Irena Nagel

 Irena Nagel

“A security officer, Junior Lieutenant Sidorenko, expressed a desire to get more intimately acquainted. And Negel replied: “I would rather be kissed by the lowliest thief in a camp! You ought to be ashamed of yourself. I can hear your baby crying in the next room.” Repulsed by her outburst, the security officer suddenly changed his expression and said: 'Surely you don't really think I like you? I merely wanted to put you to the test. So here's the way it is: you must collaborate with us.’ She refused and was sent to a penalty camp.”- (page 260)

We learn about specific stories in the Gulag Archipelago about individuals that were true and real and did not want to practice adultery and envy. We learn about Irena Nagel who was a typist who was asked to practice adultery with a Soviet officer. We learn that Irena Nagel did not want to practice adultery and instead refused to start an adulterous relationship with a Soviet officer. Irena Nagel knew that Sidorenko had most likely a wife and children. She learned about this since his children were making noises in the next room. The Soviet officer had resentment and sent Irena Nagel to gulag based on false accusations based on resentment being denied his advances and envy.

This is interesting because there are similar stories in the Gulag Archipelago about individuals that did nothing wrong and yet were sent to gulag. We learn that the reason they were sent to gulag was based on envy, hate, and resentments. After being denied the romantic interest, Sidorenko described that he was only putting Irena Nagel to the test describing the arrogance and lack of empathy of Sidorenko. We learn that she did not change her mind and was sent to a penalty camp in gulag for not accepting his romantic interest of adultery.

We are able to see from the stories of the Gulag Archipelago about individuals that had integrity and preferred to keep their integrity than practice sin and adultery. We learn that this story reminds us of the importance of integrity despite threats, envy, and resentments. We learn that there were different individuals that went through difficulties because of the envy of a socialist. The story of Pavel Chulpanyev describes a similar understanding of how Soviet socialism is not what it appears to be. Because Pavel Chulpanyev had the affection of a woman, Lozovsky was envious and falsely accused Chulpanyev of sedition based on envy.

We learn that socialism and communism are not good forms of governance seeing the manner that there are stories of how Soviet socialists were motivated by envy instead of genuine empathy. We learn that despite the difficulties, individuals persevered and helps us know that righteousness and goodness helps us persist. Individuals that were good refused to corrupt themselves or practice iniquity. This allows us to know that we can not believe the temporary lies of the snake that say that, “Everyone is a sinner and practices sin.” We learn that those are temporary lies because the stories of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn describe that there were always good individuals that never corrupted themselves. They may not have been the majority, but they were not few either.