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Fear No Evil
Temperamentally and intellectually, Natan Sharansky is a man very much like many of us—which makes this account of his arrest on political grounds, his trial, and ten years' imprisonment in the Orwellian universe of the Soviet gulag particularly vivid and resonant.
Since Fear No Evil was originally published in 1988, the Soviet government that imprisoned Sharansky has collapsed. Sharansky has become an important national leader in Israel—and serves as Israel's diplomatic liaison to the former Soviet Union! New York Times Jerusalem Bureau Chief Serge Schmemann reflects on those monumental events, and on Sharansky's extraordinary life in the decades since his arrest, in a new introduction to this edition. But the truths Sharansky learned in his jail cell and sets forth in this book have timeless importance so long as rulers anywhere on earth still supress their own peoples. For anyone with an interest in human rights—and anyone with an appreciation for the resilience of the human spirit—he illuminates the weapons with which the powerless can humble the physical courage, an untiring sense of humor, a bountiful imagination, and the conviction that "Nothing they do can humiliate me. I alone can humiliate myself."
Since Fear No Evil was originally published in 1988, the Soviet government that imprisoned Sharansky has collapsed. Sharansky has become an important national leader in Israel—and serves as Israel's diplomatic liaison to the former Soviet Union! New York Times Jerusalem Bureau Chief Serge Schmemann reflects on those monumental events, and on Sharansky's extraordinary life in the decades since his arrest, in a new introduction to this edition. But the truths Sharansky learned in his jail cell and sets forth in this book have timeless importance so long as rulers anywhere on earth still supress their own peoples. For anyone with an interest in human rights—and anyone with an appreciation for the resilience of the human spirit—he illuminates the weapons with which the powerless can humble the physical courage, an untiring sense of humor, a bountiful imagination, and the conviction that "Nothing they do can humiliate me. I alone can humiliate myself."
464 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
75 people are currently reading
1341 people want to read
About the author
Natan Sharansky
15 books44 followersAnatoly Borisovich Shcharansky (later Natan Sharanky) was born in Stalino, Soviet Union on January 20, 1948 to a Jewish family. He graduated with a degree in applied mathematics from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. As a child, he was a chess prodigy. He performed in simultaneous and blindfold displays, usually against adults. At the age of 15, he won the championship in his native Donetsk. When incarcerated in solitary confinement, he claims to have played chess against himself in his mind. Sharansky beat the world chess champion Garry Kasparov in a simultaneous exhibition in Israel in 1996.
Natan Sharansky is married to Avital Sharansky, with whom he has two daughters, Rachel and Hannah. In the Soviet Union, his marriage application to Avital was denied by the authorities.[citation needed] They were married in a Moscow synagogue in a ceremony not recognized by the government. Sharansky lives in Jerusalem. (from Wikipedia)
Natan Sharansky is married to Avital Sharansky, with whom he has two daughters, Rachel and Hannah. In the Soviet Union, his marriage application to Avital was denied by the authorities.[citation needed] They were married in a Moscow synagogue in a ceremony not recognized by the government. Sharansky lives in Jerusalem. (from Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews
June 20, 2018
In this classic, in the tradition of The Gulag Archipelago: 1918-1956, Prisoner of Zion, Natan Sharansky, one of the greatest Jewish heroes of our time, tells of his nine years in Soviet prisons and gulags, because of his desire to live in the ancient homeland of the Jewish people.
Sharansky was first denied an exit visa to Israel in 1973. Seperated from his wife, Avital, a day after thewir marriage, in 1974, Sharansky fought for the rights of Jews in the Soviet Union as well as the rights of other persecuted minorities such as Pentecostals, Catholics, Ukrainians, Crimean Tatars and ethnic Germans, which disproves the repulsive charge by anti-Semites that Zionists only care about their own people.
He worked as a translator for Soviet dissident and human rights champion Andrei Sakharov, and his spokesman.
Sakharov never stopped fighting for Sharanky's freedom, for human rights and for the Jews of the Soviet Empire.
Sharanky describes his life in the preface as a Jews growing up in Russia, and his mental liberation from Soviet thought slavery, by his discovery of his Judaism and Zionism. He then details his 1977 arrest, and his nine years of brutal incarceration.
He never bowed to his captors and refused to have anything to do with the perfidious KGB.
A variety of mental and physical tortures were used to try to break Sharansky, but he never flinched.
Always given courage by the word of the G-D of Israel, and particularly guided by Psalm 23:
"Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I will fear no evil
For though art with me..."
Indeed he did not fear the evil of the Soviet tyranny.
His wife Avital tirelessly fought for his release as his cause became known in the free world, and fought for by all freedom-loving people.
The book ends with Sharansky's release in 1986 and his aliyah to Israel, where he was reunited with his wife.
The book is a testament to the evils of a one party tyranny.
It is a testament to the eternal endurability of the Jewish people, and their unbreakable bond wit the Land of Israel.
Unltimately it is a testament of hope and of freedom of the human spirit.
Today the same Communist ideology that persecuted Sharansky is waging a jihad of intellectual terrorism against Israel and her people.
But the courage of people like Sharansky and the people of Israel has shown that Israel can and will prevail.
Sharansky was first denied an exit visa to Israel in 1973. Seperated from his wife, Avital, a day after thewir marriage, in 1974, Sharansky fought for the rights of Jews in the Soviet Union as well as the rights of other persecuted minorities such as Pentecostals, Catholics, Ukrainians, Crimean Tatars and ethnic Germans, which disproves the repulsive charge by anti-Semites that Zionists only care about their own people.
He worked as a translator for Soviet dissident and human rights champion Andrei Sakharov, and his spokesman.
Sakharov never stopped fighting for Sharanky's freedom, for human rights and for the Jews of the Soviet Empire.
Sharanky describes his life in the preface as a Jews growing up in Russia, and his mental liberation from Soviet thought slavery, by his discovery of his Judaism and Zionism. He then details his 1977 arrest, and his nine years of brutal incarceration.
He never bowed to his captors and refused to have anything to do with the perfidious KGB.
A variety of mental and physical tortures were used to try to break Sharansky, but he never flinched.
Always given courage by the word of the G-D of Israel, and particularly guided by Psalm 23:
"Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I will fear no evil
For though art with me..."
Indeed he did not fear the evil of the Soviet tyranny.
His wife Avital tirelessly fought for his release as his cause became known in the free world, and fought for by all freedom-loving people.
The book ends with Sharansky's release in 1986 and his aliyah to Israel, where he was reunited with his wife.
The book is a testament to the evils of a one party tyranny.
It is a testament to the eternal endurability of the Jewish people, and their unbreakable bond wit the Land of Israel.
Unltimately it is a testament of hope and of freedom of the human spirit.
Today the same Communist ideology that persecuted Sharansky is waging a jihad of intellectual terrorism against Israel and her people.
But the courage of people like Sharansky and the people of Israel has shown that Israel can and will prevail.
February 12, 2009
So I'm watching Hell's Kitchen the other night, one of the few, if not the only, reality show I like (though I'm enjoying it less and less every year). Anyway, a contestant sprained her ankle and hobbled around in obvious pain while cooking that night. At the end, when the jerk chef is deciding which shmuck to kick off the show, the injured contestant withdraws due to her injury. Which causes the jerk chef, other contestants, and narrator to wax poetic paeans to her courage and bravery for cooking on a sprained ankle.
In the meantime, I'm reading this book. Sharansky endures psychological and physical torture, cruel oppression, and gross violations of his rights and dignity as a human being. He can ease his suffering at any time, merely by agreeing to work with the KGB by squealing on his colleagues or denouncing his work to promote human rights in the USSR and efforts to emigrate to Israel. But he refuses and pays the price. He spends nine years, from 1977 to 1986, in Soviet prisons and labor camps, though he committed no crime.
That, folks, is real courage.
In the meantime, I'm reading this book. Sharansky endures psychological and physical torture, cruel oppression, and gross violations of his rights and dignity as a human being. He can ease his suffering at any time, merely by agreeing to work with the KGB by squealing on his colleagues or denouncing his work to promote human rights in the USSR and efforts to emigrate to Israel. But he refuses and pays the price. He spends nine years, from 1977 to 1986, in Soviet prisons and labor camps, though he committed no crime.
That, folks, is real courage.
November 2, 2014
Memories of the world behind the Iron Curtain are fading, and it is easy to forget that millions of people lived for decades trapped in a system that denied them even the most basic freedoms. Sharansky and his 'Refusnik' friends were among those courageous enough, perhaps crazy enough, to challenge an oppressive and all-powerful totalitarian government. Their struggles showed the free world the truth about the Soviet empire.
On March 4, 1977, a full-page article in Izvestia accused Anatoly Sharansky and several other Jewish activists of working for the CIA and carrying out espionage against the Soviet Union. This was the prelude to Sharansky's arrest on March 15, and his eventual trial and imprisonment. Fear No Evil is the moving and inspiring story of Sharansky's struggle against the KGB and Soviet authorities. His dream of freedom and the right to 'make alyah'--to emigrate to Israel--was eventually realized in 1986, thanks both to his own courage, but also to the relentless efforts of his wife Avital (Natasha) and human rights workers around the world.
Sharansky won not just his freedom, but also a personal victory against the KGB. "My commitment to have nothing to do with the KGB turned out to be the most serious and most principled decision that I made in the Gulag." Despite the grim subject matter, this is an easy book to read, much more accessible than other books I have read on the Soviet prison system.
Surprisingly, it is often very funny. In Lefortovo, one KGB interrogator suggested that Sharansky should feel free to get up and move around if he would be more comfortable: Sharansky took him at his word and did calisthenics and head-stands. Political prisoners were often kept in total isolation and the guards would snap their fingers and click their keys to warn other guards to clear corridors when a prisoner was being transported: Sharansky imitated his guard's finger clicking adding a little dance routine, and he and his guard ended up skipping down the corridor together. Placed in freezing punishment chambers in the Gulag, the tone-deaf Sharansky would sing Israeli folk songs at the top of his lungs.
He kept his sense of humor, he kept his sanity, he kept his faith, and he kept up his unrelenting struggle, spending months in punishment cells and on hunger strikes. Other prisoners fought back as well and the stories of many of Sharansky's fellow zeks are full of heroism and a kind of stark beauty.
On March 4, 1977, a full-page article in Izvestia accused Anatoly Sharansky and several other Jewish activists of working for the CIA and carrying out espionage against the Soviet Union. This was the prelude to Sharansky's arrest on March 15, and his eventual trial and imprisonment. Fear No Evil is the moving and inspiring story of Sharansky's struggle against the KGB and Soviet authorities. His dream of freedom and the right to 'make alyah'--to emigrate to Israel--was eventually realized in 1986, thanks both to his own courage, but also to the relentless efforts of his wife Avital (Natasha) and human rights workers around the world.
Sharansky won not just his freedom, but also a personal victory against the KGB. "My commitment to have nothing to do with the KGB turned out to be the most serious and most principled decision that I made in the Gulag." Despite the grim subject matter, this is an easy book to read, much more accessible than other books I have read on the Soviet prison system.
Surprisingly, it is often very funny. In Lefortovo, one KGB interrogator suggested that Sharansky should feel free to get up and move around if he would be more comfortable: Sharansky took him at his word and did calisthenics and head-stands. Political prisoners were often kept in total isolation and the guards would snap their fingers and click their keys to warn other guards to clear corridors when a prisoner was being transported: Sharansky imitated his guard's finger clicking adding a little dance routine, and he and his guard ended up skipping down the corridor together. Placed in freezing punishment chambers in the Gulag, the tone-deaf Sharansky would sing Israeli folk songs at the top of his lungs.
He kept his sense of humor, he kept his sanity, he kept his faith, and he kept up his unrelenting struggle, spending months in punishment cells and on hunger strikes. Other prisoners fought back as well and the stories of many of Sharansky's fellow zeks are full of heroism and a kind of stark beauty.
March 6, 2011
It took me a while to get into the book (there were details of the how the Soviet Union society operated that I glossed over), but once I got to know Sharansky as a person and could relate to him, I was hooked. I was fascinated by how he used chess and solving a chess problem as a way to cope while in a punishment cell. His wife Avital was truly amazing, bringing his case to officials all over the Western world. I wasn't clear why he needed to go on so many hunger strikes, but they seemed to help him keep his humanity. I felt great joy for him when he was finally let out of prison.
As terrible as life was in Soviet prisons and camps, it wasn't nearly as awful as it was for Jews under the Nazis. That's what happens when you read a Nazi book right after a Soviet book. Maybe I'll read a Solzhenitsyn book soon.
As terrible as life was in Soviet prisons and camps, it wasn't nearly as awful as it was for Jews under the Nazis. That's what happens when you read a Nazi book right after a Soviet book. Maybe I'll read a Solzhenitsyn book soon.
January 10, 2020
This is one of the best and most powerful stories I've read. There is no other way of putting it: Natan Sharansky and his wife Avital are incredible.
January 31, 2012
Definitely interesting, glad I read it. It's a translation - so the prose are pretty simple and the narrative isn't all that compelling - but I didn't find it a huge trudge. I've had this on my shelf for years so I'm happy to have finally gotten to it!
December 10, 2022
Sharansky’s book is both tedious and moving – like all great accomplishments. At the end of his book, Sharansky compares his prison life to the work of Sisyphus - a never-ending uphill battle – with the understanding that he has to find meaning in the moment, considering that he has no promise of ever getting out of jail alive. In that sense, Sharansky tells the story of so many great people who changed the world: to accomplish something truly great, you have to endure countless days of suffering and be willing to take huge gambles.
Sharansky devoted most of his book to his time in prison. While the beginning of the book gives the reader a taste of his early life, most of his book is a tour de force to his ability to withstand the pressure of the KGB, without really giving the reader the understanding what it is that gave him such an iron will. He was clearly a brilliant man with the potential for a relatively comfortable life in Russia: what helped him see past short-term comforts and seek something greater than his own wellbeing? Sharansky made stunning use of his intellectual prowess in standing up to the KGB , both in court and over the course of his 13-year imprisonment, playing a never-ending chess game with his captors. It’s clear that he went into his battle of wills against the KGB with an uncompromising view that he was fighting evil , and it’s incredible that he was able to live out his ideals despite the heavy price he paid for them over the course of 13 years. It is a real testament to not only to the power of idealism, and the ability of spirit to triumph over matter. I wish, though, that he would have spent more time in book describing those ideals. He describes some of what got his through - love, faith, a strong moral compass – but spends less time on the intellectual underpinnings of this beliefs. Perhaps it shows that at the end of the day, people stick to their beliefs less because of an intellectual conviction and more because of where their heart and guts take them. We know when we’re doing the right this even if we can’t always intellectualize it – perhaps this was also the source of Sheransky’s draw to Psalms.
One of the memorable moments in the book for me is when Sharansky extols housewives, explaining the role that they had played in changing public opinion and leading to his release. He explains how the political activism of housewives, seemingly marginalized and distanced from the reins of society, are what ended up getting the world to pay attention to his plight. Though not a housewife myself, I thought that he had a marvelous insight and felt grateful for the light he shed on this undervalued part of our population in the 21st century.
It's hard not to compare Fear No Evil to Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom. Both books focus on the life of a political prisoner. However, one book is inherently more conciliatory than the other, for obvious reasons. Sherasky’s book gives hope for humanity but not for Russia, even after everything that's happened in decades since the book was published
Sharansky devoted most of his book to his time in prison. While the beginning of the book gives the reader a taste of his early life, most of his book is a tour de force to his ability to withstand the pressure of the KGB, without really giving the reader the understanding what it is that gave him such an iron will. He was clearly a brilliant man with the potential for a relatively comfortable life in Russia: what helped him see past short-term comforts and seek something greater than his own wellbeing? Sharansky made stunning use of his intellectual prowess in standing up to the KGB , both in court and over the course of his 13-year imprisonment, playing a never-ending chess game with his captors. It’s clear that he went into his battle of wills against the KGB with an uncompromising view that he was fighting evil , and it’s incredible that he was able to live out his ideals despite the heavy price he paid for them over the course of 13 years. It is a real testament to not only to the power of idealism, and the ability of spirit to triumph over matter. I wish, though, that he would have spent more time in book describing those ideals. He describes some of what got his through - love, faith, a strong moral compass – but spends less time on the intellectual underpinnings of this beliefs. Perhaps it shows that at the end of the day, people stick to their beliefs less because of an intellectual conviction and more because of where their heart and guts take them. We know when we’re doing the right this even if we can’t always intellectualize it – perhaps this was also the source of Sheransky’s draw to Psalms.
One of the memorable moments in the book for me is when Sharansky extols housewives, explaining the role that they had played in changing public opinion and leading to his release. He explains how the political activism of housewives, seemingly marginalized and distanced from the reins of society, are what ended up getting the world to pay attention to his plight. Though not a housewife myself, I thought that he had a marvelous insight and felt grateful for the light he shed on this undervalued part of our population in the 21st century.
It's hard not to compare Fear No Evil to Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom. Both books focus on the life of a political prisoner. However, one book is inherently more conciliatory than the other, for obvious reasons. Sherasky’s book gives hope for humanity but not for Russia, even after everything that's happened in decades since the book was published
May 4, 2024
Sunki knyga. Sunki, bet reikalinga, kad suvokti kas per sistema sistemoje buvo KGB sovietų šalyje ir kokiais metodais naudojosi ši organizacija, norėdama sulaužyti disidentus, kitaip mąstančius, kovojančius už savo tautos atstovų teisę išvykti už Geležinės uždangos į savo žemę. Sionistas, disidentas ir Helsinkio grupės atstovas Rusijoje Natanas aprašo savo Gulago kelią, kuris tęsėsi daugiau kaip dešimt metų sistemos kalėjimuose ir lageriuose. Aprašo KGB tardytojų “darbo” metodus, kalėjimų ir lagerių prižiūrėtojų elgesį. Aprašo sutiktus žmones. Pasitaikė ir lietuvių. Viktoras Petkus, Lietuvos Helsinkio grupės įkūrėjas. Labai įdomios diskusijos vyko tarp žydų tautos atstovo ir tikinčio Lietuvos patrioto. Natanui teko sunkiai protu suprantamos bausmės karcerio, kur 15 parų virsdavo 200 parų betoniniame maiše, be saulės šviesos, be normalaus maisto. Vyrukas buvo įvaldęs žiaurų kovos su sovietinės teisinės sistemos neteisybe ir nekartą skelbė bado streikus. Sistema bandė maitinti priverstinai. Įvairiais, žmogaus orumą žudančias metodais.Po vieno tokio streiko žmogaus svoris buvo pasiekęs… 35 kg. Bet tikėjimas, vidinis savo vertybių vektoriaus išlaikymas leido Natanui palikti Blogio imperijos kraštą aukštai iškėlus galvą!
November 2, 2019
What an amazing story of survival & stubbornness & perseverance under pressure! Sharansky spent almost 10 years in the horrible Soviet Gulag system back in the 70's/80's--just for being a Jewish activist who wanted to emigrate to Israel and to help the cause of other Jewish activists. The KGB dragged him into prison in Moscow--soon after he married, Avital, the love of his life--and dogged his every step with utter ridiculousness and fabrication upon fabrication, until just prior to his final release. Sharansky weighed 75 kilos (165 lbs.) going into prison--and at one point was down to 35 kilos (77 lbs), from his extensive hunger strikes and confinements in punishment cells with a reduced diet (the "normal" diet was not even fit for a dog). Shame, shame, shame on the godless, cruel, diabolical, crooked, confused, hypocritical, shameful Soviet system. Bravo & kudos to someone like Sharansky who stood on his principles & brooked no negotiation/compromise with the KGB and their evil & broken system. One of the things that got Sharanksy through his long, terrible ordeal was the Psalm book that his wife gave him just before he was arrested. The psalms/songs of King David & other Jewish leaders gave him life, meaning, comfort, and hope. Sharansky especially loved Psalm 30 and recited it aloud to the KGB officers effecting his final release. After reading of his experiences in the Gulag, the meaning & sentiments of this psalm are that much more deeply understood. Thank you, Sharansky.
January 23, 2012
Interesting story. Some of the stuff he does to the KGB is downright hilarious. Well written.
January 8, 2023
Anatoly Shcharansky (now Natan Sharansky) was 29 years old when he was seized by the KGB on March 15, 1977, brought to Lefortovo prison, charged with treason, a capital offense. “They cannot humiliate me. I alone can humiliate myself.” He spent nine years as a political prisoner in labor camps, prisons, and solitary confinement. He applied for an exit visa in 1973, and became involved with refuseniks (Soviet Jews who have been denied exit visas) and dissidents, protesting, writing letters, interacting with foreign press and correspondents living in Moscow. The KGB tailed him everywhere. The interrogations in Lefortovo were intense, with rasstrel (i.e., execution) hanging over his head. How he dealt with this word and overcame the fear of saying it is worthwhile all on its own. He was sentenced to thirteen years in July 1978. You realize how important world politics is to zeks—prisoners—especially the political prisoners. A US president speaking about an individual prisoner can have an enormous impact on how they are treated and chances for release. Brezhnev died while he was in jail, succeeded by Andropov, former head of the KGB who signed the first document in his criminal case. The shouts of joy when a leader died from the prisoners is quite amazing to read.
Ultimately he was expelled from the USSR, flown to East Germany, and walked across the Glienicke Bridge between East and West Berlin, along with an exchange of spies from both sides (since he wasn’t a spy, he walked across with the American Ambassador to West Germany). When he got to the bridge, he saw the USSR flag: “How symbolic,” I said. “This isn’t really the border of East Germany but the boundary of the Soviet empire.” He was reunited with his wife, who left the USSR one day after they were married. He eventually got the rest of his family out of Israel, mother and brother. He mentions that “when Reagan and Gorbachev met in Geneva in November 1985 the President told the Chairman, ‘You can say again and again that Sharansky’s a spy, but the world believes this lady, and you won’t be able to change your image until you let him go.’” He had a daughter, then entered Israeli politics eventually returning to the USSR: “Eleven years after the events that are described in this book, Natan Sharansky returned to Russia as Minister of Industry and Trade of the State of Israel. It was a journey he described as the closing of a circle: No, he told reporters, he was not bitter. He had won, and victors have no need for revenge. The evil empire had been vanquished. He quipped: “In fact, one of the campaign slogans of my party in Israel was, ‘We go to prison first, then to the Knesset.’” Another interesting fact is that Sharansky was a chess prodigy as a youth, and he got to fulfill his childhood dream of having one of his games published in the press, when Komsomolskaya Pravda published his successful match with Gary Kasparov—albeit as one of twenty-five Israelis who took on the world champion in a simultaneous match in Israel. An inspiring read by a brave soul who throughout his confinement was comforted by Psalm 23: “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil For thou art with me.” Indeed.
Notable
Indian proverb: “When you’re riding on a tiger, the most dangerous thing is to stop.”
Ultimately he was expelled from the USSR, flown to East Germany, and walked across the Glienicke Bridge between East and West Berlin, along with an exchange of spies from both sides (since he wasn’t a spy, he walked across with the American Ambassador to West Germany). When he got to the bridge, he saw the USSR flag: “How symbolic,” I said. “This isn’t really the border of East Germany but the boundary of the Soviet empire.” He was reunited with his wife, who left the USSR one day after they were married. He eventually got the rest of his family out of Israel, mother and brother. He mentions that “when Reagan and Gorbachev met in Geneva in November 1985 the President told the Chairman, ‘You can say again and again that Sharansky’s a spy, but the world believes this lady, and you won’t be able to change your image until you let him go.’” He had a daughter, then entered Israeli politics eventually returning to the USSR: “Eleven years after the events that are described in this book, Natan Sharansky returned to Russia as Minister of Industry and Trade of the State of Israel. It was a journey he described as the closing of a circle: No, he told reporters, he was not bitter. He had won, and victors have no need for revenge. The evil empire had been vanquished. He quipped: “In fact, one of the campaign slogans of my party in Israel was, ‘We go to prison first, then to the Knesset.’” Another interesting fact is that Sharansky was a chess prodigy as a youth, and he got to fulfill his childhood dream of having one of his games published in the press, when Komsomolskaya Pravda published his successful match with Gary Kasparov—albeit as one of twenty-five Israelis who took on the world champion in a simultaneous match in Israel. An inspiring read by a brave soul who throughout his confinement was comforted by Psalm 23: “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil For thou art with me.” Indeed.
Notable
Indian proverb: “When you’re riding on a tiger, the most dangerous thing is to stop.”
February 8, 2019
For many of us the scientific-technological revolution arrived at precisely the right time, with the world of science as a kind of castle where you could protect yourself from the shifting winds of official ideology. (p. xii)
This single sentence from Natan Sharansky's memoir Fear No Evil really grabbed me. Here is someone I could immediately relate to in a unique way. I'm not brilliant at chess, math, or computer science like Sharanksy, but I understand him. In a world where politics and ideology are constantly in our face, some of us cling to science and technology - constants of logic and scientific process - as a way to feel safe and find commonality.
But what happens when not even science can protect you?
This break-down of "the castle" is what happened to Sharansky. He talks about how he came to explore and embrace his Jewish heritage, in part through his friendship and eventual engagement with a Jewish activist, Avital. During the 1970s when this all occurred, the USSR was preventing many Jews from emigrating to Israel, so those who were denied visas became known as refuseniks. Sharanksy, a refusenik himself, began to campaign for refuseniks' rights, becoming almost a minor celebrity through his interactions with the Western press.
Barely a day married to Natan, Avital was finally allowed to leave Russia and compelled to leave immediately before it was too late. Natan, however, was still denied his own visa and continued to be followed by his "tails" who were assigned to watch him. Three years later in 1977, he was arrested, accused of being a spy for the U.S.
The rest of the memoir follows his intense and truly stunning determination to survive his prison sentence and demand justice. Logically minded, Sharansky immediately came up with a mind map, outlining his method of dealing with the authorities and maintaining his dignity. A major piece of this was his decision to have no association with the KGB - no bargaining, no deals - even when tempted or tortured.
As I read this, I was having flashbacks to Kafka's The Trial. Since Sharanksy was well known outside of Russia, he was treated somewhat better (relatively speaking) than more obscure prisoners. Nonetheless, the authorities intended to destroy his integrity, chiefly by means of monologues and monotony, trying to manipulate him by withholding visits with his worried mother. They really took several pages out of Kafka, and the sheer, maddening tedium of it all would be enough to drive most people into cooperation.
Sharansky, however, managed to not only not cooperate but to come out ahead. He took advantage of his position as a well-known activist to call out the authorities when they were not following their own rules. He used his empathy to network with other zeks (prisoners) and try to stay on good terms with his fellow inmates. He used hunger strikes strategically and stuck to them. Finally, he focused on his spiritual life, through his Psalm book, his pictures of family members, and his prayers.
One small part of the book that also stood out to me was the role of literature. Sharansky credits Sherlock Holmes as being a major influence in his pursuit of logic, which was to help him in his trial. He also relates a moving scene in which he and two others, locked in punishment cells (solitary confinement with low rations), passed the time by debating about authors and their books.
Thanks to Stephen for sharing his review of the book (which is how I found out about it!).
September 21, 2024
In February 2024, Russian political dissident, Alexei Navalny died. While following the (non-state) Russian news after his death, I learned that one of the books he read and kept with him while incarcerated was this one and that he had also briefly corresponded with Natan Sharansky before his death. I’ve read the canonical books of the Russian gulag and it's not easy reading. But, in honor of Alexei Navalny, I decided to read Sharansky’s depiction of his experience and it has turned out to be one of the best books I have ever read, period.
Sharansky is not just a great hero in surviving the gulag and maintaining his moral, physical, psychological and spiritual integrity for 9 years of brutal incarceration- he is (like Mandelshtam, Solzhenitsyn, Sakharov, Navalny and many others) a giant in the tradition of the Russian intelligentsia whose willingness to die for the truth becomes a spiritual beacon for humanity itself.
His memory of his experience, including the ups and downs and choices he made along the way, is incredible. While he doesn’t use psychological or scientific terms, he does beautifully describe known principles of human resistance (for example, how hopeful coping strategies lead ultimately to capitulation and despair versus how acceptance of reality leads to mental and emotional freedom).
There were so many beautifully depicted moments in this book- Sharansky carefully crafting an interrogation strategy like a math puzzle, singing (terribly) for 100 days in a punishment cell, sharing bible study with a Christian dissident, celebrating the last day of Hanukkah with the prison warden, teaching a fellow zek to play chess, forgiving a young informant and organizing an entire prison hunger strike.
In this era of misinformation, social censorship and intolerance, we need to hear Sharansky over and over again- because the truth is “this era” is not unique.
Sharansky is not just a great hero in surviving the gulag and maintaining his moral, physical, psychological and spiritual integrity for 9 years of brutal incarceration- he is (like Mandelshtam, Solzhenitsyn, Sakharov, Navalny and many others) a giant in the tradition of the Russian intelligentsia whose willingness to die for the truth becomes a spiritual beacon for humanity itself.
His memory of his experience, including the ups and downs and choices he made along the way, is incredible. While he doesn’t use psychological or scientific terms, he does beautifully describe known principles of human resistance (for example, how hopeful coping strategies lead ultimately to capitulation and despair versus how acceptance of reality leads to mental and emotional freedom).
There were so many beautifully depicted moments in this book- Sharansky carefully crafting an interrogation strategy like a math puzzle, singing (terribly) for 100 days in a punishment cell, sharing bible study with a Christian dissident, celebrating the last day of Hanukkah with the prison warden, teaching a fellow zek to play chess, forgiving a young informant and organizing an entire prison hunger strike.
In this era of misinformation, social censorship and intolerance, we need to hear Sharansky over and over again- because the truth is “this era” is not unique.
January 13, 2020
Natan Sharansky was a pretty regular Jewish guy, living in the Soviet Union. He gradually became more aware of the unfair treatment of Jews, including refusal to allow them to emigrate to Israel, job preference given to non-Jews, etc. He became active in the Zionist movement, and was eventually arrested on false charges of treason. He tells of his activism, arrest, trial and imprisonment. His moral courage in prison was impressive. He refused to cooperate with the KGB, spent many more days in the punishment cell than was "legal" for protesting the mistreatment of other prisoners or demanding his legal rights. He engaged in a hunger strike for over 100 days in protest of their refusal to allow him to send letters to his family or receive letters from them. It's a great story of courage and resilience in the face of extreme persecution.
July 22, 2019
Thank you Tatiana for lending this to me!
April 6, 2024
A really inspiring book that brought me to tears a few times. Sharansky shows firsthand the importance of Zionism, having a home for all Jewish people, and some of the struggles for self-determination we as a nation have faced. Fascinating to learn about the Soviet/KGB's insane practices to shape and control anyone who stepped out of line. Highly recommend!
March 16, 2019
This book is important in so many ways.
1) It reveals the method used to break a human being - the very same method used over centuries by those in ill-gotten power to keep it. Today it's the KGB tomorrow a school bully.
2) It shows how the insistence of our soul on the small details of life can result in big changes for the better, even our deliverance.
3) It shows the power of love in the most hopeless situations.
All over the world humans are in prisons directly or indirectly as those who harvest human emotional energy keep whole populations in trauma. But ultimately things come down to that one person who digs his or her feet in and stands for what they believe in in spite of the opposition, who is willing to die or suffer rather than betray their own soul.
Sharansky speaks of how he was once living with two minds, one which held to the truth and one which believed the lies and propaganda he was told to believe, without which he wouldn't be allowed to live his life like any other citizen of the Soviet Republic.
Once he faced the truth, accepted it and stood for it, he no longer could stoop to having the double-mindset he had once accepted out of fear, again.
This freedom came to him through a lot of pain and punishment. But it was worth it.
He had won long before he was released.
1) It reveals the method used to break a human being - the very same method used over centuries by those in ill-gotten power to keep it. Today it's the KGB tomorrow a school bully.
2) It shows how the insistence of our soul on the small details of life can result in big changes for the better, even our deliverance.
3) It shows the power of love in the most hopeless situations.
All over the world humans are in prisons directly or indirectly as those who harvest human emotional energy keep whole populations in trauma. But ultimately things come down to that one person who digs his or her feet in and stands for what they believe in in spite of the opposition, who is willing to die or suffer rather than betray their own soul.
Sharansky speaks of how he was once living with two minds, one which held to the truth and one which believed the lies and propaganda he was told to believe, without which he wouldn't be allowed to live his life like any other citizen of the Soviet Republic.
Once he faced the truth, accepted it and stood for it, he no longer could stoop to having the double-mindset he had once accepted out of fear, again.
This freedom came to him through a lot of pain and punishment. But it was worth it.
He had won long before he was released.
September 16, 2018
The special relevance of the Passover story to a group or refuseniks in Moscow was so obvious that nobody had to point it out… That night I came across a moving line in the Passover liturgy that would stay with me forever: “In every generation, a person should feel as though he, personally, went out of Egypt.”
In 1973, Natan Sharansky applied for an exit visa from the Soviet Union. Not technically illegal, it meant (usually) an immediate firing from whatever job you held and then even more persecution from the state than Jews normally received due to the fifth line on their identity papers.
Sharansky was fired in 1975, because he was a graduate of the Institute of Physics and Technology, and the law also required him to stay on at his job for three years. He was married in 1974, although the Soviet Union did not recognize the marriage. He was imprisoned in 1975.
This book describes his experiences in the prisons and camps of the Soviet Union as the Soviets tried to convince him to renounce his friends and aspirations in order to be freed. His view, however, was that freedom meant the truth. It was the moment that he decided not to say one thing to the authorities and believe something else personally that he was free.
He also describes some of the other “political” prisoners he met.
During his investigation, Volodia [Vladimir Poresh, a Russian Christian] suffered greatly from his brief vacillation because of the possible harm he could have caused his friends. In my opinion, however, what really made him suffer was the realization that he was insufficiently prepared for his encounter with evil. Poresh lived with the belief that his every step, his every act, was being weighed and measured above. This quality, together with his kindness and his utmost sincerity, won me over to him.
Another interesting prisoner was the former police officer who was secretly a member of an underground movement.
He was also the organizer of the election campaign, and he told me that when he and his coworkers found something “wrong” on the ballot, they would replace that ballot with one from the pile of “correct” ones.
“But wait,” I said, “we are always told that the election results are ninety-nine percent.”
“True,” he replied, “but that’s the responsibility of the higher-ups. We’re supposed to deliver one hundred percent.”
Because he refused to cooperate with the KGB, Sharansky spent a lot of time in the punishment cell:
Fortunately, although the winds in the Urals are strong, they frequently change direction, and after two or three days of being chilled by wind there would be a period of relative calm when I could rest while lying on the wooden floor.
Lying on the floor was a punishment offense, too.
The anti-semitism among the authorities often worked against them. One of their attempts to break Sharansky involved giving him a book about how Jews controlled the world, and especially the United States. In this book, however, Sharansky discovered a letter from President Ronald Reagan to Sharansky’s wife, showing Sharansky that not only were people working on his behalf outside, but their work was succeeding.
This is a fascinating story, especially after reading both Solzhenitsyn and after reading Sharansky’s other books; it is easy to see how his treatment in the Soviet Union influenced his later thinking about things such as religious freedom and freedom of speech.
I recalled one of the first postcards Avital had sent me from Israel: “Here the sun is so bright that you immediately realize what a gloomy, terrible place we are leaving.“ That line stayed with me throughout my imprisonment.
June 5, 2021
This book needs to be required reading of all American high school students.
Sharansky was a 'refusenik' (the Soviets refused to let him and many others emigrate to Israel) and was seized in 1977 and thrown into the Soviet prison archipelago. This book chronicles his trial and time in captivity, both in prisons and work camps. Like works of Solzhenitsyn, it displays the depravity and moral rottenness of the USSR.
The narrative focus is on what keeps him going through all of the desolation and brutality: love for his wife and family, extreme intelligence and flexibility, and solidarity with the dissident community. He especially analyzes why he refuses to cooperate with the KGB for anything, even when it seems as if there is much to be gained and almost nothing to lose to do so. In his moral code, any concession, no matter how small, gives his oppressors credibility and a small amount of leverage over him.
This memoir is an inspiring examination of the conflict between good and evil, and how one person can make a difference.
Sharansky was a 'refusenik' (the Soviets refused to let him and many others emigrate to Israel) and was seized in 1977 and thrown into the Soviet prison archipelago. This book chronicles his trial and time in captivity, both in prisons and work camps. Like works of Solzhenitsyn, it displays the depravity and moral rottenness of the USSR.
The narrative focus is on what keeps him going through all of the desolation and brutality: love for his wife and family, extreme intelligence and flexibility, and solidarity with the dissident community. He especially analyzes why he refuses to cooperate with the KGB for anything, even when it seems as if there is much to be gained and almost nothing to lose to do so. In his moral code, any concession, no matter how small, gives his oppressors credibility and a small amount of leverage over him.
This memoir is an inspiring examination of the conflict between good and evil, and how one person can make a difference.
August 15, 2016
Took me a while to read this, since I went back and forth between books, but I finally finished this book. At times it was hard to read given certain difficult parts, but Sharansky's wit and optimism helped me get through the not-so pleasant parts. I was able to relate to the book and his struggles since my family experienced similar persecution in the USSR. It was a good book and I definitely recommend it to those who wish to learn more about the horrors of Soviet communism. 5/5!
January 22, 2009
If I had to make a "must read" list this book would be at or near the top. It is an important book. It will remind us why freedom is important above all, and how an encroaching ever-expanding government can become oppressive under our very noses.
March 15, 2007
This was a formative book for me in my teens. I reread it again about a year ago and still found it inspiring
December 28, 2011
Clear and interesting account of a Jewish man's arrest and imprisonment in the Soviet Gulag system in the 1980's and of his eventual release and journey to Israel.
January 20, 2013
This is an inspiring book for those people looking for a reason to take a stand with their life against evil in the world. He was a role-model par excellence!
March 3, 2013
The indomitable strength of this man and the sustaining love for his wife and hers for him is the signal hallmark of this book. In a way, it evokes the spirit of Unbroken .
February 11, 2019
Fantastic book!
December 13, 2018
What would you do if you were arrested as a result of actions you’d taken on behalf of your religious and/or political beliefs, threatened with execution or long imprisonment, but offered leniency if you confessed and testified against your colleagues? Most of us would automatically say we’d resist, but consider the kind of pressure levied by Robert Mueller and his team of investigators against Lieutenant General Mike Flynn, who as a result of being accused of lying to the FBI, lost his job, had his life and that of his family destroyed, and has been facing prison time for two years while Mueller and the boys (there are no girls on that team as far as I know) pressured him into naming names. In other words, he was punished before he was convicted. But this is America, you are probably saying. Nothing like that could happen in America. Wrong.
If Robert Mueller hasn’t personally studied the methods of the KGB, I’ll bet someone on his team has. The KGB was masterful in their methods. Torture, you’re imagining, but would it surprise you to learn that physical torture, such as beatings and waterboarding, were not used in the case of political prisoners like Natan Sharansky, the Jewish refusnik who spent nine years in the Soviet prison system many of them in the Gulag, the Soviet Union’s desolate Siberian territory.
The KBG specialized in psychological torture, such as threats to imprison one’s family and loved ones; isolation in punishment cells where you were not allowed to lie down during the day; promises of better treatment and shorter sentences if you only name names––these methods it turns out were effective on 99% of those sucked into the system. Sharansky was the one percent who successfully resisted.
How you ask? By refusing to cooperate on any level with the KGB. He refused all offers and all threats. He accepted long stays in punishment cells even though he knew he might die as a result. He lost so much body weight that he had severe heart problems that required long prison hospital stays. He went on hunger strikes over principled issues, including demanding his copy of the Book of Psalms be returned to him and demanding that his letters home be released to his family. He protested when other prisoners were mistreated even though it meant more stays in punishment or prison cells, but he knew from day one that only by having nothing to do with the KGB could he survive his ordeal without selling out his soul.
What gave him the courage to stand up to the KGB when almost no one else could? A combination of factors, including a sharp mind that he used to become a child chess prodigy, a relationship with the woman he married only days before being arrested in 1977 who garnered support from thousands including world leaders like France’s Mitterand and the U.S.A.’s Ronald Reagan, and the fact that his commitment to Judaism allowed him to separate himself from anything and everything that had to do with the Soviet Union.
Anyone wanting to strengthen their own system of belief––religious or secular––can benefit from reading Sharansky’s memoir which was first published two years after he was released in a prisoner exchange in 1986, which brings us back to 2018 and the Mueller investigation.
Hampered by one’s belief that the FBI and U.S. Department of Justice are incorruptible, and that KGB methods would never be applied in this country, good men such as Mike Flynn when arrested by Robert Mueller naively assume they can tell the truth and not be victimized. Of course, I wasn’t present at any of those interviews. So, I must speculate on the basis of what is known, and it is clear that Mueller’s methods of exacting cooperation and confessions out of people whose deeds were not criminal must be modeled on the techniques perfected in the Soviet Union. How else can one explain what has been done to Mike Flynn despite the fact that the FBI agents who interviewed Flynn did so under false pretense while he was still an official of the Trump White House and who did not believe he lied. His failure to understand that others were out to get him and the President at any cost would allow them to undertake such nefarious methods is what led to his downfall. Hence, his recent confession must be understood as that offered by a man who has undergone two years of psychological torture and who has confessed as part of a deal that might keep him out of prison and save his family further suffering.
I doubt Mike Flynn will be writing about his experience with America’s version of the KGB. His plea deal will probably require him to swear he’ll never reveal the details of how they got him to confess. Natan Sharansky withstood nine years of psychological warfare on his character. How long this country must wait for the American KGB to be brought down is anybody’s guess.
If Robert Mueller hasn’t personally studied the methods of the KGB, I’ll bet someone on his team has. The KGB was masterful in their methods. Torture, you’re imagining, but would it surprise you to learn that physical torture, such as beatings and waterboarding, were not used in the case of political prisoners like Natan Sharansky, the Jewish refusnik who spent nine years in the Soviet prison system many of them in the Gulag, the Soviet Union’s desolate Siberian territory.
The KBG specialized in psychological torture, such as threats to imprison one’s family and loved ones; isolation in punishment cells where you were not allowed to lie down during the day; promises of better treatment and shorter sentences if you only name names––these methods it turns out were effective on 99% of those sucked into the system. Sharansky was the one percent who successfully resisted.
How you ask? By refusing to cooperate on any level with the KGB. He refused all offers and all threats. He accepted long stays in punishment cells even though he knew he might die as a result. He lost so much body weight that he had severe heart problems that required long prison hospital stays. He went on hunger strikes over principled issues, including demanding his copy of the Book of Psalms be returned to him and demanding that his letters home be released to his family. He protested when other prisoners were mistreated even though it meant more stays in punishment or prison cells, but he knew from day one that only by having nothing to do with the KGB could he survive his ordeal without selling out his soul.
What gave him the courage to stand up to the KGB when almost no one else could? A combination of factors, including a sharp mind that he used to become a child chess prodigy, a relationship with the woman he married only days before being arrested in 1977 who garnered support from thousands including world leaders like France’s Mitterand and the U.S.A.’s Ronald Reagan, and the fact that his commitment to Judaism allowed him to separate himself from anything and everything that had to do with the Soviet Union.
Anyone wanting to strengthen their own system of belief––religious or secular––can benefit from reading Sharansky’s memoir which was first published two years after he was released in a prisoner exchange in 1986, which brings us back to 2018 and the Mueller investigation.
Hampered by one’s belief that the FBI and U.S. Department of Justice are incorruptible, and that KGB methods would never be applied in this country, good men such as Mike Flynn when arrested by Robert Mueller naively assume they can tell the truth and not be victimized. Of course, I wasn’t present at any of those interviews. So, I must speculate on the basis of what is known, and it is clear that Mueller’s methods of exacting cooperation and confessions out of people whose deeds were not criminal must be modeled on the techniques perfected in the Soviet Union. How else can one explain what has been done to Mike Flynn despite the fact that the FBI agents who interviewed Flynn did so under false pretense while he was still an official of the Trump White House and who did not believe he lied. His failure to understand that others were out to get him and the President at any cost would allow them to undertake such nefarious methods is what led to his downfall. Hence, his recent confession must be understood as that offered by a man who has undergone two years of psychological torture and who has confessed as part of a deal that might keep him out of prison and save his family further suffering.
I doubt Mike Flynn will be writing about his experience with America’s version of the KGB. His plea deal will probably require him to swear he’ll never reveal the details of how they got him to confess. Natan Sharansky withstood nine years of psychological warfare on his character. How long this country must wait for the American KGB to be brought down is anybody’s guess.
May 18, 2021
I love the picture on the back of this book. Natan looks so darn happy that it's cheering me up 30 some years later.
This book is split into two parts. The first focuses on Sharansky's arrest and trial and the second focuses on his time in the prisons and work camps. Both go into a lot of detail of how he lived, dealt with his captors and with his fellow captives.
I think the biggest thing that struck me about this is the simplicity of his choices. Not that his choices were easy. I'm sure it would've been easy to cave in to the KGB for more a more comfortable life but he held to a clear black and white view of it all. That you don't cooperate with the oppressors ever, done.
I think that's part of what I find so inspiring about these kinds of books. There's both the clarity of choice and the heroic rising up to meet the challenge.
In the epilogue, Natan reflects on that. How life in prison was straightforward: "Every day brought only one choice: good or evil, white or black, saying yes or no to the KGB. (p 423)" but afterwards, he had to navigate all the choices of a free society and how best to apply his time and energy.
And I'm left reflecting on that. I'll probably never be faced with the gulag or death. But I do have the opportunity to lie, slander or knuckle under. And it would be easy to go along but I hope Sharansky's example can help remind me that you don't cooperate with evil, ever.
This book is split into two parts. The first focuses on Sharansky's arrest and trial and the second focuses on his time in the prisons and work camps. Both go into a lot of detail of how he lived, dealt with his captors and with his fellow captives.
I think the biggest thing that struck me about this is the simplicity of his choices. Not that his choices were easy. I'm sure it would've been easy to cave in to the KGB for more a more comfortable life but he held to a clear black and white view of it all. That you don't cooperate with the oppressors ever, done.
I think that's part of what I find so inspiring about these kinds of books. There's both the clarity of choice and the heroic rising up to meet the challenge.
In the epilogue, Natan reflects on that. How life in prison was straightforward: "Every day brought only one choice: good or evil, white or black, saying yes or no to the KGB. (p 423)" but afterwards, he had to navigate all the choices of a free society and how best to apply his time and energy.
And I'm left reflecting on that. I'll probably never be faced with the gulag or death. But I do have the opportunity to lie, slander or knuckle under. And it would be easy to go along but I hope Sharansky's example can help remind me that you don't cooperate with evil, ever.
May 23, 2021
Let me start off by saying that I have nothing but praise for Natan Sharansky. I have heard him speak, read his “Defending Identity,” and admired his work at Israel’s Jewish Agency. “Fear No Evil” shows what a brave, principled, idealistic and self-sacrificing man he truly is – a real hero of our time. Throughout his trial on trumped-up charges and years of incarceration, many of which were spent in punishment cells or on hunger strikes, Sharansky never forgets his guiding principles and his love for his wife, Avital.
Yet there is another side to Sharansky that the book makes clear. He is obstinate, self-destructive and sometimes unrealistic. One has to wonder if Sharansky were just a little bit compromising (as his fellow activists urged him to be), he wouldn’t of imperiled his health, worried his family sick and would have sooner been able to speak out from outside the Iron Curtain about the injustices of the Soviet regime. Sharansky even rejects Galileo’s recantation at the end of his life as something he could not live with.
While this is Natan’s story, I wish we could have learned more about Avital’s heroic work behind the scenes in contacting government officials and organizing demonstrations on behalf of her husband. Mentioned almost in passing is the support of her rabbi, Zvi Yehuda Kook, and his disciples.
Yet there is another side to Sharansky that the book makes clear. He is obstinate, self-destructive and sometimes unrealistic. One has to wonder if Sharansky were just a little bit compromising (as his fellow activists urged him to be), he wouldn’t of imperiled his health, worried his family sick and would have sooner been able to speak out from outside the Iron Curtain about the injustices of the Soviet regime. Sharansky even rejects Galileo’s recantation at the end of his life as something he could not live with.
While this is Natan’s story, I wish we could have learned more about Avital’s heroic work behind the scenes in contacting government officials and organizing demonstrations on behalf of her husband. Mentioned almost in passing is the support of her rabbi, Zvi Yehuda Kook, and his disciples.
March 14, 2023
So I really enjoyed this book.
I had already read it, but what better way to spend spring break than to read a story about time spent in Soviet gulags? Well, I can think of a lot of better ways, but this book demanded to be reread, especially given the current climate in Russia.
Sharansky takes readers through every little experience he had while attempting to leave the USSR: from imprisonment in Moscow to "trial" to imprisonment in Siberia to (spoiler alert) freedom. It was definitely a little lengthly, but it was fascinating to have an internal glimpse into the workings of the KGB. I suspect many contemporary stories like his will be coming to light in a few years as Russians resist fighting the war in Ukraine and attempt to flee.
I had already read it, but what better way to spend spring break than to read a story about time spent in Soviet gulags? Well, I can think of a lot of better ways, but this book demanded to be reread, especially given the current climate in Russia.
Sharansky takes readers through every little experience he had while attempting to leave the USSR: from imprisonment in Moscow to "trial" to imprisonment in Siberia to (spoiler alert) freedom. It was definitely a little lengthly, but it was fascinating to have an internal glimpse into the workings of the KGB. I suspect many contemporary stories like his will be coming to light in a few years as Russians resist fighting the war in Ukraine and attempt to flee.
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