This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/europe/7540038.stm
The article has changed 17 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 4 | Version 5 |
|---|---|
| Alexander Solzhenitsyn dies at 89 | Alexander Solzhenitsyn dies at 89 |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Russian writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who exposed Stalin's prison system in his novels and spent 20 years in exile, has died near Moscow at the age of 89. | Russian writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who exposed Stalin's prison system in his novels and spent 20 years in exile, has died near Moscow at the age of 89. |
| The author of The Gulag Archipelago and One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich, who returned to Russia in 1994, died of either a stroke or heart failure. | The author of The Gulag Archipelago and One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich, who returned to Russia in 1994, died of either a stroke or heart failure. |
| The Nobel laureate had suffered from high blood pressure in recent years. | The Nobel laureate had suffered from high blood pressure in recent years. |
| After returning to Russia, Solzhenitsyn wrote several polemics on Russian history and identity. | After returning to Russia, Solzhenitsyn wrote several polemics on Russian history and identity. |
| His son Stepan was quoted by one Russian news agency as saying his father died of heart failure, while another agency quoted literary sources as saying he had suffered a stroke. | His son Stepan was quoted by one Russian news agency as saying his father died of heart failure, while another agency quoted literary sources as saying he had suffered a stroke. |
| He died in his home in the Moscow area, where he had lived with his wife Natalya, at 2345 local time (1945 GMT), Stepan told Itar-Tass. | He died in his home in the Moscow area, where he had lived with his wife Natalya, at 2345 local time (1945 GMT), Stepan told Itar-Tass. |
| Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sent his condolences to the writer's family, a Kremlin spokesperson said. | Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sent his condolences to the writer's family, a Kremlin spokesperson said. |
| Prisoner, patient, writer | Prisoner, patient, writer |
| Solzhenitsyn served as a Soviet artillery officer in World War II and was decorated for his courage but in 1945 was denounced for criticising Stalin in a letter. | Solzhenitsyn served as a Soviet artillery officer in World War II and was decorated for his courage but in 1945 was denounced for criticising Stalin in a letter. |
| ALEXANDER SOLZHENITSYN Born: 11 December 19181945: sentenced to eight years for anti-Soviet activities1962: One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich published in Russia1970: Awarded Nobel Prize for Literature1974: First volume of The Gulag Archipelago published13 February 1974: Exiled from his native Russia1994: Returns to Russia3 August 2008: dies in Moscow href="/1/hi/world/europe/2276650.stm">Obituary class="" href="http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?forumID=5194&edition=1">Send us your comments | |
| He spent the next eight years in the Soviet prison system, or Gulag, before being internally exiled to Kazakhstan, where he was successfully treated for stomach cancer. | He spent the next eight years in the Soviet prison system, or Gulag, before being internally exiled to Kazakhstan, where he was successfully treated for stomach cancer. |
| Publication in 1962 of the novella Denisovich, an account of a day in a Gulag prisoner's life, made him a celebrity during the post-Stalin political thaw. | Publication in 1962 of the novella Denisovich, an account of a day in a Gulag prisoner's life, made him a celebrity during the post-Stalin political thaw. |
| However, within a decade, the writer awarded the 1970 Nobel Prize for Literature was out of favour again for his work, and was being harassed by the KGB secret police. | However, within a decade, the writer awarded the 1970 Nobel Prize for Literature was out of favour again for his work, and was being harassed by the KGB secret police. |
| In 1973, the first of the three volumes of Archipelago, a detailed account of the systematic Soviet abuses from 1918 to 1956 in the vast network of its prison and labour camps, was published in the West. | In 1973, the first of the three volumes of Archipelago, a detailed account of the systematic Soviet abuses from 1918 to 1956 in the vast network of its prison and labour camps, was published in the West. |
| Its publication sparked a furious backlash in the Soviet press, which denounced him as a traitor. | Its publication sparked a furious backlash in the Soviet press, which denounced him as a traitor. |
| Early in 1974, the Soviet authorities stripped him of his citizenship and expelled him from the country. | Early in 1974, the Soviet authorities stripped him of his citizenship and expelled him from the country. |
| Moral voice | Moral voice |
| He settled in Vermont, in the USA, where he completed the other two volumes of Archipelago. | He settled in Vermont, in the USA, where he completed the other two volumes of Archipelago. |
| It is time, in the West, to defend not so much human rights as human obligations Alexander Solzhenitsyn In his own words | It is time, in the West, to defend not so much human rights as human obligations Alexander Solzhenitsyn In his own words |
| While living there as a recluse, he railed against what he saw as the moral corruption of the West. | While living there as a recluse, he railed against what he saw as the moral corruption of the West. |
| Scathing of Boris Yeltsin's brand of democracy, he did not return to Russia immediately upon the collapse of the USSR in 1992, unlike other exiles. | Scathing of Boris Yeltsin's brand of democracy, he did not return to Russia immediately upon the collapse of the USSR in 1992, unlike other exiles. |
| His homecoming in 1994 was a dramatic affair as he travelled in slowly by land from the Russian Far East. | His homecoming in 1994 was a dramatic affair as he travelled in slowly by land from the Russian Far East. |
| Solzhenitsyn's latter works, which included essays on Russia's future, courted controversy. | Solzhenitsyn's latter works, which included essays on Russia's future, courted controversy. |
| In 2000, his last major work Two Hundred Years Together examined the position of Jews in Russian society and their role in the Revolution. | In 2000, his last major work Two Hundred Years Together examined the position of Jews in Russian society and their role in the Revolution. |