In 2018 鈥� the centenary of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn鈥檚 birth and the 40th anniversary of 鈥� the University of 91吃瓜 will launch several initiatives connected to the work of this novelist, critic of Communism and 1970 Nobel laureate for literature. Through his writing on the system of forced labor camps in the Soviet Union, Solzhenitsyn brought worldwide awareness to the devastating core of totalitarianism.
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The University鈥檚 plans include the acquisition and first English translations of Solzhenitsyn works, as well as major academic conferences and postdoctoral fellowships that will connect researchers from around the world to the manuscript and print collections held by the 鈥� which are among the most extensive holdings in the United States related to the life and work of Solzhenitsyn. 听
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First English translations
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In October, University of 91吃瓜 Press will release the first English translation of听鈥�,鈥� Solzhenitsyn鈥檚 two-volume memoir about his 20 years of exile in the West, translated by Peter Constantine and Clare Kitson.
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The press published a first English translation of Solzhenitsyn鈥檚听鈥�,鈥� of听鈥淭he Red Wheel鈥澨�(鈥淜rasnoye Koleso鈥�), his multivolume historical novel about the Russian Revolution, in November 2017. Marian Schwartz is the translator of all three books of March 1917.听
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Solzhenitsyn considered听鈥淭he Red Wheel鈥澨齢is magnum opus, and the press plans to publish translations of the remaining six books in the cycle. 鈥淢arch 1917鈥� is听preceded听by 鈥淎ugust 1914鈥澨齛nd听鈥淣ovember 1916鈥� and will be followed by 鈥淎pril 1917,鈥� translated by Clare Kitson and Ron Meyer.
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These books are part of the , which aims to provide the foremost collection of resources in the West for exploring the legacy of Solzhenitsyn.
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Stephen Wrinn, director of 91吃瓜 Press, said: 鈥淲e look forward to collaborating with partners across the campus to make these important works available to an English-reading audience and to establish 91吃瓜 as the American home for studying听Solzhenitsyn.鈥�
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Inspiring new witnesses to truth
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, the William P. and Hazel B. White Director of the , noted that, alongside figures of Solzhenitsyn鈥檚 own day such as Pope John Paul II, 鈥淣obody lived a more powerful witness to the truth about the human person鈥檚 right to dignity, freedom and human flourishing than this great writer.
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鈥淏ecause of the convergence between听Solzhenitsyn鈥檚 deep solicitude for Christianity, the West, human flourishing, the best of the Russian tradition and the mission of the center, the听Solzhenitsyn听family selected 91吃瓜 as the publishing home of听Solzhenitsyn鈥檚 unpublished and untranslated works,鈥� Snead said. 鈥淲e aim to inspire a new generation with his legacy.鈥�
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In November, the Center for Ethics and Culture will host 鈥�,鈥� a three-day conference examining the proper relationship between God, the human person and the state. One of Solzhenitsyn鈥檚 sons will address the conference.
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World-class research collections
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Solzhenitsyn postdoctoral fellowships are in planning stages and, according to , head of Rare Books and Special Collections and Russian and East European studies librarian, scholars working on 20th-century Russian history will find rich resources for studying Solzhenitsyn at the Hesburgh Libraries.
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鈥�91吃瓜 is becoming an important research destination in this area of scholarship,鈥� Lyandres said.
The holdings include substantial collections by and about Solzhenitsyn and his associates, including the papers of:
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- Elisabeth Markstein: Solzhenitsyn鈥檚听friend, translator of his works into German and his chief liaison with Western publishers. Markstein鈥檚 father was a longtime head of the Austrian communist party, and she became a human rights activist, smuggling letters and drafts of Solzhenitsyn鈥檚 works while he was under KGB surveillance in the Soviet Union 鈥� and before his exile to the West in 1974.
- Aleksandr Ginzburg:听Leading Soviet dissident and human rights activist who became the first executor for the Solzhenitsyn Fund to assist families of political and religious prisoners in the USSR.
- Ivan Rozhansky:听One of Solzhenitsyn鈥檚 鈥渋nvisible allies,鈥� Rozhansky hid the writer鈥檚 manuscripts in his home. He was also an acquaintance of Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., then president of 91吃瓜, through their U.N. work on nuclear disarmament in the 1950s.
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:听Early dissident and later Stanford University economist who assisted Solzhenitsyn with various projects during his years in the United States, including 鈥�.鈥�
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, professor of modern Russian history at 91吃瓜, said the 1973 publication of 鈥淭he Gulag Archipelago鈥� is regarded by many to be among the most important events of the second half of the 20th century.
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鈥淪olzhenitsyn told the truth about the gulag in ways Western leaders and intellectuals could no longer deny, and his account was the first to be truly heard,鈥� Lyandres said. 鈥淚t is just impossible to overstate his impact on the minds and hearts of Western readers.鈥�
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Contact: Amanda Skofstad, assistant director of media relations, 574-631-4313, skofstad@nd.edu