Alexander Solzhenitsyn: Cold War Icon, Gulag Author, Russian Nationalist?: A Study of His Western Reception

This book offers an in-depth analysis of Alexander Solzhenitsyn's reception in the U.S., U.K., and Germany before and after 1991. Elisa Kriza explores his corpus through the paradigm of witness literature and confronts contentious subjects, such as antifeminism, anti-Semitism, and revisionism. Redefining Solzhenitsyn's work as memory culture, Kriza reveals the dynamics that transform a controversial figure into a moral icon. Alexander Solzhenitsyn was one of the Cold War's most iconic writers. This book offers an in-depth analysis of his reception in the US, UK, and Germany before and after 1991. Elisa Kriza skillfully explores how Solzhenitsyn's work can be understood with the paradigm of witness literature and uncovers the dynamics behind the politicized reception of his writing. From the mid-1980s onwards, Solzhenitsyn's popularity dwindled—was this for ideological reasons? What about the rumors linking him with Russian nationalism? This study does not shy away from stretching beyond anti-communism and touching more contentious subjects—such as anti-feminism, anti-Semitism, and revisionism—in Solzhenitsyn's work and reception. Bringing Solzhenitsyn back from his 'critical exile' and redefining his work as memory culture, Kriza's book is a crucial scholarly intervention, unveiling the mechanism that can transform a controversial figure into a moral icon. Annotation This book offers an in-depth analysis of Alexander Solzhenitsyn's reception in the U.S., U.K., and Germany before and after 1991. Elisa Kriza explores his corpus through the paradigm of witness literature and confronts contentious subjects, such as antifeminism, anti-Semitism, and revisionism. Redefining Solzhenitsyn's work as memory culture, Kriza reveals the dynamics that transform a controversial figure into a moral icon Analyzes Solzhenitsyn's reception in the US, the UK, and Germany to explore how his work can be understood within the paradigm of witness literature and uncover the dynamics behind the politicized response. Examines his dwindling popularity since the 1980s, and looks at the mechanisms that can transform a controversial figure into a moral icon