PROCTORSVILLE, Vt. – Nov. 17 marks an important date for the work of the Nobel Laureate and Soviet dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. On this date in 1962, “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” was published in Novy Mir, ushering in a new understanding of Stalin’s forced labor camps, the Gulag. In 2026, Nov. 17 is the publication date of “Love the Revolution: An Unfinished Novel,” in English.
According to the Solzhenitsyn Center, the major part of this unfinished novel was composed in 1948, during Solzhenitsyn’s stay in the Marfino sharashka. The writer had to leave behind what he had written when he was shipped to Ekibastuz in 1950, but was able to retrieve this material when he returned from exile. Solzhenitsyn’s original intent was for “Love the Revolution” to be an account of his entire military career, but his attempt to resume the narrative after returning from exile failed, and the work remains fragmentary.
On Wednesday, Nov. 18, at 6 p.m., Solzhenitsyn’s son Ignat will be speaking about his father’s latest publication at the Cavendish Fletcher Community Library, 573 Main Street in Proctorsville.
Ignat Solzhenitsyn is internationally known as a pianist and conductor, and is currently the editor of Solzhenitsyn’s “The Calf Who Bullied the Oak,” due to be published April 1, 2027.
The Vermont Historical Society’s exhibit “Solzhenitsyn in Vermont” continues to be on display at the Cavendish Library, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m., until Dec. 5. These events are free and open to the public. For more information, email margocaulfield@icloud.com or call 802-226-7807.