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Русский вопрос на рубеже веков
Написанные более сорока лет назад, публицистические статьи А.И. Солженицына собранные в этом издании, сегодня поражают своей удивительной своевременностью. В них – и пророчество об Украине, и рассмотренные всесторонне общественные, национальные, нравственные и бытовые процессы. Движимый страстным желанием увидеть свободную Россию, автор словно "достает из-под глыб" события прошлого, и предлагает свои посильные соображения. Соображения, в которых, возможно, кроется путь к свободному будущему России.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1994
3 people are currently reading
192 people want to read
About the author
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
288 books4,091 followersalso known as
Alexander Solzenitsyn (English, alternate)
Αλεξάντρ Σολζενίτσιν (Greek)
Works, including One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (1962) and The Gulag Archipelago (1973-1975), of Soviet writer and dissident Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn, awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1970, exposed the brutality of the labor camp system.
This known Russian novelist, dramatist, and historian best helped to make the world aware of the forced Gulag.
Exiled in 1974, he returned to Russia in 1994. Solzhenitsyn fathered of Ignat Solzhenitsyn, a conductor and pianist.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleksan...
Alexander Solzenitsyn (English, alternate)
Αλεξάντρ Σολζενίτσιν (Greek)
Works, including One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (1962) and The Gulag Archipelago (1973-1975), of Soviet writer and dissident Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn, awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1970, exposed the brutality of the labor camp system.
This known Russian novelist, dramatist, and historian best helped to make the world aware of the forced Gulag.
Exiled in 1974, he returned to Russia in 1994. Solzhenitsyn fathered of Ignat Solzhenitsyn, a conductor and pianist.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleksan...
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 28, 2020
The title sounds like a socio-political analysis. Actually, it is a short history book. But upon closer inspection, it is more than that. Solzhenitsyn uses the medium of history to re-tell Russia's story in a way to call the Russian people back to their spiritual heritage and also to warn Americans of the dangers that their own democratic liberalism offers. Written primarily for Russians, this book is a call for all. The specific question is simple: "Shall our people [Russians] be or not be" (106)? Solzhenitsyn raises points out the obvious double standard: patriotism and nationalism are good only when it is not Russian. (He didn't live to see how blatant this Western hypocrisy would become in the Ossetian War).
The main body of the book is a survey of the last five centuries of Russian history. Solzhenitsyn's basic premise is that whenever Russia became imperialistic and sought other territories, the Russian people suffered and the country would lose prestige. Solzhenitsyn's basic premise is correct, but it is not that simple. He is quick to point out the dangers of pan-Slavism, and perhaps he has a point, but I don't think he fully understood the threat of Islam. The Ottoman Empire, while at times the "Sick Man of Europe," being faithful to Surah 9.4-5, had to subjugate Russia's Christian brethren. While not all Russian military responses to the Ottoman Empire were warranted, the actions themselves were understandable.
Lessons Learned from the Book
The main body of the book is a survey of the last five centuries of Russian history. Solzhenitsyn's basic premise is that whenever Russia became imperialistic and sought other territories, the Russian people suffered and the country would lose prestige. Solzhenitsyn's basic premise is correct, but it is not that simple. He is quick to point out the dangers of pan-Slavism, and perhaps he has a point, but I don't think he fully understood the threat of Islam. The Ottoman Empire, while at times the "Sick Man of Europe," being faithful to Surah 9.4-5, had to subjugate Russia's Christian brethren. While not all Russian military responses to the Ottoman Empire were warranted, the actions themselves were understandable.
Lessons Learned from the Book
December 11, 2014
Sobre el libro:
Desde hacía rato una lectura no me cautivaba así. Solzhenitsyn nos transporta a través de la historia Rusa, desde la dinastía Romanov, pasando por los relajos que tuvo que hacer Lenin para mantener el poder apenas lo consiguió, el lavado cerebral al que estuvo sujeto el pueblo ruso durante el control soviético y la 'selección artificial' que ejercía Stalin al asesinar a cualquiera que tuviera un juicio crítico contra el sistema, la inutilidad de Gorbachov al tirar a su pueblo a los lobos del capitalismo, hasta llegar a la lamentable normalización cultural al padecer la globalización.
Me parece que el autor hace un análisis objetivo y tiene grandes aciertos en sus consideraciones sobre la relevancia del patriotismo (y la excelente definición que da de este término!) y la defensa cultural de los grupos autóctonos que componen el pueblo ruso.
Sobre Rusia:
Desde que los malos tienen acento ruso en las películas, toda su iconografía me ha llamado poderosamente la atención. Los mensajes en su arte tienen una fuerza vital y un espíritu de lucha que solo un ser humano en la máxima inclemencia puede transmitir.
La imagen de los boteros del Volga es una que me conmueve mucho, me los imagino con una fortaleza física sobresaliente, pero sobre todo con una fortaleza mental que les permite seguir jalando el barco río arriba sin quejarse.
>Ojo 'The Volga Boatman', la película de 1926 dirigida por Cecil B. DeMille. Es un peliculón. Cuando este lloviendo y no quieran ir al gym, pongan esto: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNb54...
>Ojo esta belleza de Ilya Repin, es 'realismo', que llaman: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia...
>Ojo también 'Battleship Potemkin', una película del 25 dirigida por Sergei Eisenstein.
Sobre la Navidad:
Acá les dejo un corito: http://open.spotify.com/track/0w2GmCw...
Desde hacía rato una lectura no me cautivaba así. Solzhenitsyn nos transporta a través de la historia Rusa, desde la dinastía Romanov, pasando por los relajos que tuvo que hacer Lenin para mantener el poder apenas lo consiguió, el lavado cerebral al que estuvo sujeto el pueblo ruso durante el control soviético y la 'selección artificial' que ejercía Stalin al asesinar a cualquiera que tuviera un juicio crítico contra el sistema, la inutilidad de Gorbachov al tirar a su pueblo a los lobos del capitalismo, hasta llegar a la lamentable normalización cultural al padecer la globalización.
Me parece que el autor hace un análisis objetivo y tiene grandes aciertos en sus consideraciones sobre la relevancia del patriotismo (y la excelente definición que da de este término!) y la defensa cultural de los grupos autóctonos que componen el pueblo ruso.
Sobre Rusia:
Desde que los malos tienen acento ruso en las películas, toda su iconografía me ha llamado poderosamente la atención. Los mensajes en su arte tienen una fuerza vital y un espíritu de lucha que solo un ser humano en la máxima inclemencia puede transmitir.
La imagen de los boteros del Volga es una que me conmueve mucho, me los imagino con una fortaleza física sobresaliente, pero sobre todo con una fortaleza mental que les permite seguir jalando el barco río arriba sin quejarse.
>Ojo 'The Volga Boatman', la película de 1926 dirigida por Cecil B. DeMille. Es un peliculón. Cuando este lloviendo y no quieran ir al gym, pongan esto: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNb54...
>Ojo esta belleza de Ilya Repin, es 'realismo', que llaman: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia...
>Ojo también 'Battleship Potemkin', una película del 25 dirigida por Sergei Eisenstein.
Sobre la Navidad:
Acá les dejo un corito: http://open.spotify.com/track/0w2GmCw...
May 6, 2024
Algo complejo, requiere un cierto conocimiento previo de la historia rusa, a la vez que del alma rusa. 7.0
June 11, 2013
A truly phenomenal book. An abstract thinker with a brilliant take on almost every aspect of Russian history, presence and future. A noble man who understands the inner workings of the world and the lack of spirituality and moral firmness in this ever materialistic world we have created. I look forward to reading his other works and my only regret is I only stumbled upon him this late in life.
May 6, 2024
A dive into the metapolitical environment of Russia from the late 1700’s to the modern era. Illuminating for the fact that the issues which plagued Russia’s governance and the relationship it held with other contemporary governments relative to the priority it placed its own peoples, seems to be of a very similar vein to the issues which plague western governments relative to their own constituencies. The resentment created in Russia’s underclass for their ruling class’s prioritization of financing foreign conflict on behalf of countries they may have been at war with not two decades earlier over addressing the needs of their feeble and perpetually starving peasantry laid the groundwork for the Russian revolution post-WWI, and subsequently, the horrid conditions of the murderous and genocidal Bolshevik regime.
It’s a fool’s errand to argue with Solzhenitsyn’s wealth of historical knowledge-his publications can be described as tomes rather than books-although for argument’s sake, you should remember that his perspective is anti-Bolshevist at its core; he’s a dissident author, although that dissidence is derived from firsthand experience with the political result of nations which have external priorities. This book is his warning to the Western nations with which he took refuge that he saw the same patterns of behavior in governance which ended up destroying his own nation. It’s a deeply personal work, he stresses certain phrases and sentences with a scornful wit and makes no illusions at his contempt for non-nationalistic methods of governance. He is as much a historian as he is an activist for pro-national thinking.
It seems to be a feature of Solzhenitsyn’s writings that shorter essays (150 pages or less) don’t get broken into chapters, which can make for some slight difficulty for those who prefer their books broken up into more cohesive chunks-this book reads like a stream of consciousness from start to finish.
Overall, highly recommend to everyone who wants perspective on Soviet Russia, and the reasons for political upheaval and why that can potentially create a worse situation for the underclass it’s supposed to benefit.
It’s a fool’s errand to argue with Solzhenitsyn’s wealth of historical knowledge-his publications can be described as tomes rather than books-although for argument’s sake, you should remember that his perspective is anti-Bolshevist at its core; he’s a dissident author, although that dissidence is derived from firsthand experience with the political result of nations which have external priorities. This book is his warning to the Western nations with which he took refuge that he saw the same patterns of behavior in governance which ended up destroying his own nation. It’s a deeply personal work, he stresses certain phrases and sentences with a scornful wit and makes no illusions at his contempt for non-nationalistic methods of governance. He is as much a historian as he is an activist for pro-national thinking.
It seems to be a feature of Solzhenitsyn’s writings that shorter essays (150 pages or less) don’t get broken into chapters, which can make for some slight difficulty for those who prefer their books broken up into more cohesive chunks-this book reads like a stream of consciousness from start to finish.
Overall, highly recommend to everyone who wants perspective on Soviet Russia, and the reasons for political upheaval and why that can potentially create a worse situation for the underclass it’s supposed to benefit.
April 23, 2018
Great treatise of the state of Russian politics at the turn of the century. A quick read, but very insightful. Solzhenitzyn once again shows why he is an amazing author.
June 30, 2016
Muy interesting. Best point: what do you do with the millions of ethnic Russians who are now no longer "Russian"? Where do they belong?
January 19, 2013
Very interesting read. But if you have not read Solzhenitsyn before this is not the best book to start with.
March 25, 2017
"Moral impulses among statesmen have always been weaker than political ones, but in our time the consequences of their decisions have grown in scale."
For fans of Solzhenitsyn, The Russian Question is a must, if only because it's short. The first half of the book isn't necessarily an easy read, except for those who are fairly familiar with the last three centuries of Russian and European history. But, it sets the stage for Solzhenitsyn's commentary, which I always find interesting and enlightening.
It also sets the stage for his "Address to the International Academy of Philosophy", which is placed at the end of the book. And though the address was given in 1993, it could have just as easily been delivered in 2017.
For fans of Solzhenitsyn, The Russian Question is a must, if only because it's short. The first half of the book isn't necessarily an easy read, except for those who are fairly familiar with the last three centuries of Russian and European history. But, it sets the stage for Solzhenitsyn's commentary, which I always find interesting and enlightening.
It also sets the stage for his "Address to the International Academy of Philosophy", which is placed at the end of the book. And though the address was given in 1993, it could have just as easily been delivered in 2017.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews