Chapter 84 The first chapter is up to now, in a dilemma

Of course, people will talk about us in the future.We have not lost hope in this regard.Because the truth of everything that has happened in history will sooner or later be known.But it never occurred to me that this would never happen any time soon, only after most of us had died, and it would be when circumstances had completely changed.I see myself as a compiler of the history of the Gulag Archipelago, writing, writing.However, I don't hold out much hope that I will see it come out in my lifetime. The course of history often surprises us, even the most perceptive, with its unexpected turns.We failed to foresee how this would happen.Didn't realize there was any compelling reason.However, everything suddenly trembled and began to make progress.Then, suddenly, the door leading to the abyss of this society seemed to be slightly opened, and two or three little birds of truth were able to fly out before the door was closed again for a long time.

How many of my predecessors failed to write to the end, and what they wrote failed to be preserved!They failed to make it to the end, failed to climb to the top!And this happiness fell on me: I was able to pass through the cracks in the iron door for the first time before it closed again. Immediately, this bit of truth, like matter surrounded by antimatter, exploded! It exploded, and what followed was a torrent of letters from readers, though that too was to be expected.Then, however, came the torrent of newspaper articles, but through gnashing of teeth, pent-up hatred, and unhappiness, such bureaucratic articles praising clichés were repulsive.

When the ex-prisoners heard the applause from all the newspapers that a novel about the labor camps "had come out and was touted in the press," they all unanimously concluded, "It's fiction again!It's hard for them to think of using this topic to spread rumors! "Indeed, it is indeed inconceivable at any rate that our normally exaggerated newspapers should suddenly be enthusiastically extolling the truth! Some people simply did not even glance at my novel. However, once they started to talk about it, they all groaned at the same time—the groans of joy and groans of pain.Then, the letters came like snowflakes again.

I have kept all these letters.Our compatriots rarely have the opportunity to express their views on society Problem perceptions, especially for former prisoners.Know how often they had to give up their beliefs, how often they were deceived!But this time they believed it: an era of truth had finally begun.Now I can speak uprightly and write boldly! But, of course, they were once again duped.How many times has this been! ... "Truth triumphs, but too late!" they wrote. It was actually even later than that, because it didn't win at all... Of course, there were some sane people who refused to put their names on the end of the letter (the rest of my life is short, and I have to take care of myself!"), or asked me this question at the time when the newspapers were most hyped: "I wonder how Volkovoy allowed you to publish this novel?I am very worried, are you locked up in a work shed with enhanced control now?Please reply quickly. ..." Or simply ask: "What happened?Why haven't you locked up with Tvardowski yet?

That's it.It was their bear traps that got stuck and didn't start for a moment.So.What should Volkovoy and his like do?I had no choice but to pick up a pen and write letters, or send rebuttal articles to newspapers.Some of them do have a bit of literary talent! From this torrent of letters of the second kind, we learn what to call these people, that is, what they call themselves.In the past we have been looking for a suitable word, what have we called them "governors of the labor camps", "masters of the labor camps" or "heads of the labor camps".No, they're called "hands-on workers"!Oh, the word is so beautiful, so wonderful!To say "Cheka workers" is not very appropriate, so they found the word "practical workers" themselves.

This group of "practical workers" wrote in the letter: "Ivan Denisovich is a natural flatterer!" (B.B. Olejnik, in Aktobesk) "Shukhov is a man who inspires neither sympathy nor respect!" (Matveyev, in Moscow) "Shukhov's sentence is absolutely correct... What do prisoners have to do when they are released from the camp?" (Silin, Usverdlovsk) "Too light a sentence for these mean-spirited dwarfs! I have no pity at all...the scum of the Great Patriotic War!" (E? A? Ignatovic. Yu Kimovsk) "Shukhov is a veteran murderer, a cunning and cruel jackal. He lives to feed himself!"

(Uspensky, in Moscow). An author did not describe how the most loyal people died in 1937, but chose to describe the labor camp in 1941.But at that time, most of the people who were sent to labor camps were self-absorbed guys. In 1937, there were no people like Shukhov.At that time, those people died silently in sorrow. What they thought at the time was: whose need is this? " (Pankov, Kramatorsk) referring to the internal system of the labor camps, this type of people wrote in their letters: "Why should so much food be given to those who don't work? Their energy can't be exhausted anyway... I think it's too lenient to treat prisoners."

(Golovin, in Akmolinsk) "As for the standard of food, it should not be forgotten that they are not in a sanatorium. They should only redeem their sins through honest labor. This novel insults the soldiers, non-commissioned officers and officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The people are the creators of history, but this people is written as What's it like...?--Written as a flock of parrots, fools, fools." (Secretary Sergeant Bazunov, Oymyakon. 55 years old, served in the labor camp until the old age) "There was less abuse of power in the camps than in any other Soviet institution (!!). I'm sure the system in the camps is much stricter now than it used to be!

The guards didn't know who was in jail or why. " (Karakhanov, in the suburbs of Moscow) "We who enforce the law are human beings and want to do something: we don't always shoot the fallen, and we do so at our own peril." (Grigory Trofimovich Zheleznyak) "A whole day in this novel is filled with the bad behavior of the prisoners, and the role of the administrative authority is not seen at all... You know, the strict system of controlling prisoners in the labor camp is not the result of personal superstition, it is the result of enforcement. The verdict of the court!"

(Grigoriev) "According to Solzhenitsyn's description, it seems that there is no party leadership in the whole work in the labor camp. However, you must know that at that time, as now, there were party organizations in the labor camp. The organization is arranging the entire work with conscience." (While the actual workers) "just perform the tasks required by the regulations, instructions, and orders. Moreover, the same people who worked there at the time are still working there (!!), and the personnel may have increased by about 100% 10. These guys do a great job, they've been commended many times, and they're consistently listed as good workers."

"This book aroused extreme outrage among the entire Ministry of Internal Affairs-...? The depth of hatred contained in this work is simply astonishing...It deliberately incites people's feelings against the Ministry of Internal Affairs! Why did the relevant organs of our country allow The staff of the Ministry are so insulting? ... This is despicable!" (Anna Filippovna, Zakharova, in Irkutsk State.I have worked in the Ministry of Internal Affairs since 1950, and in 1956 join the party. ) Readers, please listen!listen to it! "This is so vile!" she cried from within.To torture the people of the archipelago for forty-five years was not mean, in her opinion.And now publishing a novel is despicable! "We've never seen anything so vile and nasty...and it's not just my opinion, there are a lot of people who feel the same way, our name is a group." Put simply: "All libraries and reading rooms should remove Solzhenitsyn's novel immediately!" (A? Kuzmin, in Orel) This one does indeed do so.but gradually; "This book should not have been printed and published, and the materials should have been sent to the KGB as incriminating evidence!" _ (anonymous, peers of the October Revolution) Things did develop roughly like this, and it was guessed by this "peer". Here's another anonymous letter, but this time a poet: "Russia, you hear, our conscience Flawless! " It's the "Damn Anonymous" again!Let us know, are you the one who shot and killed people yourself, or did you give orders to send people to die?Or are you just an ordinary orthodox?Huh, anonymous!An immaculate anonymous! ... Finally, broad philosophical insights were also offered: "History never needs the past (!!), and the history of socialist culture especially does not need it now." (A? Kuzmin) "History does not need the past", please see what these orthodox elements have said!So what does history need?It needs a future, doesn't it?No wonder such people are writing history! ... Now, in the face of all of them, in the face of this ignorant whole, how to argue?How to explain it to them now? ... Know that truth always seems to be timid, often silenced under the pressure of too powerful a shameless lie. Due to the lack of free exchange of information in the country for a long time, a gap of mutual ignorance has been created between groups of people in society, between millions of people and millions of people. We are simply not a unified people anymore because we all do speak in different languages. In any case, a breakthrough has finally been achieved!The wall of lies seemed to have been built absolutely solidly, never to collapse, but now it has also cracked a crack, allowing the news to rush out.Until yesterday, there were no labor camps in our country, and there were no Gulag archipelagos. Today, the people of the whole country and the whole world see: there are labor camps!And it's fascist! what to do? ?Veterans who have been in business for many years and are good at turning right and wrong!Veteran touters!Are you going to put up with all this?You actually flinch?How could you submit and show weakness? ... No, of course not!These veterans who are good at distorting facts rushed to this crack first!They seemed to have been waiting for years for the opening of the rift, ready to fill it with their gray winged bodies, and happily--happily! -- flapping its wings over the gap, lest the astonished spectators see through it the Gulag Archipelago itself. What they thought of for a moment, the first cry they made subconsciously was: This will never happen again!Glory to the party!All this will never happen again! What wise men!You are worthy of being an expert in plugging holes!Because, since it is said that "all this will never happen again!", then this in itself naturally means: there is no such thing today!Since there will never be any more in the future, of course it will not exist today! They flapped their wings so deftly over the crevasse that the shadow of the Gulag Islands just coming into view instantly became a mirage - it didn't exist, never would, well, maybe it did for a while , but...but that's due to personal superstition! (This "personal superstition" is really convenient! Just mentioning this word seems to have explained something clearly.) So, what is really there, always there, and can fill the cracks? , What about things that will exist forever in the future?Then there is only "Glory to the Party!" (The original "Glory to the Party" seems to be aimed at "This will never happen again!"; then, almost suddenly, it seems that "Glory to the Party" is also due to the existence of the Gulag Archipelago itself. This The two gradually merged into one, making it difficult to distinguish. Before people got the magazine that published the novel, they heard the shouts of "Glory to the Party!" everywhere. People haven't read how "Glory to the Party!" was already being heard from all directions where the whip was being whipped.) It is with such ingenious expedients that these clever lying angels, these defenders of the wall of lies, get past the first hurdle. However, the cracks always remain.Therefore, these flappers will naturally not stop there. So they took the second hand - steal!Like the magicians who replaced the hens with oranges almost without a kerchief, they surreptitiously replaced the entire archipelago so that the masses saw not the & Rag Islands described in the novel, but something much better than it A whole other archipelago.At first, they were quite cautious in these practices (they mistakenly thought that the author of the novel was a person close to the emperor), so they did not forget to praise the novel repeatedly while engaging in surreptitious exchanges.For example, the publication of the accounts of "witnesses" in the archipelago, and the accounts of Communists in labor camps who, of course, "...do not pay party dues, but often secretly hold party meetings at night (?) to discuss Political news... They were denounced by eyeliners for singing the "Internationale" in a low voice, locked up, suffered a lot... Banderas and Vlasovs insulted real communists, accompanies (!) labor camps The authorities collectively killed these people... But none of this is reflected in Solzhenitsyn's novel. It seems that there is something in this horrible life that the author has not observed." Although the reviewer did not spend time in a labor camp, he "observed" it!Look, isn't this method clever enough?It turned out that everything in the labor camps...was not done by the Soviet regime!It's not the party's fault! (According to this, the court probably does not belong to the Soviet.) It turns out that the Vlasovites and Banderaites, in conjunction with the camp authorities, are rampant in the labor camps! (But we believed Zakharova's words, thinking that the leaders of the labor camps were people with party cards, and they always had party cards!) Not all of these people are able to publish such articles in Moscow newspapers!For example, H. Shundik, the head writer of our Ryazan State, put forward a new view on the Gulag Archipelago for the Soviet Union News Agency and also for the West in an interview with reporters, but this talk was not published (will the Soviet News Agency Were we also friends?...). "Curse international imperialism, whose machinations have led to the creation of these labor camps!" Smart enough!What a wonderful idea!However, it didn't work... That is to say, generally speaking, labor camps are something foreign, alien, not domestic; either Berias, or Vlasovs, or German devils Yes, anyway, God knows!Our people are just locked in and tortured.Moreover, the so-called "our people" are not all our people. It may not be enough to use all the newspapers to report on all our people. The "our people" mentioned here only refer to the Communist Party members! Readers have gone through the details of life in the Gulag Islands with us, can you find a place and time where you can sing "The Internationale" in a low voice?After returning from work at the lumberyard, he stumbled on the road, probably he couldn't sing, right?If you're in the "storage room" all day, that's a different story... Besides, what do party members discuss at night meetings? (Then again, if you all lived in the "storage room" or worked as auxiliary staff (handyman) in the sanitary room, then of course you could have meetings during the day, why wait until nighttime?...) People at meetings Express distrust of the central government?Then you are simply crazy!Doubt Beria?This is absolutely not allowed, he is a member of the Politburo!Distrust of national security agencies?No, it was built by Dzerzhinsky himself!Doubt our Soviet courts?This is tantamount to disbelief in the party, and even mentioning it makes people feel cold. (Remember, the mistake is only yours. So, you must choose your friends carefully, they are all rightly sentenced!) An ordinary car driver, Zagorujko, who did not believe the flapping of these wings, wrote to me: "Not everyone is like Ivan Denisovich, is it? Well, what about the others? Are they not submissive? Maybe there are some resistance detachments in the camps led by communists? Then they resist Who? The opposition party and the government?" That's downright ridiculous 1 how could there be any "resistance detachments"? ! ...but, if not, what was the meeting to discuss?Discuss whether to pay party dues?But the party organization did not come to collect it!Discussing political news?So why is there a meeting?Wouldn't it be enough for two trustworthy people (you have to think about who is trustworthy) together? There is only one thing left to meet in the labor camp: to discuss how our people can Occupy and hold all the handyman positions, and kick out those who are not us, who are not Communists, and let them burn to death in the ice "hearth" of the lumberyard, let them suffocate to death in the copper mine The gas chambers are all right! Besides, I couldn't think of anything else the Communists could discuss. It can be seen that as early as 1962, before the single volume of the novel was delivered to readers, they had already decided on the general line of gradually replacing the Gulag Islands in the future.And when they gradually learned that the author was not close to the emperor, and had no background at all, when they learned that even the author himself was just a phantom, those veterans who were good at turning right and wrong became unscrupulous. They looked back at the novel again, and it was like waking up from a dream: Hey, what were we so afraid of? !Why should we slavishly tout it? "The character he (Solzhenitsyn) described was very unsuccessful...he didn't have the courage to peer into the soul of the character." They analyzed the protagonist again and found that this character turned out to be a "typical non-hero!" The character of Shukhov is "lonely", "of the people", a humble man who lives only for food, and he does not fight!It was this that most annoyed everyone: yes, why didn't Shukhov fight? !Excuse me, is he asked to overthrow the labor camp system?Or do you want him to pick up a gun and go somewhere?They did not answer this point, but only accused him: why didn't he fight? ! (By this time I had written the script for the Kengil uprising, but I dared not open my papers to publish it...) They themselves did not show us even an "erg" of fighting spirit, and now they demand us in units of "ton-kilometers"! It's always like this: after the war, there are more warriors. "To be honest, Shukhov's interests are very low. And the most terrible tragedy caused by the personality cult is that some really advanced Soviets, the best of our land, the real heroes of our time, are locked in barbed wire "These people" aren't averse to getting an extra serving of rotten vegetable soup now and then... but they don't get it grovelingly." (Well, how? That's interesting, How did you get it?) "Solzhenitsyn's focus on depicting the tormenting and harsh environment has left the harsh reality of life." And the reality of life, it is said, lies in those "tested by the fire of struggle", "Lenin's party What happened to the "people..." that were bred?Have a fight?No, no-…? They "had been convinced that the dark age of lawlessness would pass!" "Some authors describe the pangs of hunger convincingly. But who can deny that the thought is a hundred times more painful than hunger?" (Especially if you haven't tasted the pangs of hunger!) And their so-called "ideological suffering" is that they are thinking: what will happen?How did it happen?When will you forgive us?When are we called to return to leadership positions? Didn't the entire 22nd Party Congress just discuss the question of who should be erected?It is to erect a monument to the dead Communists!So, what about the ordinary Ivans who died?To erect monuments for them too?No, I didn't even mention them, their deaths are not a pity at all. (One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich was such a bomb because it stuffed them with an ordinary Ivan.) They have been flying in front of the crack in the wall and flapping their wings tirelessly for almost two years.Those who are good at weaving mythical cobwebs to deceive people have woven such cobwebs during this period.For example, Izvestia (April 25, 1964) took up the task of teaching us how to fight: it turns out that we should escape from the labor camps I (unfortunately our fugitives did not know the author of the article, Yermo Lovech's address. Otherwise, wouldn't it be possible to run to his house and hide? ... However, in general, the idea is harmful: if the escape is successful, it will damage the reputation of the Ministry of the Interior!) Good All right, let's run away, but what should we do in the future? Izvestia made up the tax that in the spring of 1944 a man named Alexey (for some reason he refused to give his last name) seemed to have escaped from the Rybinsk labor camp to the front.At the front, he was happily recruited by a political major (who "shaked his head vigorously to dispel his doubts") to serve in the army (the major's surname is also unclear) and was not hired He went to do some ordinary work, but sent him to the reconnaissance unit of the regiment, and let him perform reconnaissance missions! (Okay) Let’s talk about those who have been to the front. Isn’t that major afraid of losing his epaulettes?Don't cherish your party card?In 1941, at the beginning of the war, such an adventure might still have been possible, but by 1944, a strict reporting system was being established, and there was already an anti-rape organization in the army, "Death and Ershi". "Did the major dare to do that? ) And this Alexei actually won a Red Banner Medal l, (Interview, how did you fill in the documents for the award?) After the war, Alexei "hastily transferred to the reserve team". The second example is even famous: the German communist Xavier Schwarzmüller, elected to the Soviet Union from Hitler's Germany in 1933, was arrested in 1941 because he was German (These seem to be true).Well, now we can see how a real communist should fight in the labor camp!The official notification reads: This person died in Chistopol on June 4, 1942 (he died shortly after entering the labor camp, which seems very real, especially to foreigners) , At the end of 1956 the deceased had his honor restored.Where, then, did he fight?Here's what happened: according to legend, someone (an old woman!) seemed to have seen him in Riga in 1962.The red star said.Help is off.And a batch was bought, so people hurried to check the death registration card (a random piece of paper) in the labor camp.Who would have thought: there is no photo of the deceased on it!How could such a thing happen?That said, it's clear: he ran away and fought all these years afterwards!So how did he fight?have no idea.Against whom?have no idea.Then why is he still unwilling to reveal his identity now?Still don't know. It is the dignified and authoritative government newspaper that made up such fairy tales for us! They are trying to hide the revealed Gulag Archipelago with this kind of fairy-tale cobweb, and prevent us from seeing it! Another fairy tale appeared in the same Izvestia: Not long ago a man learned that his dead father had been restored.So, what is the main feeling of this person, this son, at this moment?Was he angry because his father was innocently murdered to death?no.Instead, he "feels happy"!Feel "good".When he learned that his father was "worthy of the party", he "should be so happy!" People weave their webs of lies, and each shows his abilities.This kind of spider web layer by layer, one set after another, finally covered the whole world in broad daylight, making the archipelago blurred. While they are flapping their wings beside the crack and weaving all this, inside, at the level of the big wall, scaffolding is being erected, and some "masons" who are better than this are climbing up: those who are qualified to join the ranks of this mason must also To be considered a writer, one had to have suffered a little, had been in a labor camp; otherwise, even fools wouldn't believe what they wrote.Those who climbed are: Boris Diakov, Georgy Sherest, Galina Serebryakova, Aldan Semyonov. Needless to say their enthusiasm.They have been eager to fill the crack from the beginning, and before the scaffolding is erected, they jump up and throw the mortar into the crack, but they can't reach it... Serebryakova tried her best to block it with a whole slab of stone. The slab was so large that it seemed that there was more to block the cracks. She wrote a novel about the horrors of the interrogation of the Communists: How to goug their eyes, how to trample them.But she was overzealous, and people said to her: This slab of yours is not suitable, it is not the right way, it only creates new cracks. And what about Greg Sherester?The former All-Russian Cheka brigade commander had long recommended his novel "Natural Mine" to Izvestia.However, such subjects had not been banned at that time.Who is he? !And now, twelve days before the crack appeared, when it was already clear where the crack would appear, Izvestia hastened to put Sherest's plaster there.But the plaster didn't stick, and the crack still happened, as if the plaster hadn't been pasted. Smoke was still coming from the cracks in the wall.So Dyakov hurried over again, throwing out his "Diary of a Handyman" and stuffing it desperately into the crack.Unexpectedly, Lakshin's review article hit him on the head again like a brick: Dyakov was exposed. It turned out that he had always cared about his own food and clothing in the labor camp, regardless of the life and death of others. No, that's not okay.We must think of a fundamental countermeasure.Only then did they get down to scaffolding in earnest. It took about a year and a half for this.During this period, the bats continued to flap their wings, relying on articles in the newspapers to hold back temporarily.Once the scaffolding is set up.The crane is installed.The work of repairing the cracks was fully rolled out: in July 1964, Dyakov's novel "Encounter" and Aldan Semyonov's "Relief on the Cliff" were published, and in September "Science Rema Documentary".Anniversary of the year, in Magadan Oblast also published Vyatkin's novel "The Man Who Was Born Twice". That's it.The crack is plugged.And on the front of the blockage were painted some completely different pictures: palm trees, date palms, islanders lying on the beach in bathing suits.Is this the Gulag Islands?It's kind of like an archipelago.So, was it stolen?Yes, it was stolen... To all these books I have already mentioned above (Part III, Chapter 11) when I spoke of the orthodox.And if the difference between me and them is limited to the evaluation of literary works, then there is no need for me to comment on these things at all.However, since their lies involve the Gulag Archipelago, I consider it my duty to point out where they have staged their camouflage, although readers who have labored to the end of this book may well have seen it themselves up. Their first and main lie is that there are no hard-fought civilians held in their gulag archipelago, our hard-fought Ivans.Regardless of whether these authors came up with this individually or collectively, their lie was very consistent in dividing the prisoners of the archipelago into two broad categories: 1) Honest Communists (whose "passionate non-Party communists" 2) White bandits-Vlasov elements-pseudo-police-Bangera elements (hodgepodge). However, in reality, the above-mentioned people together accounted for no more than 10 to 15 percent of the total number of prisoners in the labor camps.The other eighty-five per cent disappeared, disappeared.Eighty-five percent of these people are ordinary peasants, intellectuals, and workers, all those who violated Article 58 of the Criminal Law and countless other unfortunate so-called "offenders who disturb public order" (that is, those who stole a Those who wrapped some Maid back home with ball thread or with the placket).The reason why these people "disappear" in the writers' writing is because these writers are so sincere that they don't see their suffering people!In their view, since these mortal beings did not hum the "Internationale" when they returned from work in the logging camp, then these people actually did not exist.In his novels Celeste vaguely mentions women of certain sects (not even men, since he had never seen them in the men's camps!), or somewhere else mentions some insignificant The saboteur (that is, the person who is regarded as a saboteur), and a small ordinary criminal, that's all.How many ethnic groups who were exiled to remote areas also disappeared in their works.In fact, according to the period when Dyakov asked about the labor camps, he should at least have seen people who were forcibly relocated from the Baltic countries, right?No, I didn't see it! (They were very reluctant to hide the western Ukrainians too, but because the western Marklands were too active, they couldn't do it.) The entire spectrum of the inhabitants of the archipelago is completely blurred by their pens, and only two borderlines are added!Because this is necessary for drawing schemas, schemas cannot be drawn without borders. Who was the only guy who sold his soul in the prisoner squad described by Aldan Semyonov?Is the only farmer Devyatkin among the characters in the novel.Who is the simple-minded fool in Celeste's "Natural Mines"?Again Golubov, the only peasant there.Look!This is how they treat ordinary people! Their second lie: either there was no labor in the labor camps at all, or the labor there was light work that was neither terrible nor tiring or injurious.The protagonists of their books are usually caretakers (handymen) who do not do real labor, who spend their days in the storeroom, sitting at the desk in the counting office, or just dawdling in the sanitary station. (In the novel of Seleshlyakova, twelve prisoners are described, all living in a ward of the hospital "so-called communist". Who gathered these people together? Why? All the people living in this ward are members of the Communist Party? Aren’t they dragged there to recuperate by virtue of their relationship?…) In fact, the most important “vampires” in the labor camp are those who work ten to twelve hours a day heavy labor.This labor is what fills all the daily life on the Gulag Islands. Their third lie was that starvation did not devour labor camp prisoners, that it did not kill a dozen pellagra and malnourished people every day.There is no one to fish for food in the village pond, and no one needs to think about how to survive today. (Dyakov said indifferently; "The system in the labor reform camp is relatively lenient." Then, please go and try to squat in this lenient system for a period of time yourself!) These three lies are enough to completely distort the reality of life in the Gulag Islands, so that the authenticity is gone, and the real three-dimensional space has completely disappeared.In this way, authors can use their imaginations according to their overall worldview, like building blocks, painting, embroidery, and weaving, and write as they like: in a fictional world, everything can be done.Many pages could now be devoted to describing the lofty thoughts of the protagonists (When will the dictatorship end? When will we be recalled to leadership positions?), Describe their loyalty to the party's cause, and their firm belief that the party will gradually correct all these mistakes.It can also describe the joy of prisoners when they subscribed for public bonds. (Subscribe to public debt, not save money to buy food in the commissary!) They can describe the often silent prison as a place full of laughter, (the barber in Lubinka prison is eager to find out who Dyakov is.不是共产党员……简直胡说！）也可以在囚犯点名时插进一些从来没有提问过的问题，（"是党员吗？……担任过什么职务？……"）可以编造一些不舍使人发笑，而只能引起呕吐的所谓"笑话"（季亚科夫编造说）：囚犯党去向自由民的党委书记告状，说有一个自由民诬蔑了他这个囚犯，这位党员！ （试问：哪个驴耳朵听得进这类话？……）或者，阿尔丹-谢苗诺夫就缔造说：一个走在被押解的队伍中的囚犯（基洛夫的老战友，高傲的彼得拉科夫）竟敢迫使整个因犯队伍在途中转向列宁纪念碑并脱帽致敬，连押解的士兵也不得不摘下帽子！ ! （访问，这时士兵们用哪只手端着冲锋枪呢？）…… 而在维亚特金的笔下，一群来自科雷马的小偷竟也在派工地点自动脱帽悼念列宁。纯系胡诌！（即使真有其事，这也不会给列宁带来多少光彩。） 谢列斯特的《天然矿》则更是一篇彻头彻尾的笑话。究竟要不要把找到的天然矿交给劳改营当局？要考虑这个问题，首先就要有不顾一切的勇气；要知道，弄不好会被枪毙的！（甚至提这样的问题本身就会被枪毙！）好了，人们交出了天然矿，而将军则反而下令对该作业班进行搜查。可想而知，如果不交出去会怎样？作者自己不是也提到隔壁的"拉脱维亚人班"吗，那个班在劳动地点和工棚里都受到搜查。所以，这里根本不存在要不要交出天然矿支援祖国的问题。问题是：为了这块天然矿值得不值得四个人去冒生命危险？小说的整个情节都是为了表现他们的共产主义和爱国主义精神而臆想出来的。（当然，不被押解的工人们就不同了。而在阿尔丹一谢苗诺夫的小说里，偷天然矿的人既有民警少校，也有石油工业人民委员部的别委员！） 但是，谢列斯特还是没有看准风向：他在描写劳改营的统治者时过于粗俗，甚至是流露了憎恨，这是正统派分子所绝对不能允许的。而阿尔丹-谢苗诺夫在谈到那个有名的恶棍、砂金矿矿长时，是这样说的："他是个精明的组织者！"根据阿尔丹-谢苗诺夫的道德观来看，只要遇到一个好头头，在劳改营里就能够愉快地劳动和轻松自由地生活了。维亚特金的调子也一样。他描写的那个科雷马的刽子手，"远北建设总局"局长卡尔普?帕夫洛夫，对于自己制造的惨祸要么就是"不知道"，要么就是"不明白"，或者就已经开始悔悟了。 为了尽量不露破绽，这些作者也不得不在自己画的布景上多少添上几笔真实的细节。于是，阿尔丹一谢苗诺夫描写押解士兵把囚犯来到的金子攫为己有，谁不给就收拾谁，全然不把制度和法律放在眼里；大部囚犯在零下五十三度的严寒中工作；小偷们在劳改营里享清福；青霉素等药品被头头们扣下来。而季亚科夫则描写了押送士兵的粗暴；他写道，有一次，在泰谢特火车站上，因为没有来得及摘下囚犯身上的号码，其他乘客得知后便纷纷把食物和香烟扔给囚犯们，而押运的士兵则把这些东西抢走；他还描述了节日前的严格搜查。 但是，作者们完全是为了取得读者信任才花费这些笔墨的。 至于他们的主要目的，评论家们已经说得很清楚： "在《伊万?杰尼索维奇的一天》里，警卫人员几乎全是野兽。而季亚科夫的小说则表明，警卫人员中也有不少人在痛苦地进行着思索。"（不过，什么也没有"思索"出来。） "季亚科夫把生活中的无情的真实保留下来了……对这位作家来说，劳改营里的无法无天只是一种……背景（！），主要的是他表明了苏维埃人在肆虐的暴政面前没有低头……季亚科夫也看到了一些诚实的契卡人员，他们在建立功勋，是的，正是在建立功勋！" （这"功勋"就是把共产党员们安置在好位置上。同时，作家也在因犯--共产党员科诺科京身上看到了这种"功勋"，这个人"尽管受到无理判决和凌辱……失掉了自由……但仍继续从事他的药剂师的工作！"他的功勋就在于：不给人以借口把他赶出卫生所，不去干一般劳动。） 季亚科夫的小说怎样结尾的呢？请听："一切令人沉痛的东西都已成为过去，"（他是无须怀念死者的）"一切美好的东西又都回来了。""什么也没有被剥夺。" 阿尔丹一谢苗诺夫则说："尽管发生了这一切，但我们并不感到委屈。"光荣归于党！正是党消灭了劳改营嘛！（可说是诗一般的结尾了！） 不，难道党把劳改营消灭了吗？……没有留下点什么吗？再说，这些劳改营到底是谁建立的？……对此他们就绝口不谈了。 在贝利亚时期究竟存在不存在苏维埃政权？怎么出现了这种事？掌权的是人民，而人民竟然容许对人民实行这样暴虐的统治？ 这些作者是无须考虑自己那份口粮的，他们也不必劳动，而只是专门在那里思索着深奥问题。那就请你们回答一下吧！ 但他们不吭声，一片沉寂…… 这就行了。裂缝上的窟窿已经堵塞住了，涂上了颜色（戈尔巴托夫将军还给它涂上了一层颜色）。这样就可以说场上根本没有出现过窟窿。至于古拉格群岛本身，即使它出现过，那也是虚幻的、不再实的、微不足道的、不值得注意的。 还需要别的吗？为了预防万一，还可以由新闻记者们再来修饰一下。于是，尽心尽力的（除了文学之外什么也不放过的）《文学报》使委派米哈伊尔?别列斯京斯基到叶尔采沃车站去了。原来这个人也是有过坐牢体验的。可是他为群岛上的新统治者所深深感动了！他说："简直无法想象今天管理着劳动改造机关和监禁场所的人们！他们同沃尔科伏依毫无共同之处……现在管理着这些地方的是一些真正的共产党员；他们严厉，但是心地善良，为人公正。当然，不能把他们想象成无翼的天使-…?收种看法显然还是存在的……--作者注）铁丝网和岗楼，很遗憾，目前还是需要的。但是军官们高兴地介绍说："人员补充是越来越少了。"他们高兴什么呢？是因为担心工作维持不到退休年龄而不得不调换岗位吗？） 现在剩下的古拉格群岛只是很小的，袖珍式的。但它是十分需要的。何况连它也像冰块那样正在融化掉呢。 堵塞工作已经完成了。但是，看来还有一些热心的人拿着瓦刀、排笔，提着满满的灰浆桶往脚手架上爬来。 于是，只好对这些人喊叫： "去！回去！根本不许再提起这件事！要干净、彻底他忘掉它！没有过什么古拉格群岛！无论好的坏的，都根本没有存在过！绝对不许再提它！忘掉！" 总之，他们最初的对策是忙忙乱乱地扑扇翅膀。 第二步是彻底牢固地修补裂缝。 第三步对策是忘却。 外界了解古拉格群岛的权利又回到原先的、一九五三年的状态，即毫无所知。 现在，任何一个文学工作者又可以放心大胆地描写改造刑事犯的"佳话"了。或者，又可以去拍摄军犬拼命地向火扑去，把他撕裂的影片了。 一切都应该做得像大墙上根本没有出现过裂缝那样。 而被诸如此类的忽左忽右的摇摆弄得晕头转向的、疲惫的青年们，也就只好对这一切都把手一摆，置之不理，心里说；大概也不曾有过什么"个人迷信"吧，不曾有过什么恶梦般的恐怖吧，也许这些全都照例是一派胡扯？1于是，他们就跳舞去了。 俗话说得好：打你时，你就拼命叫；打完之后。再叫也没人相信了。 赫鲁晓夫抹着眼泪批准出版《伊万?杰尼索维奇的一天》的时候，他坚信。那里讲的全是斯大林时期的事，在他赫鲁晓夫的政拉下没有这些东西。 同样，特瓦尔多夫斯基在为该书得到最高当局批准而奔走的时候，他也是真诚地相信：书中讲的全是过去的事，这一切都永远地过去了。 是的，对于特瓦尔多夫斯基是可以原谅的，因为他所接触的整个首都舆论界当时确实是这样看待生活的：现在解冻的时期来到了，看，现在不再抓人了，已经开过两次净化性的党代表大会，许多一直杳如黄鹤的人们也回家来了，而且人数很可观！粉红色的、美丽的、恢复名誉的烟雾把整个古拉格群岛笼罩住，使它完全隐入迷雾中了。 但是，我呢？我自己呢？ !我不是也受到了这种影响吗！而对我来说这就是不能原谅的了！要知道，我当时并不是要欺骗特瓦尔多夫斯基的呀！我也曾真诚地相信我拿给他的小说里讲的……全是过去！莫非我的舌头忘掉了烂菜汤的滋味？可我确曾发誓永不忘记它的呀！难道我还没有彻底认清那些养狗人的本性？可我在决心成为古拉格群岛文编纂者的时候，是自信已经认识到古拉格群岛是我们这个国家本身的产物并为这个国家所需要的呀！ "事情容易记不清，好了疮疤忘了疼"？我可是确曾坚信自己绝不会受这条规律支配的呀！ 但是，我竟然忘了疼！竟然落入了陷阱！竟然信以为真了……我也相信了宗主国的慈善。相信往后自己的新生活会是顺遂的。加之当时从那里回来的一些朋友们的谈话，都说确实缓和了，似乎是制度放松了！说是正在不断释放人！营区一个个关闭了！内务部也在精减人员…… No!我们都是尘芥我们是受尘芥规律支配的。任何分量的痛苦都不足以使我们学会永远感受到共同的痛苦。而只要我们一天不超脱这种尘芥状态，地球上的任何制度都不可能变得公正，不管采取民主制度的形式。还是独裁制度的形式。 正因为这样，我收到那第三类来信，即现在的囚犯们寄来的信件时，就难免感到有些意外了，尽管这种来信才是最最理所当然的，才是本来应该首先期待的。 这是些用秀铅笔头写在揉皱了的纸片上的信，信封则是随手抓到的一张什么纸作成的，信封上的字往往是外界的自由人代写的，也就是说，信是从"小道"投递出来的。今天的古拉格群岛通过这些信向我提出了它的反驳意见，甚至表达了它对我的愤怒。 这些信件也同样汇成了一片共同的喊声。不过，这个声音是在问："那么我们呢！！？？" 要知道，报刊上围绕我的那部小说掀起的一片鼓噪，是千方百计地适应狱外世界和国外的需要的，其总的调子是："曾经发生过这类事，但这一切永远不会重演了。" 正因为这样，囚犯们便叫喊起来了：我们今天还被关在里面呀I条件还和原先一样，怎么能说不会重演了呢？ ! 各地的囚犯来信异口同声地说："从伊万?杰尼索维奇的时候起到现在，什么都没有改变！" "囚犯读了您的小说，感到痛苦和委屈，因为现在一切仍旧是老样子。" "既然斯大林时期颁布的判处二十五年徒刑的各种法律依然有效，那么到底什么东西改变了呢？" "既然我们今天又在无辜坐牢，那么现在又是在搞谁的个人迷信呢？" "我们被藏在黑色烟雾中，谁也看不见我们。" "为什么沃尔科伏依这类人至今仍然逍遥法外？……他们还在担任着我们的教育员呢！" "从微末的看守到劳改营管理局的长官，全部同劳改营的存在有切身利害关系。看守人及为了罗织罪名、编造决定，便到处吹毛求疵，行动人员任意涂改囚犯们的案情材料……我们这些被判刑二十五年的人们就像是奶油甜面包，喂肥了那些生来就该教训我们的、少廉寡耻的德行家们。当初的印第安人和黑人在殖民者眼里也都不完全是人，我们现在不是一样吗？要想动员社会舆论起来反对我们。那是十分容易的，只须写上一篇《铁窗里面的人》之类的文章就足够了……第二天人们就会集会游行，要求把我们扔进炉里烧死。" right.Indeed. "您采取的立场正是起了他们的后卫部队的作用！"--瓦尼亚?阿列克谢耶夫的这句话，对我来说，更是有如晴天霹雳。 所有这些来信都使我这个自命不凡的人认识到自己愧对所有的人：确实怪我这十年来丧失了对古拉格群岛的痛切感。 对于他们，对于这些今天的囚犯来说，"我的那本小说如果没有下文，如果我不继续把他们的情况也说说，那本书就不成其为书，那里所写的真实也就不成其为真实了。必须把它说出来。说出来是为了求得改变！如果只是说说，不谈实质问题，不能使人有所作为，那么这种话有什么用？那不是无异于僻乡黑夜里远方的犬吠声吗？ （我愿意把我这种议论献给我们那些现代派。告诉他们：我国人民向来是习惯于这样理解文学作品的，而且他们不会很快丢掉这种习惯。何况，难道应该丢掉它吗？） 于是，我清醒过来了。透过恢复名誉这层粉红色的芳香云雾，我又辨认出了庞大的、怪石嶙峋的古拉格群岛的真面目，看清了它那布满岗楼的灰色轮廓。 我们的社会状况酷似一个物理场。这个场的所有力线都从自由的一端引向暴政的一端。这些力线都十分稳定，它们像是深深嵌进去了、变成了化石，根本不可能使它们松动，不可能敲下或弄弯它们。任何进入这个场的电荷或物质都立即被轻易地吸向暴政那一端，简直不可能到达自由的一端，除非套上一万头公牛来拉。 今天，我那本小说早已被公开宣布为有害读物，认定它的出版是犯了错误（"这是唯意志论在文学中造成的恶果"），它已成为社会上所有图书馆的禁书了。今天，在古拉格群岛上只要提一提伊万?杰尼索维奇或我的名字，就被看作大逆不道。但是，当初呢？ !当初，赫鲁晓夫曾经紧握着我的手在一片掌声中把我介绍给那三百名以苏联文艺界精华自诩的人物：在莫斯科曾使我成为"头号新闻人物"，新闻记者们不辞劳苦地等在我的旅馆房间门外；当初曾公开宣布：党和政府"肯定这样的作品"；最高法院的军事法庭引为自豪的是它管我恢复了名誉，（现在大概又后悔莫及了！）而那些上校军法官们曾在军事法庭上宣布：劳改营里的人们应该读读这本书！就在当时，那种没有声音、没有形象、没有名称的场力便在不知不觉中发生了作用，它顶住了--于是，我的书便停止不动了！ !早在那时它就停住了！只有极个别的劳改营合法地得到了这本书，通过劳改营文教科的图书馆允许人们借阅它。接着这本书便从图书馆藏书中被查禁。如果从外面，从社会上寄给某人的印刷品邮件里包括这本书，它立即被没收。于是，自由工人们便非法地偷偷把它带进劳改营，每本向囚犯们索价五卢布，听说甚至高达二十卢布（这是赫鲁晓夫时期的卢布！这是索取囚犯们的钱！但是，凡领教过劳改营周围社会的无耻作风的人，都不会感到奇怪人囚犯们带着它提心吊胆，就像带着自制的刀子一样，躲过搜查，进入劳改营，白天藏起来，夜间偷偷阅读。在北乌拉尔的某个劳改营里，人们为了能够长久地阅读，给这本书包了一层金属书皮。 既然那个无声的、但却为大家所接受的禁令已经深入到劳改营周围的地区，对于囚犯们就更不必说了！北方铁路线上的维斯车站有一个自由人妇女玛丽娅?阿列耶娃给《文学报》写了一篇书评，赞扬这部小说。不知是她把价投进信筒了，还是她粗心大意地把信放在桌上被别人看见了，总之，在她写好评论五个小时之后，党组织的书记希什金就把她叫去，指责她进行政治挑拨，（多么会找词儿！）当场便把她逮捕了。 在蒂拉斯波的第二劳改区有个囚犯叫涅多夫，是雕塑家。他是个杂役，闲时在屋里用蜡泥塑造了一个囚犯的塑像。不料被区段的长官索洛江金大尉发现了："你在给囚犯塑像？谁允许你干的？这是反革命行为I"他说着便抓起塑像的腿，一扯两半，扔在地上，"这都是因为你读了什么《伊万?杰尼索维奇》的缘故！"（幸而他并没有再用脚去踩那塑像。他走后，涅多夫把两半塑像藏了起来。）索洛江金向上汇报了这件事，劳改营长官巴卡耶夫立即传唤汉多夫。不过，汉多夫已经利用这段时间及时地在文教科找到了几张报纸，记住了那上面的几句话。"我们要审判你！你这是唆使人们反对苏维埃政权！"巴卡耶夫长官对涅多夫吼叫。（看来他们懂得一个囚犯的形象意味着什么！）"请允许我说句话，长官公民！……尼基塔?谢尔盖耶维奇（赫鲁晓夫）说……还有，伊利乔夫同志也说过……""看你说话的样子，像是要同我们平起平坐？！"但巴卡耶夫也只好叹一口气。涅多夫在经过半年之后才敢把那两半塑像拿出来，粘到一起，用巴比脱合金铸好，终于通过一个自由工人把它送出了营区。 开始在整个第二劳改区搜查《伊万?杰尼索维奇的一天》了。生活区进行了全面大搜查。没有找到。有一次涅多夫想捉弄他们一下：一天晚上，他拿着一本捷维凯良写的《花岗石岂能熔化户偷偷看，装作故意不让屋里的人们看见的样子，并且当着眼线的面故意请伙伴们把自己挡住，而他坐的位置恰好从窗外可以看到。不一会儿就有人去汇报了。突然三名看守冲了进来。（第四个看守在窗外监视着，看他把书递给谁！）这下子可找到了！把书拿到看守办公室去，锁进了保险柜。看守奇日克带着一大串钥匙，两手叉腰说："涅多夫，查到了你的书！哼！等着去监狱吧！"但是，第二天早晨值班军官一看："哎！笨蛋！……去还给他！" 囚犯们就是这样阅读"党和政府肯定的作品"的！ 一九六四年十二月苏联政府曾发表声明，声明中有这样的话："那些犯下骇人听闻的暴行的罪人，无论在什么时候，无论在任何情况下，都不应该逃脱正义的惩罚……企图灭绝整个整个民族的法西斯杀人犯的暴行是无与伦比的。" 当时发表这个声明，是为了对德意志联邦共和国施加压力，因为西德正准备批准适用二十年的"时效"期限。 可他们就是不想审判自己，尽管他们自己也曾"企图灭绝整个整个民族"。 我国发表了许多文章，大谈惩罚在逃的西德战犯之重要。有的文章探讨对纳粹分子曾进行过怎样的思想训练，才能使他们觉得大规模屠杀是自然的、符合道德的？有人简直成了写这类文章的专家。如今立法者寻求辩护说，判决不是他们执行的，而执行者说，法不是他们立的。 这声音多么熟悉啊！……刚才还看到我们那些实际工作者们的来信上说："把囚犯关进劳改营……是在执行法院的判决嘛！……警卫人员并不知道哪个囚犯为了什么事坐牢。" 不，如果你们是人的话，你们就应该设法知道才对！正因为你们对于自己所看守的人们既没有用一般公民的眼光，也没有用十的眼光去看待，所以才把你们称为恶棍的！难道纳粹分子不也是在执行命令吗？难道纳粹分子不是也曾相信自己是在拯救他们的雅利安种族吗？ 自然，我国的侦查员们也会毫不犹豫地（他们确实也没有犹豫，而是立即）反问：那么囚犯们自己为什么要把供？我们严刑拷问他们的时候，他们应该坚贞不屈嘛！为什么告密的人会提供假情况？我们是把这些告密看作证人证词，作为依据的呀！ 这些人也有过很短一段时间感到不安。前面我们曾谈到B?H?伊利英（前国家安全部的中将），他在说起斯托尔布诺夫斯基（审讯戈尔巴托夫将军的侦查员、将军提到过他）时说："哎呀呀，一真糟糕1他现在的B子可真不好过，虽说他拿的养老金不少。"正因为这样，扎哈罗娃才不得不写文章的，她害怕的是，这样下去将会对所有的人开刀了。于是她写了一篇文章，极力为曾经被李亚科夫"抹了黑"的利霍舍尔斯托夫（！）大尉辩护，她激动地说："他现在也还有大尉军籍，担任着党组织的书记（！），在农业移民区工作。大家可以设想一下，当有人写这类东西攻击他时，他的工作会遇到多大困难！据传说，要开始审查利霍舍尔斯托夫，甚至要追究（！）他的责任。访问：这是为什么？假如这仅仅是传说还倒好，可是并不排除他们真下手的可能性呀。这就会在内务部的工作人员中间造成真正的混乱！难道因为他执行了上级的所有指示就对他进行审查吗？是要求他现在去替那些下达过指示的人负责吗？这太妙了！让小兵当替罪羊！" 但是，这惶惶不安的状况很快就过去了。不，谁也不必负责。不必审查任何人。 也许，个别机关的人员编制有所削减。但是，暂时忍耐一下嘛！将来会扩充的！暂时可以先让那些还没有退休资格或者需要工作到退休年龄的国家安全人员去当作家、当记者、当编辑、当反宗教宣讲员和思想工作人员嘛！有些人还可以去当当厂长、经理。改头换面之后，他们仍旧是要领导我们的。这样更可靠些。（至于愿意退休的人，就让他去享清福好了。例如，退役中校胡尔坚科就是这样。中校I这个官可不小！大概总指挥过一个团吧？不，他是一九三八年从一名普通监狱看守起家的，只靠拿着强迫灌食的软管折磨囚犯便升到了中校！） 而在各个档案部门里，则正不慌不忙地翻阅并且销毁一切多余的文件：被处决的囚犯名单、送惩戒隔离室和加强管制棚的批示、劳改营里的侦查材料。眼线的告密信、关于．"实际工作人员"和警卫人员的多余材料等等。还有卫生所和会计室也都得进行清理，那里也有多余的文件、材料、不应留下的痕迹…… ……我们将会来默默参加筵席。 在世时我们不配来到你们这里。 今天，我们已死去，并不言语， 但，死去的我们仍使你们恐惧！ （维克林丽佳?格，科雷马女囚） 照这样看来，真的，怎么总是怨小兵们，怨小兵们呢！ ?那么，运动指挥部呢？比看守、警卫士兵、实际工作人员更高些的人们呢？那些只须用手指指点点的人呢？那些只从讲台上发出几句指示的人呢？ ... 让我再问一次：你们是怎么说的？--"那些犯下骇人听闻的暴行的罪人……无论在什么时候，无论在任何情况下，都……正义的惩罚……企图灭绝整个整个民族的……无与伦比的……" Hush!Hush!不许作声！正因为这样，才在一九六五年八月的思想工作会议（一个关于如何指导我们思想的秘密会议）的讲台上宣布："现在是时候了，人民的敌人这个既有用而又正确的概念应该恢复起来了！"