Thoughts From a Slow Train Across Russia

By Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, David Aikman

As Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn embarked on a slow train journey across Russia with his family, one of the few journalists with whom he spoke was TIME senior correspondent David Aikman, who had interviewed the Russian writer in Vermont in 1989. During their conversations, Aikman made the following notes on Solzhenitsyn's thoughts about his return home.

ON THE CONDITION OF RUSSIA: I have discovered with some satisfaction that people's moods do not seem to be as pessimistic and apathetic as I might have expected after observing them from the West. On the contrary, many people have preserved a great intensity, a desire to act. But they're disoriented as to what exactly should be done. All of them are inspired to act by a real dissatisfaction with today's conditions in the nation and with the way the country is ruled.

ON CRIME: I realized that the way out of communism might be tortuous and destructive, but I think no one could have predicted or imagined the exact forms of it. I have been asked more than once what concrete proposals I might have, but having just come back to my homeland, it is too early. But when one speaks of crime, there can be no two opinions: crime must be firmly suppressed, or the whole country really will fall into the hands of the mafia, and the government will become a shadow government.

ON THE WEAKNESSES OF RUSSIA'S LEADERS: Some of them do not understand the situation. Others really do not have the will or energy to act. But I may add that the main weakness of power derives from the fact that there has not been a new system of government and that almost all of the leadership positions in the country are still in the hands of the previous regime's leadership, who have only switched their positions within the political and commercial spheres. They are too tied to the past and have no interest in moving on to new things.

The present system cannot be called democracy because it doesn't express the will of the people. It ignores the sufferings of the people, and the whole structure still reflects the form of a barely changed communism. In 1991 we weren't able to change the system in a revolutionary way, although at the time it would have been rather easy to do so. Of course, the current system will change, but it may do so once again quite painfully while we are looking for another system. History does not forgive us when we let slip a fatal, critical moment.

ON THE THREAT OF DICTATORSHIP: The danger lies in the possibility of discontent continuing to grow among the people and the inability of the government to fight crime and quickly remedy the situation. One could anticipate an angry reflex vote and some sort of enraged popular response.

ON RUSSIAN NATIONALISM: The four republics of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and part of Kazakhstan are linked to us by millions of ties. That makes the artificial division into states very painful. I have always said we should never resort to coercive measures. I cannot predict the future, but I would like to see a single state formed out of those four states.