ABSTRACT
It has been suggested that Solzhenitsyn was uncomfortable in Zurich and found the Swiss rather bourgeois and boring and that this was why he turned his back on them and immersed himself in his own world. But Solzhenitsyn took a definite interest in his new surroundings, formed several friendships, and was not unhappy with his experiences there. Solzhenitsyn was already well disposed towards the Swiss political system before he came. There was one other group with which Solzhenitsyn mixed during his first several months in Zurich, and that was the rather large Czech emigre community. A factor in Solzhenitsyn’s willingness to welcome this Czech couple was his general fondness for Czechoslovakia, and his gratitude for Czech and Slovak efforts to get Cancer Ward published.
