Alexander Solzhenitsyn was one of the Cold War`s most iconic writers. This book offers an
in-depth analysis of his reception in the US UK and Germany before and after 1991. Elisa
Kriza skillfully explores how Solzhenitsyn`s work can be understood with the paradigm of
witness literature and uncovers the dynamics behind the politicized reception of his writing.
From the mid-1980s onwards Solzhenitsyn`s popularity dwindled-was this for ideological
reasons? What about the rumors linking him with Russian nationalism? This study does not shy
away from stretching beyond anti-communism and touching more contentious subjects-such as
anti-feminism anti-Semitism and revisionism-in Solzhenitsyn`s work and reception. Bringing
Solzhenitsyn back from his `critical exile` and redefining his work as memory culture Kriza`s
book is a crucial scholarly intervention unveiling the mechanism that can transform a
controversial figure into a moral icon.
