Shalamov

The main thing in a biographical book is historical accuracy. This is what the author aspired to, understanding that the tragedy of the life and literary fate of the outstanding Russian writer Varlam Tikhonovich Shalamov can only be truly comprehended in the context of time. Shalamov's entire path was "woven," as he wrote, "with the history of our own." This includes pre-revolutionary Russian culture, the revolution, the 1920s, during which the writer formed as a personality, the Stalin era that plunged him into the depths of Kolyma, and all the subsequent years when fate was also not kind to him. How did Shalamov manage to endure such difficult trials and express himself with such powerful and majestic artistic strength that shook millions of people around the world?

The book may provide only part of the answers to these questions—everything else the reader must ponder, relying on many new or lesser-known facts about the writer's biography.