacrificed for fame.