November 16 1974 years
Alexander Solzhenitsyn gave a press conference in Zurich and called on his compatriots to stop deceiving themselves.
We can do anything! But we lie to ourselves to reassure ourselves. It's not "they" who are to blame for everything—it's us, only us!
Solzhenitsyn delivered a speech about a "moral revolution" that would destroy the ideology of the Soviet regime. To achieve this, according to the writer, it was enough to refrain from speaking or signing anything that "distorts the truth." Not attending demonstrations against one's will or desire. Not voting for anything deemed questionable.
Solzhenitsyn outlined the main theses of his program in the article “Live not by lies" Its final version was ready back in September 1973. The text was kept in several secret places as a will, intended to be published in the event of the author's death or arrest—at that time, he was already a Nobel Prize laureate in literature.
We're not even afraid of universal nuclear death, we're not afraid of a third world war (maybe we'll hide in a crack)—we're only afraid of the steps of civic courage! We just need to avoid breaking away from the herd, taking a lone step—and suddenly find ourselves without white bread, without a gas water heater, without a Moscow residence permit..
The testament, written 50 years ago, remains relevant today. Solzhenitsyn notes that most Soviet citizens can only condemn the "strengthening of distant, savage regimes," the "incitement of civil wars," and "cosmic boasting amidst ruin and poverty at home" in their smoking rooms.
The article was published in samizdat on February 13, 1974, the day after Solzhenitsyn was arrested for anti-Soviet activities and expelled from the country.
The most accessible key to our liberation: personal non-participation in lies! Let lies cover everything, let lies control everything, but let us insist on the smallest thing: let them control not through me!.. For when people recoil from lies, they simply cease to exist.. If we chicken out, then stop complaining that someone isn't letting us breathe—it's we who aren't letting ourselves breathe! Let's hunker down and wait..
