Nobel and the red wheel

Publishing Gulag Archipelago in Germany and spreading the text through self-published in Russia it was a big slap in the face to the leadership of the Soviet party and the state. The Kremlin decided that the first measure against Solzhenitsyn would be expulsion from the Union of Writers. He, who rarely showed emotions - be it about the beautiful or ugly things in life - this time he also cursed. His friend Rostropovich calmed him down: Ну, and good. And what are you going to do there with those assholes? It's the same as if the Ryazan Philharmonic kicked me out, but the whole world recognizes me.

photo: Wikipedia

The party and state leadership decided to finally deal with Solzhenitsyn.

KGB chief Yuri Andropov had a special role in this.

Andropov was a cautious man: a party apparatchik, previously ambassador to Budapest and Prague, both during the Soviet military interventions. He was an educated politician, he loved poetry. He wrote poems, one of which begins with the line "life is fleeting, living is eternal".

Andropov may have had doubts about the fate of Solzhenitsyn, but he did not show it. His letters to party leader Brezhnev remain. Andropov also sent Brezhnev part of the documentation that the KGB had confiscated from Solzhenitsyn.

POISON AT HOME, AWARD IN THE WORLD

At the beginning of the seventies, a special operational unit was formed that dealt with only one writer. This unit - which operated within the 9th Department of the Fifth Administration of the KGB of the USSR (PU) responsible for work along the lines of combating "ideological sabotage", i.e. against Soviet dissidents - organized the poisoning of Solzhenitsyn during his trip to the south of the country.

...

Solzhenitsyn survived. He spent the next six months in pain, his skin turned into water-filled blisters in many places, he could not move, and of course, writing was out of the question.

He wrote in his diary that it was one of the most difficult periods in his life and that it had never happened that he did not pick up a pen for so long. And then came the news from Stockholm: the Nobel Prize for Literature was awarded to Alexander Solzhenitsyn.

On October 1970, XNUMX, Western radio stations repeated the short news that the winner of the Nobel Prize was Solzhenitsyn. However, he found out about the news only later in the afternoon when his friend Zhores Medvedev visited him and told him. Solzhenitsyn did not seem surprised, it even seemed as if he expected the reward. He immediately sent a telegram to the Swedish Academy:

"I thank and accept the high award. I am ready to come and receive her in person in Stockholm. There is no illness that can prevent me from doing that."

The latter was written by Solzhenitsyn at the suggestion of Medvedev. "They can say that you are seriously ill and that you cannot travel," said Medvedev, referring to the events with Pasternak.

- Do you know that Stalin was also nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize? - asked Jaures - and not once, but twice.

Solzhenitsyn didn't know that.

Stalin was first nominated for the Nobel Prize in 1945, after the victory over fascism. They were already preparing a big banquet in the Kremlin, ordering a huge amount of Caspian caviar and Soviet champagne. However, the award eluded him.

It was proposed a second time in 1948, but even then in vain. Therefore, in 1949, the Stalin International Prize for "strengthening peace among nations" was established as a counterpart to the Nobel Prize, but with little importance in the world. Later, an international prize for literature was established - Lenin and Stalin, also with limited importance outside the USSR.

TESTAMENT

Heinrich Bell, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, was a great literary name in the West, but he arrived in Moscow as the president of the International Pen Club.

The German writer immediately announced to his hosts that he wanted to meet with Solzhenitsyn. He came with his wife Veronika and vigorously refused to be accompanied by a Russian interpreter. He said it was just a courtesy call and no interpreter was needed. In addition, his wife is of Russian origin and can help in communication.

Of course, the meeting was anything but polite. A small group of selected friends gathered at Solzhenitsyn's. Besides Rostropovich, there was Lev Kopelev and Andrei Sakharov. All of them had a good command of German or English, so there was no problem in communicating between the two Nobel laureates. And they talked only about well-known events: what the literary atmosphere is like in Germany, what's new being published in America, and the like. Surprisingly, one of the main topics was about the weather - what kind of weather is coming? Will there be snow? There was nothing hidden or ambiguous in those questions - simply, they talked for half an hour about the weather as if that was what they were most interested in.

But while they talked loudly about the weather, with the audience engaging in long monologues, the two writers wrote down the main points on slips of paper, which Rostropovich then burned and threw the ashes into a wastebasket. There, an agreement was reached that Solzhenitsyn would hand over his will to Heinrich Bell, who would transfer it to Germany and store it in a well-known law firm. Bell and Solzhenitsyn then authenticated each page of the will with their signatures so that no one doubts the authenticity of the document. Caution, however, dictated that the will remain with Solzhenitsyn for some time.

After three days, they met again, but this time in the restaurant of the "Metropol" hotel in the very center of Moscow. Heinrich Bell presented Solzhenitsyn with his book About myself with a dedication: "To my dear friend Aleksandar Isajevic, with sincere respect for everything he has done so far. And what will he do next".

Solzhenitsyn also gave Belo his book One day of Ivan Denisovich. Something more important than the dedication was hidden in the book: Solzhenitsyn's will. It was foreseen that in three cases the document would automatically enter into force: in the event of the writer's death; in case he disappears from the public for more than two weeks; in case he is arrested or imprisoned in a psychiatric clinic or sent to a camp or exile.

If this happens, the lawyer will immediately publish the text of the will in the leading European newspapers.

Solzhenitsyn wrote: "Now I am calm. The fate of my books is in the hands of my closest friends. I don't have to worry about whether it will disappear in some secret archives".

Then he sent another letter.

LETTER TO THE LEADERS OF THE USSR

After he sent the will and manuscripts to the West, something began to change in Solzhenitsyn.

He felt chosen, as if he was reborn, a free man, with a mission to change the society in which he lives. As someone whose actions are directed by a higher power. He wrote: "I am happy and encouraged by the belief that I am not the one who decides and implements, but that I am the sword in my hand that fights against an impure force, that cuts and stabs. Oh, help me, Lord, so that I don't break when hit, so that I don't fall out of Your hand." A prophet is born.

Writing was relegated to the background, the writer achieved everything he aspired to in literature. From now on, life will be devoted to higher goals: the reordering of the world according to his ideas.

This is how the famous "Letter to the Leaders of the USSR" was created, another turning point in his life. The message to those in power was to abandon the communist ideology and get down to the task of turning the USSR into a Russian nation-state. The letter to the leaders is presented by Solzhenitsyn creed, his philosophy and his political program.

"We are prevented from building a new Russia - ideology. Not only is Marxism not a science, it could not predict a single event in its social forecasts. In contrast, support patriotism, which means renouncing Marxism. Take off that dirty shirt with so much blood on it that the living body of the nation cannot breathe. It is the blood of those 66 million martyrs."

Renunciation of communism is a prerequisite for any other change, writes Solzhenitsyn. The rulers can keep everything else - political and economic power, the army, the police. Solzhenitsyn sees the solution for post-communist Russia in authoritarian government, not Western-style democracy.

For a thousand years, Russia lived in an authoritarian system and managed to preserve the physical and spiritual health of the people. That system had a strong moral basis: Orthodoxy. Whether we like it or not, Russia is destined for an authoritarian state system. It is unacceptable to impose an ideological lie, but not an authoritarian system.

Solzhenitsyn's letter to the leaders ends with this message: "I take upon myself a great responsibility before Russian history." But if nothing is done, the responsibility will be even greater."

Three days later, the "inner part" of the Politburo met in the Kremlin. The general secretary of the party, Leonid Brezhnev, was presiding, next to him was Prime Minister Alexei Kosygin, and the chairman of the Supreme Soviet, Nikolai Podgorny, was also there. KGB chief Yuri Andropov, who held the whole case in his hands even though he was not yet a member of the Politburo, sat on the other side of the table. On the table was a thick folder with documentation on the "Solzhenitsyn case".

POLITBIRO EX MACHINE

Brezhnev opened the session with furrowed brows. "Comrades, we are here today to discuss the case of Alexander Solzhenitsyn. He continues to pose a threat to our ideology and the stability of our great country. His last 'letter to the leaders', as he called us, goes beyond all his rudeness. Who is he to tell us what to do and how to organize our wonderful socialist country? After all, you have read everything yourself. We have to solve this case because it interferes with our work and takes us away from important tasks that we have on the internal and external plan. We will come before the full Politburo with a concrete proposal that we will make today."

Then Prime Minister Kosygin spoke, his expression never giving away what he was thinking: his face was fixed whether he had just heard a witty anecdote or was about to make a dramatic decision. He said: "Comrades, it is clear that Solzhenitsyn's writings have found their way outside our borders and are causing damage to our international reputation. It's time to arrest him, bring him to court and sentence him to ten years in a labor camp. In this way, we will send a strong message to others who dare to criticize our socialist system".

Nikolai Podgorny, a loyal member of the Politburo, nodded his head in agreement. "I agree with the second Kosygin. Solzhenitsyn's ideas are dangerous and must be erased. A ten-year sentence will not only silence him, but also serve as a warning to others. Let him think as much as he wants in Kolyma."

Andropov took a different position. He agrees that Solzhenitsyn is a threat, but an arrest and trial could cause even more problems and international attention: "Instead, I propose to expel him from the country, strip him of his citizenship and thereby ensure that he never returns."

Kosygin retorted: "But if we expel him, his books and ideas will continue to circulate in the West, even more than now."

Andropov did not like to be opposed, especially not in a session chaired by the Secretary General. He presented a new argument: "Expulsion will allow us to distance ourselves." He will be a problem for someone else, and we can always defend ourselves that he is not a citizen of the USSR and that we are not responsible for his behavior and statements. In addition, we will certainly follow his movements. The service is trained to go anywhere. We have to get guarantees from a western country that will receive him. But that's my job, I believe I will solve it".

Then they voted, in fact, they waited for Brezhnev to raise his hand first. He accepted Andropov's argument, so it was decided to expel Solzhenitsyn from the Soviet Union. At the end, Andropov said to Kosygin as if addressing a subordinate: "You, Comrade Kosygin, prepare a legal decision on the revocation of citizenship. I think a week is enough for you".

ASYLUM IN THE SPIRIT OF DETENT

In the silence of his office, Yuri Andropov could breathe a sigh of relief. The worst is over. He prevented Kosygin and Podgorny from sending the writer to the eternally frozen Kolyma, from which he would never return. And all of that would hurt Andropov's soul: they would talk about how cruel the KGB was and that the terrible policies of Stalin had returned. Kosygin, Podgorni, certainly Suslov, and even the indecisive Brezhnev would get away with it and save face - not in the country, that's not so important - but abroad. And how can he lead the USSR afterwards? Because Andropov felt that his time was yet to come, the only question was how much longer Leonid Ilyich would live.

He already had the decision of the Supreme Court on his desk. He carefully read once more: "The Supreme Court of the USSR made a decision to deprive AI Solzhenitsyn of his Soviet citizenship and to expel him from the Soviet Union on February 13, 1974, due to his constant activities that are incompatible with Soviet citizenship and are harmful to the Soviet Union." .

Yes, that's it. That conceited Kosygin made an effort. But he set the date of expulsion in advance. It should be deleted. And add a family. So Andropov wrote in his own hand: "The family of Solzhenitsyn can join him if he deems it necessary."

The decision of the Supreme Court was published in the trial copy of the "Official Gazette". It was only given to members of the Politburo before a decision was formally adopted, so they could change it according to their needs. All this has been established practice for several decades. Andropov still had to deal with an operational issue: where to send Solzhenitsyn. But it wasn't a big problem: we're human, we'll come to an agreement.

He was informed by his colleagues that Gromyko, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, must have been ordered by Brezhnev because no one informed him, Andropov, but instead sent a coded cable to the ambassadors in Paris, Rome, London and Stockholm to check whether those countries would provide refuge to Solzhenitsyn if he were expelled from of the USSR. Stupidity, Yuri Andropov reasoned, how could it not have occurred to them that there is a country that will immediately and surely accept Solzhenitsyn? It is West Germany and its leader Willy Brandt whose policy of détente and opening towards the East enjoys support in Moscow.

Brandt agreed to provide asylum to the Soviet writer "in the spirit of détente".

To be continued