Between Two Millstones, Book 1: Sketches of Exile, 1974-1978

473 Pages·2018·1.73 MB·English

by  Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

ADVANCE PRAISE
for
Between Two Millstones, Book 1
Sketches of Exile, 1974–1978
“The publication of Between Two Millstones, Book 1is most welcome and occurs at just the
right moment, when relations between Russia and the West are in a sorry state. This volume
introduces readers to the worldview of a formidable writer after his expulsion from the Soviet
Union in 1974. A Russian patriot and an honest and unrelenting champion of the oppressed,
Solzhenitsyn disappointed those pundits and public figures who expected him to lavish only
praise on the West. His memoirs are continually absorbing and contain fascinating insights
and observations, where his literary brilliance is on full display.”
—David L. Tubbs, The King’s College, New York City
“The popular image of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn is that of a dour prophet, waging a war
of words against international Communism—he won. However, Solzhenitsyn is primarily
an author with an exceptional knack for making characters come alive offthe printed page.
In this personal memoir recounting the years after his expulsion from the Soviet Union,
Solzhenitsyn himself emerges from behind the shadows of his public persona. Instead of the
‘slightly balmy nineteenth-century Russian mystic’ that President Jimmy Carter styled him,
we see a thoughtful, witty, ironic, sensitive man struggling to learn the ways of new cultures,
new friends, and new languages. He documents his search for a place to live where his family
will thrive, safe from the threat posed by the KGB. He is always torn between the weight of
fame (legions of people want to admire, damn, or at the least meet him) and the longing for
the unencumbered existence of a writer. For readers interested in one of the pivotal figures
in the demise of twentieth-century totalitarianism, this book is a treasure.”
—James F. Pontuso, Charles Patterson Professor of Government
and Foreign Affairs, Hampden-Sydney College, author of
Assault on Ideology: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s Political Thought
“For those wishing to know more about the literary genius and political giant who was
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, this autobiographical account of his years of exile in the West is
a wish come true. Up until now, we have only had Solzhenitsyn’s account of his years as a
dissident in the Soviet Union, prior to his expulsion from his homeland. As for the years
from 1974 to 1994, we have had to content ourselves with mere scraps and fragments.
Now, at long last, we are being served the feast for which we have hungered.”
—Joseph Pearce, author of Solzhenitsyn: A Soul in Exile
“Between Two Millstones describes the years when Solzhenitsyn, banished but unbowed,
defied Western decadence as eloquently as he had Soviet brutality.”
—Christopher Caldwell, The Weekly Standard
“Solzhenitsyn’saccountof hisearlyyearsof exileisinffformedbyarefffusaltobesweptalong
bytheswiffft-movingcurrentsof modernityandanever-increasingaaawarenessof theWWWest’s
lossof amoralcompass.Itshouldbehighonthereadinglistof everythinkingAmerican.”
—LeeCongdon,authorof SSSolllzzzhenitttssyn:
TTTheHHHiiistttorrricccalll-SSSpirrritttualDeeestttinieeesoof RussssiiiaandtttheWWWeeest
“Likethemanhimselfff,thetranslatedmemoirof AAAleksandrSolzhenitsynisanindispensable
partof historyyy.Solzhenitsyn’swords,nowaccessibletoEnglishreadersffforthefirsttime,are
alastingtestimonytohisunbendingmoralcourage,hispersistence,andhispersuasiveness—
allof wwhichhelpedbringdownCommunism.”
—DonaldRRRumsfffeld,secretaryof defffense(1975–197777,2001–2006)
“These‘sketchesof exile’werewrittenduringtheeventsdescribedandareinffformedwith
thesameenergggyandvividpowersof descriptionthatcharacterizedSolzhenitsyn’sacclaimed
memoirTTTheOOOakandtttheCCCalllfff BetttweenTTTwoMMMillllllstttoneeeshasappearedinRRRussian,French,
German,Italian,andRRRomanian,butnotinthecountrywwwhereSolzhenitsynspenteighteen
yearsof hisWWWesternexile.Itisoneof thegreatmemoirsof ourtimeandadistinguished
workof artinitsownright.”
—DanielJ.Mahoneyyy,AAAugustineChairinDistinguishedScholarship,
AssumptionCollege
““Asaffformerpoliticalprisonerfffreshoutof theUSSR,AAAleksandrSolzhenitsynwasconsumed
withthedesireof makingtheWWWestseethedangersof Communism.Butanincreasing
numberofWWWesterncommentatorsfffoundhisviewstooharshinthisrespect,aswellas
‘insufficientlyliberal’ingeneral.ControversiesconcerningSolzhenitsynbeganeruptingwith
evergreaterfffrequencccyyy,reachingacrescendoof sortsaffftertheHarvardspeech.InBetttweenTTTwo
MMMillllllstttoneees,Solzhenitsynrevisitsthesepolemicalbattleswithgustoandinfffascinatingdetail.”
—AAAlexisKKKlimoffffff,emeritus,VVVassarCollege
““AAAleksandrSolzhenitsyntooktoVVVermont,andVVVermonterstooktohim.Ifffeltitaprivilege
tohaaavemetwithhiminhisnewVVVermontsetting,andIknowthatourstate’sffforestedbeauty
remindedhimof home.WWWeareproudthathebelievedthathishomeland,andtheworld,
couldlearnfffromthelocalselfff-governmentthatisembodiedinTTTownMeetingDaaayintowns
andhamletsacrosstheGreenMountainState.”
—SenatorPatrickLeahy(D-VVVermont)
B E T W E E N
T W O
M I L L S T O N E S
BOOK 1
The Center for Ethics and Culture Solzhenitsyn Series
The Center for Ethics and Culture Solzhenitsyn Series showcases
the contributions and continuing inspiration of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
(1918–2008), the Nobel Prize–winning novelist and historian. The series
makes available works of Solzhenitsyn, including previously untranslated
works, and aims to provide the leading platform for exploring the many
facets of his enduring legacy. In his novels, essays, memoirs, and speeches,
Solzhenitsyn revealed the devastating core of totalitarianism and warned
against political, economic, and cultural dangers to the human spirit.
In addition to publishing his work, this new series features thoughtful
writers and commentators who draw inspiration from Solzhenitsyn’s
abiding care for Christianity and the West, and for the best of the Russian
tradition. Through contributions in politics, literature, philosophy, and
the arts, these writers follow Solzhenitsyn’s trail in a world filled with new
pitfalls and new possibilities for human freedom and human dignity.
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
B E T W E E N
T W O
M I L L S T O N E S
B O O K 1
Sketches of Exile
1974 –1978
Translated from the Russian by
PETER CONSTANTINE
UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME PRESS
NOTRE DAME, INDIANA
BTM-00FM.qxp_Layout 1 8/31/18 11:21 AM Page iv
Published by the University of Notre Dame Press
Notre Dame, Indiana 46556
undpress.nd.edu
English Language Edition copyright © 2018 by University of Notre Dame
All Rights Reserved
Printed in Canada by Friesens Corporation
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr Isaevich, 1918–2008, author. |
Constantine, Peter, 1963–translator. | Mahoney, Daniel J., 1960– writer of foreword.
Title: Between two millstones, book 1: sketches of exile, 1974–1978 / Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn ;
translated from the Russian edition by Peter Constantine ; foreword by Daniel J. Mahoney.
Other titles: Ugodilo zyornyshko promezh dvukh zhernovov.
English Description: Notre Dame, Indiana : University of Notre Dame Press, [2018] |
Series: Center for Ethics and Culture Solzhenitsyn series | “This is the first publication in English
of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s memoirs of his years in the West, Ugodilo zyornyshko promezh
dvukh zhernovov: Ocherki izgnaniya. They are being published here as two books: The present
first book contains Part One. The forthcoming second book, under the title
Between Two Millstones, Book 2: Exile in America, 1978–1994, contains Parts Two,
Three, and Four”—Publisher’s note. | Includes bibliographic references and index. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2018021919 (print) | LCCN 2018041531 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780268105037 (pdf) | ISBN 9780268105044 (epub) |
ISBN 9780268105013 (cloth : alk. paper) | ISBN 0268105014 (cloth : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr Isaevich, 1918–2008. |
Authors, Russian—20th century—Biography. | LCGFT: Autobiographies.
Classification: LCC PG3488.O4 (ebook) | LCC PG3488.O4 Z4613 2018 (print) |
DDC 891.78/4403 [B]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018021919
∞This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (Permanence of Paper).
This e-Book was converted from the original source file by a third-party vendor.
Readers who notice any formatting, textual, or readability issues are encouraged to
contact the publisher at [email protected]
CONTENTS
Publisher’s Note | vii
Foreword | ix
PART ONE (1974–1978)
CHAPTER 1 Untethered | 3
CHAPTER 2 Predators and Dupes | 115
CHAPTER 3 Another Year Adrift | 165
CHAPTER 4 At Five Brooks | 225
CHAPTER 5 Through the Fumes | 295
APPENDICES
List of Appendices | 347
Appendices(1–24) | 349
Notes to the English Translation | 391
Index of Selected Names | 413
General Index | 429

PUBLISHER’S NOTE
This is the first publication in English of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s memoirs of
Угодило зëрнышко промеж двух жерновов: Очерки
his years in the West,
изгнания О
[Ugodilo zyornyshko promezh dvukh zhernovov: cherki izgnaniya].
They are being published here as two books: The present first book con-
tains Part One. The forthcoming second book, under the title Between Two
Millstones, Book 2: Exile in America, 1978–1 994, contains Parts Two, Three,
and Four.
The reader is reminded that the overall sequence of Solzhenitsyn’s memoirs,
as they appear in English, is therefore as follows:
The Oak and the Calf: Sketches of Literary Life in the Soviet Union
Invisible Allies[=Fifth Supplement toThe Oak and the Calf ]
Between Two Millstones, Book 1: Sketches of Exile, 1974– 1978
Between Two Millstones, Book 2: Exile in America, 1978– 1994
The original Russian text of chapter 5, Skvoz chad (Through the Fumes), was
published separately at YMCA-Press in 1979. Then the full text of the book
appeared over seven installments in the journal Novy Mir (chap. 1: no. 9, 1998;
chaps. 2–3: no. 11, 1998; chaps. 4–5: no. 2, 1999; chaps. 6–8: no. 9, 2000;
chaps. 9–10: no. 12, 2000; chaps. 11–13, no. 4, 2001; and chaps. 14–16:
no. 11, 2003). In preparation for eventual book publication, the author twice
made revisions to his text, in 2004 and again in 2008. The first complete
Russian edition in book form is scheduled to be released by Vremya in late
2018 or 2019 as volume 29 of their ongoing publication of a thirty-volume
collected works of Solzhenitsyn. It is that final, definitive text that is presented
here in English translation.
vii