Overview:
The Soviet Russian authorities were brutal persecutors of their people. Those who fall into the gaze of the authority, are persecuted. None are spared. The arrested innocent cannot do anything except remain silent. Not even a pregnant woman’s life was spared when found to have committed criminal behavior. Even religious sites were plundered to hasten cultural change. When political plans conflicted with each other, any type of behavior, or work effort did not meet expectations, they quickly discovered people to blame. People were shot dead when they did not have enough faith in socialist physical structures, for the authorities refused to consider that enthusiasm of the personal was not enough. Persecuting people to destroy their power.

Fear and betrayal were ubiquitous. Death or the Gulag are the outcomes of anyone who the authorities choose as their enemy. As problems kept arising, they kept expanding the people who were to be blamed for the problems. The authorities were trained, to persecute and torture defenseless victims. The persecutors were not some fictitious evil people who know that they are evil. In reality, these people believe they were doing good. Justified in their actions by ideology that makes their acts appear beyond reproach. Terrible acts that are rewarded, supported by the silence of their opponents. Silence perpetuates evil, as people learn that the terrible acts are not going to be punished.

More Details On Persecutions:
Interrogators were able to game the system that they supported. Interrogators tortured people during the night, because they would be paid more. They even claimed more torture hours than they actually did. Confessors were rewarded with cigarettes.

The persecutions were happening during wars. During wars, the Red Army was not allowed to surrender. The soldier was meant to die, while those who asked them to die keep living. Should the soldier come back alive, no matter their state, they will be convicted. The only legal option for the soldier was to die.

There was a famine, in which people would think only about getting more food, no matter the source. Willing to have just a little bit of food, even if it meant death shortly after.

Truth and history are being forgotten. Overridden with lies repeated by public announcements. War and the Gulag dispel any joy of telling stories. No longer wanting to remember the stories, to not think about the trauma associated with the times.

History Of The Book:
The Gulag Archipelago was a famous and infamous book. It was the first and last book about the Gulag to be published by official Russian authorities. Popularity of the book rose, with its official ban. The book gained international fame after the author was expelled from the USSR.

Unlike other books which hide the repressions, Solzhenitsyn’s books directly relate the ways that the people have been repressed. This book represents the 1st attempt to put together the history of Gulag, using various sources. Even autobiographical details of the Gulag.

Caveats?
The book can be very difficult to read. Topics change quickly, and with poor transitions. Organized around various examples, without much systematic analysis.

The experiences during this era were traumatic. The author does not avoid or find ways to dampen the traumatic experiences. The reader needs to come emotionally prepared to handle the experiences.

There is a history of the USSR erasing and manipulating data, making this book a valuable source of information. This book brings with it a diverse set of sources, but not many official reports because they could not be accessed or were destroyed. Sources include law, history, interviews, and an autobiographical account. ( )

Gulag Archipelago bercerita bagaimana satu negara — atau satu orang secara kejam menggunakan komunisme untuk menguasai satu negara lalu menghancurkannya hanya agar kesalahannya tidak terungkap. Gulag dibangun oleh Vladimir Lenin dalam konsep komunisme untuk mencapai keinginannya. Gulag dibangun untuk mendapatkan tenaga kerja murah, hingga selanjutnya diteruskan oleh Joseph Stalin.

Setelah diteruskan oleh Stalin justru semakin parah karena Gulag menjadi lokasi penjara semua musuh Stalin. Some people were willingly enter Soviet’s prisons and glad they were caught. Hal ini terjadi karena buruh tidak kompak, tidak tahu hak-hak dasar mereka, dan ditambah pasrah. Bukan 1-2x saja buruh mengambil hak buruh lain. Ketidaktahuan dan kemalasan mereka membuat mereka tidak kompak, bahkan mereka tidak tahu jika mereka sedang diperjuangkan (17).

Sebenarnya banyak sekali kelompok di Rusia, termasuk para pengkhianat sosialis, sementara kelompok borjuis Rusia berpura-pura bersikap sosialis agar bisa hidup di Uni Soviet. Di sini saya merasa rezim Soviet mempertahankan konflik kelas di masyarakat agar bebas berkuasa.

Sistem penjara Soviet memburuk saat dikuasai Stalin. Stalin gegabah, paranoid, dan penangkapannya (yang dia susun) melebar dari tujuan awal. Orang ditangkap oleh Stalin karena dia tidak bisa mengatur mereka.

Interogasi di sistem penjara Rusia (Uni Soviet) dilakukan dengan penyiksaan dan paling efektif memberi tempat tinggal tidak manusiawi bagi calon tahanan, kelaparan, membuat calon tahanan lemah dan mengaku. Bagaimana jika mereka masih hidup sampai bebas? Apakah rezim bertanggung jawab atas hidupnya?

Pembersihan juga dilakukan pada Tolstoyan (gerakan pengikut Tolstoy, sebuah gerakan sosial didasari pandangan filosofi dan religius dari novelis Leo Tolstoy) yang juga dianggap serangga. Gerakan Tolstoyan dianggap serangga di Gulag karena menolak sumpah angkat senjata bagi pemerintah Uni Soviet. Ajaran Tolstoy dianggap kritis terhadap pemerintah sehingga pengikutnya juga ikut kritis (dianggap begitu).

Membaca bab 5 bagaikan membaca diari pribadi Solzhenitzyn karena ceritanya cukup personal, terutama bagian ini:

"Sejak kanak-kanak sampai dewasa, entah bagaimana saya tahu bahwa tujuan hidup saya berkaitan dengan sejarah Revolusi Rusia, dan tidak ada hal lain yang saya pedulikan."

Bagian 1 (Industri Penjara) secara komprehensif menceritakan bagaimana penulis ditahan di penjara Soviet, dan bagaimana hukum berubah sejak dia kecil (masa Kekaisaran) hingga era Stalin (saat dia sudah dewasa). Industri itu yang kemudian menghukum ratusan ribu orang untuk ditahan di Kepulauan Gulag.

Bagian 2 berpusat pada kehidupan mengerikan di Gulag, mulai dari bagaimana para tahanan dibawa masuk ke dalam kepulauan tersebut, lalu bagaimana mereka bergerak menggunakan kendaraan-kendaraan lebih buruk daripada kendaraan di kamp Nazi. Sistem hidup di Gulag sangat mengerikan hingga harus ikut dalam gerakan struktural mencuri agar tetap mendapatkan posisi lumayan enak.

Ada rasa getir saat membaca buku ini, depresif, mengerikan, dan setiap keputusan fatal dari Stalin mirip seperti langkah presiden Indonesia (Soeharto, dan hampir mirip Jokowi). Namun untuk bagian ini akan saya bahas lebih mendalam lagi. Soeharto menyediakan Pulau Buru untuk para tahanan politiknya, sebuah sejarah mengerikan negara Indonesia. ( )

Essential. Nietzsche's eternal recurrence: Russia 1917 - 1989 Unites States 2016 - TBD. ( )

I've read this once again, and it's as chilling on the third or fourth reading as it is on the first. A very clinical review of the history of Soviet prison camps and its associated system, using (to some measure) the author's own experiences in the system. Any sentimentality for the Soviet regime should be exposed to this series. ( )

Wow. Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008) exposes the hidden, super secret Soviet prison system in this first two-part volume of a seven-part trilogy. He spares no details in a difficult but fascinating book about a closed society in which nobody trusts anyone, and which is so afraid that its citizens might think for themselves, that it jailed and killed millions of them for nothing, no reason at all.

Jim ( )