Sunday book pick: Twenty-four hours in a Soviet gulag in ‘One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich’

“In jail and in the camps Shukhov had lost the habit of scheming how he was going to feed his family from day to day or year to year. The bosses did all his thinking for him, and that somehow made life easier. But what would it be like when he got out?”

The 1970 Nobel Prize for Literature awardee, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s novel, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, was published in 1962. It was translated into Russian from English by HT Willetts in 1991. It is the only one based entirely on the original Russian text and the only one authorised by Solzhenitsyn.

The novel’s publication was a watershed moment in Soviet literary history – never before had an account of Stalinist repressions been written about in such a manner. In October 1964, it suddenly became a controversial topic to write about and Solzhenitsyn’s later novels were published abroad and circulated within the Soviet Union illegally. In 1969, Solzhenitsyn was expelled from the Soviet Writers’ Union and in 1974, he was arrested, stripped of his Soviet citizenship, and exiled from the Soviet Union. He remained a “stateless person” till 1990.

From daybreak till night

One Day follows the life of Ivan Denisovich (Shukhov), a prisoner and an ordinary labourer, in the Soviet gulag camp. It starts at 5 am, when Shukhov wakes up with a gong going off. On this day, Shukhov is quite unwell – he has a fever and body pain. He’d like to rest, but for now, the punishing routine of the day awaits. After a frugal breakfast of black bread, Shukhov proceeds to work. It is an icy winter but the prisoners wish for a blizzard – it’d make their lives harder but they could get out of work earlier, and if they are lucky, there might even be possibilities of getting a day off. No winter was complete without a blizzard, and this year was yet to have one.

The time between waking up and lights off contains dull routines of roll calls, body checks, and stray abuse by the guards. However, this particular day has been uneventful and no skirmishes have been reported between the prisoners and the guards.

The men are inadequately dressed for the winter (any extra clothing is confiscated) and digging the frozen ground exacerbates their discomfort. Away from home and living in harsh conditions, Shukhov and the rest of his “gang” rely on the leader for their well-being. There is camaraderie among the prisoners, and however hard life might be in prison, it was still more tolerable than the constant hardship of the world outside. Shukhov, himself deprived of food, worries about how he might feed his family once he is released. Mealtimes in the gulag become mini battlefields as the prisoners trade favours and scheme to get an extra morsel.

“Three thousand six hundred and fifty-three days” remain of Shukhov’s sentence, which he must serve from “bell to bell”, and yet in the face of the threat of life and inadequacy of warmth and nutrition, he makes home in habit. The prisoners find a way to josh with each other and there’s even some semblance of normalcy in their routines and happiness that comes at the end of a hard day’s work.

Quiet revolts

Shukhov is shown to be an expert bricklayer and finds it more “satisfying” than digging the ground. This is not very dissimilar to life outside prison, where so much of contentment is hinged on professional satisfaction. Within the gangs, alliances resembling friendships are formed – an extra bite of bread and an extra drag of a cigarette capable of forming lasting goodwill. And yet, freedom remains elusive, even for those who are slated to be released soon. Most of them have been imprisoned for frivolous reasons anyway, and they are aware that an equally inane charge could keep them in prison longer. Plans of a revolt, sheepishly toyed with, do not come to fruition. The prisoners, probably unbeknownst to the guards, protest by walking slowly so that the guards are exposed to the cold just as long as them.

By limiting One Day to a 24-hour narrative cycle, Solzhenitsyn is successful in conveying the drudgery of life in prison. The fleeting moments of contentment are in no way comparable to everlasting freedom. The author’s own time in prison is reflected in the detailed, unflinching look at life in captivity – including the banter, tiny revolts, and a hope of a future that makes life bearable.

The novel is a strong indictment of the Soviet gulag camps, and yet it does not bear the absolute despondency of many prison novels. It is easy to empathise with Shukhov’s outlook on life; it is wise even to see the comfort that routine can bring. Food, even when it is scarce and rationed, proves to be a source of community feeling. There is “pride” to be felt in doing the most ordinary job with diligence. It is possible to go to bed feeling “pleased,” even when the “bed” was in a prison cell. Though Shukhov’s freedom is some ten years away, he is determined to make it to the last day come what may – an act no less heroic than overthrowing an impossible system.

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, translated from the Russian by HT Willetts, Penguin Vintage.