Author and dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn

The Takeaway

Alexander Solzhenitsyn recently died near Moscow at the age of 89.  He lived for decades in the United States, in Vermont.  

The only book he was permitted to have published in the Soviet Union is, "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich."  It is a slender volume, but
Solzhenitsyn is not know for slender volumes.  But, this book caused an extraordinary change in Soviet literature and in the sense of confrontation with the Soviet government.  He was the voice of that confrontation for a very long time.

When the Soviet government fell, Solzhenitsyn was offered a position in the new government, which he refused.  He maintained throughout his return to Russia that Communism had never approached Democracy.

Guest Archie Barron, producer and director of the documentary "The Solzhenitsyns Take a Long Way Home," talks about Solzhenitsyn’s life and return.

"The Takeaway" is PRI’s new national morning news program, delivering the news and analysis you need to catch up, start your day, and prepare for what’s ahead. The show is a co-production of WNYC and PRI, in editorial collaboration with the BBC, The New York Times Radio, and WGBH.

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