Editing Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (section)

=== On post-Soviet Russia ===

[[File:Vladimir Putin with Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn-1.jpg|thumb|Solzhenitsyn with [[Vladimir Putin]] in 2007]]

In some of his later political writings, such as ''Rebuilding Russia'' (1990) and ''Russia in Collapse'' (1998), Solzhenitsyn criticized the [[Russian oligarchs|oligarchic excesses]] of the new Russian democracy, while opposing any nostalgia for Soviet communism. He defended moderate and self-critical patriotism (as opposed to [[Extremist nationalism in Russia|extreme nationalism]]). He also urged local self-government similar to what he had seen in [[New England]] town meetings and in the cantons of [[Switzerland]]. He also expressed concern for the fate of the 25 million ethnic Russians in the "[[near abroad]]" of the former Soviet Union.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Solzhenitsyn: A Centennial Tribute |url=https://www.city-journal.org/article/solzhenitsyn-a-centennial-tribute |access-date=2025-01-27 |website=City Journal |language=en}}</ref>

In an interview with [[Joseph Pearce]], Solzhenitsyn was asked whether he felt that the [[Distributism|socioeconomic theories]] of [[E. F. Schumacher]] were, "the key to society rediscovering its sanity". He replied, "I do believe that it would be the key, but I don't think this will happen, because people succumb to fashion, and they suffer from inertia and it is hard to them to come round to a different point of view."<ref name="Joseph Pearce 2011 Page 331"/>

Solzhenitsyn refused to accept Russia's highest honor, the [[Order of St. Andrew]], in 1998. Solzhenitsyn later said: "In 1998, it was the country's low point, with people in misery; ... [[Boris Yeltsin|Yeltsin]] decreed I be honored the highest state order. I replied that I was unable to receive an award from a government that had led Russia into such dire straits."<ref name="Solzhenitsyn 2007"/> In a 2003 interview with Joseph Pearce, Solzhenitsyn said: "We are exiting from communism in a most unfortunate and awkward way. It would have been difficult to design a path out of communism worse than the one that has been followed."<ref>Interview published in [http://www.catholiceducation.org/en/culture/art/an-interview-with-alexander-solzhenitsyn.html ''St. Austin Review'' 2 no. 2 (February 2003)]</ref>

In a 2007 interview with ''[[Der Spiegel]]'', Solzhenitsyn expressed disappointment that the "conflation of 'Soviet' and 'Russian'", against which he spoke so often in the 1970s, had not passed away in the West, in the [[Eastern Bloc|ex-socialist countries]], or in the [[Post-Soviet states|former Soviet republics]]. He commented, "The elder political generation in communist countries is not ready for repentance, while the new generation is only too happy to voice grievances and level accusations, with present-day Moscow [as] a convenient target. They behave as if they heroically liberated themselves and lead a new life now, while Moscow has remained communist. Nevertheless, I dare [to] hope that this unhealthy phase will soon be over, that all the peoples who have lived through communism will understand that communism is to blame for the bitter pages of their history."<ref name="Solzhenitsyn 2007">{{Citation | url = http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/spiegel-interview-with-alexander-solzhenitsyn-i-am-not-afraid-of-death-a-496211.html | type = interview | first = Aleksandr I | last = Solzhenitsyn | title = I Am Not Afraid of Death | newspaper = [[Der Spiegel]] | issue = 30 | year = 2007}}</ref>

In 2008, Solzhenitsyn praised Putin, saying Russia was rediscovering what it meant to be Russian. Solzhenitsyn also praised the Russian president [[Dmitry Medvedev]] as a "nice young man" who was capable of taking on the challenges Russia was facing.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/02/wikileaks-cables-solzhenitsyn-vladimir-putin|title=WikiLeaks cables: Solzhenitsyn praise for Vladimir Putin|first=Luke|last=Harding|newspaper=The Guardian |date=2 December 2010|via=www.theguardian.com}}</ref>