November 1916
Encyclopedia
November 1916 is a novel by famed Russian author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
. It is the sequel to August 1914
, which concerned Russia's role in World War I
. The novel picks up on the brink of the Russian Revolution
, depicting characters from all walks of life — from soldiers and peasants to Tsar
Nicholas II and Lenin. Unlike the first novel, the book does not revolve around any specific historical events. Instead, the book portrays everyday lives and politics as they were in the period between Imperial Russia's peak and the February Revolution
.
The novel's original Russian title is Oktyabr 1916 — October 1916; during the period in which the novel is set, Russia had not yet adopted the Gregorian calendar
, and so its dates were somewhat out of step with the rest of the world. (In addition, the February Revolution, mentioned above, occurred in late February 1917
according to the calendar then in use, but early March according to the Gregorian calendar.)
In "November 1916", the novel literary form is used as a device to link together what are best described as a series of essays and polemics. Solzhenitsyn uses long and detailed conversations (typically dialogs) between the characters in this novel as a way of presenting political and philosophical arguments. Several of the fictional characters, especially those engaged in the dialogs, are very thinly disguised historical personages. The dialog device brings out many of the issues which were important topics of dissention in pre-revolutionary Russia. Although Solzhenitysn himself is openly contemptuous of the left liberal tendency in Russian political thought and public life in this period, he gives these views full airing along with other views more in sympathy with his own, especially in his long dialogs.
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn was aRussian and Soviet novelist, dramatist, and historian. Through his often-suppressed writings, he helped to raise global awareness of the Gulag, the Soviet Union's forced labor camp system – particularly in The Gulag Archipelago and One Day in the Life of...
. It is the sequel to August 1914
August 1914
August 1914 is a novel by Russian novelist Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn about Imperial Russia's defeat at the Battle of Tannenberg in East Prussia. The novel was completed in 1970, first published in 1971, and an English translation was first published in 1972...
, which concerned Russia's role in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. The novel picks up on the brink of the Russian Revolution
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
, depicting characters from all walks of life — from soldiers and peasants to Tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
Nicholas II and Lenin. Unlike the first novel, the book does not revolve around any specific historical events. Instead, the book portrays everyday lives and politics as they were in the period between Imperial Russia's peak and the February Revolution
February Revolution
The February Revolution of 1917 was the first of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. Centered around the then capital Petrograd in March . Its immediate result was the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, the end of the Romanov dynasty, and the end of the Russian Empire...
.
The novel's original Russian title is Oktyabr 1916 — October 1916; during the period in which the novel is set, Russia had not yet adopted the Gregorian calendar
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...
, and so its dates were somewhat out of step with the rest of the world. (In addition, the February Revolution, mentioned above, occurred in late February 1917
according to the calendar then in use, but early March according to the Gregorian calendar.)
In "November 1916", the novel literary form is used as a device to link together what are best described as a series of essays and polemics. Solzhenitsyn uses long and detailed conversations (typically dialogs) between the characters in this novel as a way of presenting political and philosophical arguments. Several of the fictional characters, especially those engaged in the dialogs, are very thinly disguised historical personages. The dialog device brings out many of the issues which were important topics of dissention in pre-revolutionary Russia. Although Solzhenitysn himself is openly contemptuous of the left liberal tendency in Russian political thought and public life in this period, he gives these views full airing along with other views more in sympathy with his own, especially in his long dialogs.