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A review by davidleecraw
Warning to the West by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
5.0
Solzhenitsyn repeatedly analogized détente between the West and the Soviet Union to shaking hands and making peace with someone who’s wielding a rock in their other hand. I have a different comparison; it is more like the act of the Soviet Union spitting infectious phlegm into its hand before shaking the West’s hand, and subsequently the West becomes ill with the same fatal sickness that plagues the East. Solzhenitsyn is probably one of the most qualified men to speak on totalitarianism and how crucial it is to thwart its rapid spread. Yet, his messages are lost on Westerners today, and for our ignorance we will receive our payback when we look upon our diagnosis and see the black cancer growing in the stomachs of our countries.
June 30, 1975: Solzhenitsyn addresses the oppression of the Soviet Union against its own people which has gone under the radar of the Western world (both by ignorance and the fact that the USSR is so closed off). He says that the Western nations (particularly the European Allied Powers in WWII) are compliant in the spread of totalitarianism because they allied with the oppressive, Stalinist Soviet Union in World War II. He states that America is actually the least guilty of the Western nations of allowing totalitarianism to flourish because the U.S. has extended its humanitarian efforts for the sake of “détente”, essentially meaning to make peace by easing tensions between these nations on a political level, though not necessarily ensuring peace for the people under these totalitarian governments’ thumbs. He calls upon his American audience to not yield to totalitarianism and allow it to flourish under the pretense of “peace” and “goodness” because it is only allowing for the oppression, imprisonment, and murders of innocents.
July 9, 1975: Solzhenitsyn addresses the doctrine of communism and its application to the world. He argues that communism is a weak and vitriolic philosophy, worsened by Lenin. He says that communism doesn’t care who it kills and what systems it destroys in order to achieve full fruition. Communism is incongruent with democracy, freedom, and morality. It was against peace up until it could utilize peace in the name of peace treaties in order to blindside other nations by violating these treaties. He also explains that the Soviet Union’s strength is a façade and its economy is surviving solely on humanitarian aid and trade from America. Solzhenitsyn says to stop aiding this country that prides itself in its nationalistic superiority in order to call its bluff. He also says to stop paying for the shovels the USSR uses to bury its own men (metaphorically and literally).
July 15, 1975: Solzhenitsyn implores the American Congressmen to be cognizant of the weight of their decisions and positions in the world. As Americans, they lead the anti-totalitarian force in the world and their voices go far beyond the American border. It is up to the American lawmakers to continue to uphold morals both in and outside America, and to recognize and thwart oppressive forces that threaten the lives of many millions of civilians. They are the beacon of hope for the oppressed.
March 1, 1976: Solzhenitsyn is interviewed by Michael Charlton. Solzhenitsyn explains that he is seeing parallels in the present West to the past East. He is seeing patterns that were evident at the dawn of communist totalitarianism, and he is warning the British to steer away from the direction of Western collapse immediately. He is also disappointed to find that the weakened Soviet Union was gaining strength over the West while the West inversely weakened and capitulated more to the Soviet bloc. When the interviewer asks multiple times about Lenin, Solzhenitsyn gets passionately angry in his response. He concludes by explaining to not make “détente” with the Soviet Union for political reasons when all it does is enable and fund the oppression of Soviet citizens.
March 24, 1976: Solzhenitsyn has less praise to offer Britain than he does for the United States. He is disappointed in Britain’s reluctance to be aware of the state of affairs within the borders of the totalitarian countries it has ambassadors in. It prioritized the comfort of political and economic calm over the value of millions of innocent lives, wasted away in labor camps. He describes exactly what’s wrong with the West today that was wrong with pre-Soviet Russian society. He calls upon Britain to come to its senses as a strong, successful, and educated nation and to cease to allow totalitarianism to flourish by choosing “peace” and freedom for themselves instead.
I say that Solzhenitsyn is the most valuable, crucial author to read, especially today. His words and warnings will only continue to ring true as the disease of totalitarian continues to spread and culminate in even the most democratic of nations.
June 30, 1975: Solzhenitsyn addresses the oppression of the Soviet Union against its own people which has gone under the radar of the Western world (both by ignorance and the fact that the USSR is so closed off). He says that the Western nations (particularly the European Allied Powers in WWII) are compliant in the spread of totalitarianism because they allied with the oppressive, Stalinist Soviet Union in World War II. He states that America is actually the least guilty of the Western nations of allowing totalitarianism to flourish because the U.S. has extended its humanitarian efforts for the sake of “détente”, essentially meaning to make peace by easing tensions between these nations on a political level, though not necessarily ensuring peace for the people under these totalitarian governments’ thumbs. He calls upon his American audience to not yield to totalitarianism and allow it to flourish under the pretense of “peace” and “goodness” because it is only allowing for the oppression, imprisonment, and murders of innocents.
July 9, 1975: Solzhenitsyn addresses the doctrine of communism and its application to the world. He argues that communism is a weak and vitriolic philosophy, worsened by Lenin. He says that communism doesn’t care who it kills and what systems it destroys in order to achieve full fruition. Communism is incongruent with democracy, freedom, and morality. It was against peace up until it could utilize peace in the name of peace treaties in order to blindside other nations by violating these treaties. He also explains that the Soviet Union’s strength is a façade and its economy is surviving solely on humanitarian aid and trade from America. Solzhenitsyn says to stop aiding this country that prides itself in its nationalistic superiority in order to call its bluff. He also says to stop paying for the shovels the USSR uses to bury its own men (metaphorically and literally).
July 15, 1975: Solzhenitsyn implores the American Congressmen to be cognizant of the weight of their decisions and positions in the world. As Americans, they lead the anti-totalitarian force in the world and their voices go far beyond the American border. It is up to the American lawmakers to continue to uphold morals both in and outside America, and to recognize and thwart oppressive forces that threaten the lives of many millions of civilians. They are the beacon of hope for the oppressed.
March 1, 1976: Solzhenitsyn is interviewed by Michael Charlton. Solzhenitsyn explains that he is seeing parallels in the present West to the past East. He is seeing patterns that were evident at the dawn of communist totalitarianism, and he is warning the British to steer away from the direction of Western collapse immediately. He is also disappointed to find that the weakened Soviet Union was gaining strength over the West while the West inversely weakened and capitulated more to the Soviet bloc. When the interviewer asks multiple times about Lenin, Solzhenitsyn gets passionately angry in his response. He concludes by explaining to not make “détente” with the Soviet Union for political reasons when all it does is enable and fund the oppression of Soviet citizens.
March 24, 1976: Solzhenitsyn has less praise to offer Britain than he does for the United States. He is disappointed in Britain’s reluctance to be aware of the state of affairs within the borders of the totalitarian countries it has ambassadors in. It prioritized the comfort of political and economic calm over the value of millions of innocent lives, wasted away in labor camps. He describes exactly what’s wrong with the West today that was wrong with pre-Soviet Russian society. He calls upon Britain to come to its senses as a strong, successful, and educated nation and to cease to allow totalitarianism to flourish by choosing “peace” and freedom for themselves instead.
I say that Solzhenitsyn is the most valuable, crucial author to read, especially today. His words and warnings will only continue to ring true as the disease of totalitarian continues to spread and culminate in even the most democratic of nations.