#8624
Mentioned in 5 episodes
In the First Circle
Book • 1968
The novel, set during December 1949, takes place in a sharashka near Moscow, a research facility where prisoners, including scientists and engineers, work on secret projects for the Soviet government.
The story follows characters like Lev Rubin, Dimitri Sologdin, and Gleb Nerzhin as they navigate the complexities of their privileged yet oppressive environment.
The title alludes to Dante's 'Inferno,' where the first circle of Hell is limbo, reflecting the relatively better conditions but moral limbo of the prisoners.
The novel delves into themes of conscience, moral imperative, and the struggle to retain human dignity within a totalitarian system.
Solzhenitsyn's work is semi-autobiographical, drawing from his own experiences in the gulag system.
The story follows characters like Lev Rubin, Dimitri Sologdin, and Gleb Nerzhin as they navigate the complexities of their privileged yet oppressive environment.
The title alludes to Dante's 'Inferno,' where the first circle of Hell is limbo, reflecting the relatively better conditions but moral limbo of the prisoners.
The novel delves into themes of conscience, moral imperative, and the struggle to retain human dignity within a totalitarian system.
Solzhenitsyn's work is semi-autobiographical, drawing from his own experiences in the gulag system.
Mentioned by
Mentioned in 5 episodes
Mentioned by 
Russ Roberts in relation to the polyphonic structure of 'Life and Fate', comparing Grossman's work to Solzhenitsyn's.
Russ Roberts in relation to the polyphonic structure of 'Life and Fate', comparing Grossman's work to Solzhenitsyn's.
96 snips
Tyler Cowen on Life and Fate
Mentioned by N.J. Enfield in relation to the challenges of scientific work under political pressure.
12 snips
203 | N.J. Enfield on Why Language is Good for Lawyers and Not Scientists
Mentioned by Sean Murray as an example of someone who found positive meaning in a difficult experience.
TGL008: How to Think Like a Roman Emperor with Donald Robertson
Mentioned by Russ Roberts when discussing the impact of the Soviet regime on its scientists and mathematicians.
Russ Roberts when discussing the impact of the Soviet regime on its scientists and mathematicians. Lisa Cook on Racism, Patents, and Black Entrepreneurship
Mentioned by Russ Roberts when discussing the human capacity to rise above self-interest, even in dire circumstances.
Russ Roberts when discussing the human capacity to rise above self-interest, even in dire circumstances. Don Boudreaux on Buchanan
