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Part 5, Chapter 6: The Committed Escaper
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Gulag Archipelago, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Oppression and Totalitarianism
Survival and the Human Spirit
The Dangers of Ideology
Power as a Corrupting Force
The Value of Religion and Spirituality
Summary
Analysis
This chapter is entirely excised. The editor’s note explains that the chapter continues Georgi Tenno’s story, this time from Tenno’s perspective. In Tenno’s account, he describes how he escaped with Kolya Zhdanok and remained undetected for nearly a month before they were captured and given long sentences. Tenno died of cancer following his release from the camp.
Georgi Tenno’s story of temporary freedom highlights both the possibility and the futility of resistance in such a dehumanizing system. Despite his capture and subsequent suffering, Tenno’s tale serves as a testament to the human spirit’s relentless pursuit of freedom, even within a regime designed to crush it. Even so, like so many under the Soviet rule, his story ends in tragedy.
Themes
