Solzhenitsyn: Introduction to The Gulag Archipelago (1/3)

Aleksander Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008) is one of the most important writers of the 20th century for his extensive writings which exposed the lies of the Soviet Union with courage, conviction and character. From the warfront for the motherland, to the slave labor camps, and then into exile, Solzhenitsyn absorbed the experience of an entire nation and documents the atrocities committed in the name of overthrowing class oppressors. Along the way, he learns that good and evil runs not between party lines, class, or race, but through the middle of each human heart.

Episode Notes

• The featured painting is an oil on canvas by Boris Kustodiev called "Celebration Marking the Opening of the 2nd Congress of the Comintern on Uritsky Square in Petrograd on 19 June 1920." It was painted in 1921.  It is on display at the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg
• The featured piece is by Sergey Rachmaninov, a Russian composer of the 20th century. The piece is called Piano Concerto #2 in C Minor, Op. 18. Rachmaninov escaped Russia after the socialist revolution of 1918 and settled in the United States. It seemed fitting to select a Russian composer who fled Russia following the socialist revolution. Plus, it is my favorite piece of all time.