ABSTRACT
Solzhenitsyn’s nearly three years in the sharashka had probably saved his life. Solzhenitsyn was to explore the archipelago further and learn more about that strange and sprawling empire, beginning with its lines of communication. Solzhenitsyn and Panin were therefore relatively lucky to find themselves fifteen in a compartment and allowed out to visit the toilet twice a day, morning and evening. The aspect of the journey that Solzhenitsyn found most heartening, however, was a spirit of freedom and defiance among the prisoners. Another encounter in Kuibyshev that made a lasting impression on both Solzhenitsyn and Panin was with a Swedish prisoner called Erik Arvid Andersen. Solzhenitsyn and his companions were not in irons but were transported in a crowded Stolypin carriage under armed guard.
