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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How long did Solzhenitsyn think he would be sentenced in Gulag?

2. How did men treat Solzhenitsyn when he was in his uniform during his arrest?

3. How old was Igor Tronko when Solzhenitsyn met him?

4. How many peasants were members of the TKP?

5. On what charge was Chulpenyev arrested in 1941?

Short Essay Questions

1. How long did trials at the height of Gulag last for civilian prisoners?

2. Who were the organs?

3. How does Solzhenitsyn define evil?

4. Why couldn't interrogators be trusted to uphold the law?

5. What happened in the military case of Mongolia in 1941?

6. How did the prisoners feel about the offer of joining the white battalion?

7. What happened in the Gulag prison camps in 1945-1946?

8. What happened in the 1960s when 70 judges were brought before the Supreme Court to justify their actions in the Gulag trials?

9. What made the first two hours of the day the most difficult for Solzhenitsyn?

10. What was the hygienic purge?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

During their interrogation periods, many prisoners were tortured by the guards. First, list at least five ways that prisoners were tortured, and what information guards hoped to elicit from these methods. Then, explain how torture led to false imprisonments and wrongful sentencing.

Essay Topic 2

When the war broke out in the Soviet Union in 1941, many things about camp life in Gulag were changed. First, explain why it took so long for WWII to reach Russia. Next, explain how the onset of war fighting altered the conditions for prisoners within the camp. Why were more prisoners dying during wartime than any other time in Gulag history?

Essay Topic 3

In this memoir, Solzhenitsyn speaks very cynically about the way the Russian people have ignored the truths about Gulag. What reasons does Solzhenitsyn give as to why the Russian people might want to turn their backs on their history? What dangers arise from ignoring a country's history? In what ways does Solzhenitsyn think the Russian government should commemorate the atrocities of Gulag?

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