--- product_id: 14997438 title: "The Gulag Archipelago [Volume 3]" price: "S$20" currency: SGD in_stock: null reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.sg/products/14997438-the-gulag-archipelago-volume-3 store_origin: SG region: Singapore --- # The Gulag Archipelago [Volume 3] **Price:** S$20 **Availability:** ❌ Out of Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Gulag Archipelago [Volume 3] - **How much does it cost?** S$20 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Currently out of stock - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.sg](https://www.desertcart.sg/products/14997438-the-gulag-archipelago-volume-3) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description desertcart.com: The Gulag Archipelago [Volume 3]: An Experiment in Literary Investigation (Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956): 9780061253737: Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr I.: Books Review: Essential reading to understand the evil and suffering caused by leftist tyranny. - Essential reading for those who want to understand the importance of individual liberty for decreasing suffering and the evil and suffering caused by leftist tyranny. Review: The nail in the coffin of the Soviet State - "A stone is not a human being, and even stones get crushed." This was an absolutely brutal, yet enlightening read. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was a young, decorated Red Army officer who served bravely during the war, only to be arrested, tortured, and sent to the Gulag Archipelago (the forced labor camp system) to do a ten year sentence, followed by permanent internal exile. This book is a combination of his own personal experiences, and a general history of the gulag system which he has gathered from research as well as other personal stories sent to him by other inmates. For privately criticizing Stalin, the author was clearly guilty of being a dangerous "enemy of the people" worthy of torture and death,(Solzhenitsyn writes with a brilliant sense of sarcasm) but the fact is, many were arrested quite arbitrarily, many simply because of a need to fill quotas. I'm reminded of a quote by Stalins right hand man Molotov, when speaking about the randomness of arrests, years after the war: "a man could have been a right-winger, and not realized he was a right-winger. We had to be sure." Or something to that effect. These enemies of the people would feed the "sewage disposal system" of the Soviet state. In his sarcastic, metaphorical writing style, the author describes all the horrors of the system, beginning with arrest and torture, *ahem* interrogation, and all through the stages of the camp system where death and cruelty became the only certainties. Ruthlessness, Solzhenitsyn writes, was the measure of a Bolsheviks worth. The more single-mindedly cruel he was, determined his dedication to the state. Any form of kindness toward the accused was seen as a sign of weakness and lack of zeal. Most disturbing was his descriptions of the torture, he claims that there were 52 different methods at the interrogators disposal, to ensure they don't become bored of course! 14 hour work days in subzero temperatures with inadequate clothing and pitiful food rations were also the norm. People were often beaten, terrorized and shot out of hand for the smallest infractions, or occasionally for the mere amusement of the guards. Such is life in the Archipelago! Although some have accused Solzhenitsyn of throwing the baby out with the bathwater, i.e. condemning communism as a whole because of Stalinism, he is absolutely right when he claims that the brutality and terror were started under Lenin and Trotsky. While one can split hairs and argue that things might have turned out differently without Stalin, I see no reason to believe that things would have been THAT different. He also makes a consistent point of comparing the Soviet state to that of the Tsars, claiming that whatever their faults, life in Imperial Russia was never even close to this harsh. I specifically appreciated how he pointed out how easy the Bolshevik revolutionaries had it when they were arrested under the Tsar. Two, maybe three years in lenient exile for trying to overthrow the state! Yet under the Soviets, you would get 10, maybe 25 years of hard labor for practically nothing, which you would probably not survive anyway. All in all, this is a disturbing but brilliant and essential read for understanding the Soviet state. 5 stars. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #39,039 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #18 in History & Criticism of Russian & Soviet Literature #21 in Human Rights (Books) #84 in Criminology (Books) | | Book 3 of 3 | The Gulag Archipelago | | Customer Reviews | 4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars (830) | | Dimensions | 5.31 x 0.97 x 8 inches | | Edition | Reissue | | ISBN-10 | 0061253731 | | ISBN-13 | 978-0061253737 | | Item Weight | 1.05 pounds | | Language | English | | Print length | 608 pages | | Publication date | August 7, 2007 | | Publisher | Harper Perennial Modern Classics | ## Images ![The Gulag Archipelago [Volume 3] - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/712FckuT-TL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Essential reading to understand the evil and suffering caused by leftist tyranny. *by M***N on January 17, 2026* Essential reading for those who want to understand the importance of individual liberty for decreasing suffering and the evil and suffering caused by leftist tyranny. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The nail in the coffin of the Soviet State *by P***N on April 6, 2008* "A stone is not a human being, and even stones get crushed." This was an absolutely brutal, yet enlightening read. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was a young, decorated Red Army officer who served bravely during the war, only to be arrested, tortured, and sent to the Gulag Archipelago (the forced labor camp system) to do a ten year sentence, followed by permanent internal exile. This book is a combination of his own personal experiences, and a general history of the gulag system which he has gathered from research as well as other personal stories sent to him by other inmates. For privately criticizing Stalin, the author was clearly guilty of being a dangerous "enemy of the people" worthy of torture and death,(Solzhenitsyn writes with a brilliant sense of sarcasm) but the fact is, many were arrested quite arbitrarily, many simply because of a need to fill quotas. I'm reminded of a quote by Stalins right hand man Molotov, when speaking about the randomness of arrests, years after the war: "a man could have been a right-winger, and not realized he was a right-winger. We had to be sure." Or something to that effect. These enemies of the people would feed the "sewage disposal system" of the Soviet state. In his sarcastic, metaphorical writing style, the author describes all the horrors of the system, beginning with arrest and torture, *ahem* interrogation, and all through the stages of the camp system where death and cruelty became the only certainties. Ruthlessness, Solzhenitsyn writes, was the measure of a Bolsheviks worth. The more single-mindedly cruel he was, determined his dedication to the state. Any form of kindness toward the accused was seen as a sign of weakness and lack of zeal. Most disturbing was his descriptions of the torture, he claims that there were 52 different methods at the interrogators disposal, to ensure they don't become bored of course! 14 hour work days in subzero temperatures with inadequate clothing and pitiful food rations were also the norm. People were often beaten, terrorized and shot out of hand for the smallest infractions, or occasionally for the mere amusement of the guards. Such is life in the Archipelago! Although some have accused Solzhenitsyn of throwing the baby out with the bathwater, i.e. condemning communism as a whole because of Stalinism, he is absolutely right when he claims that the brutality and terror were started under Lenin and Trotsky. While one can split hairs and argue that things might have turned out differently without Stalin, I see no reason to believe that things would have been THAT different. He also makes a consistent point of comparing the Soviet state to that of the Tsars, claiming that whatever their faults, life in Imperial Russia was never even close to this harsh. I specifically appreciated how he pointed out how easy the Bolshevik revolutionaries had it when they were arrested under the Tsar. Two, maybe three years in lenient exile for trying to overthrow the state! Yet under the Soviets, you would get 10, maybe 25 years of hard labor for practically nothing, which you would probably not survive anyway. All in all, this is a disturbing but brilliant and essential read for understanding the Soviet state. 5 stars. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Read *by K***R on November 11, 2025* Great reminder for young people. ## Frequently Bought Together - The Gulag Archipelago [Volume 3]: An Experiment in Literary Investigation - The Gulag Archipelago [Volume 2]: An Experiment in Literary Investigation - The Gulag Archipelago [Volume 1]: An Experiment in Literary Investigation --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.sg/products/14997438-the-gulag-archipelago-volume-3](https://www.desertcart.sg/products/14997438-the-gulag-archipelago-volume-3) --- *Product available on Desertcart Singapore* *Store origin: SG* *Last updated: 2026-04-22*