Political Repression Against Eugenia Ginzburg - Book Report/Review Example

Political Repression Against Eugenia Ginzburg Biographical analysis of the author Journey into the Whirlwind is a reputed book which critically explains the thoughts of Eugenia Ginzburg. This book was published in the year 1967 in English language. Eugenia Ginzburg was a famous writer and Russian historian. She was born on 20th December, 1906 in Moscow. After her birth, her family moved to Kazan from Moscow. She entered in the social science department at Kazan State University in the year 1920. Later she switched to pedagogy. After completing study, she joined as an assistant teacher at that university. Shortly thereafter, she married to the mayor of Kazan. Name of her husband was Pavel Aksyonov who was also a member of the Central executive Committee of the USSR. Eugenia Ginzburg took the membership of communist party and started work as an administrator, journalist and educator. In the year 1937, she was arrested for her alleged connection with Trotskyists. This incident was related with the Great Purge which was a campaign of political repression in Soviet Union. The Great Purge occurred from 1934 to 1940. Communist party, government officials and the Red Army leadership were involved in it. Scope of the book In the book “Journey into the Whirlwind”, Eugenia Ginzburg discussed many of her experiences in her whole life. Readers become motivated after getting powerful messages from her book. Again this book can inspire mass people as the struggling period of Eugenia Ginzburg is written over here. People can get information which is related to the political condition of Soviet Union at that point of time, reformation of the communist parties, changing environment inside the political parties, impact on the nation, related advantages and disadvantages of the Great Purge, after effect of Great Purge etc. People and researchers can do critical analysis on that period of time after getting a clear picture from the above mentioned book (Ginzburg 128-130). Critical analysis of value of the book The book written by the Eugenia Ginzburg was definitely able to shed light towards the dictatorship of the Communist leader of Soviet Union. Eugenia Ginzburg was a loyal Communist party worker she devoted a huge portion of her life towards the party. The information which is provided in the books is significantly reliable as the author has described its own experiences in the book. The author of the book has seen the purges of Stalin very closely as she and her husband were imprisoned. During the time of their imprisonment the author came across lots of difficulties and news of terror created by Stalin was flowing in regularly. The author has suitably documented all those incidents in the book. In this book the author has highlighted that how the great autocratic leader of undivided Soviet Union used NKVD the secret Communist Police to torture the people. The book has focused towards an important factor i.e. how Stalin gagged the opposition voice within the party. The author was expelled from the party because she was not able to support the ideology of the Joseph Stalin. In this book the author has documented her personal experiences in very detailed manner. In the course of personal experience description she tried to portray the overall political situation of the then Soviet Union. The book has categorically pointed out that how the situation changed within the Communist party of Soviet Union. It has appropriately described that how a sense of distrust prevailed among the party member after the assassination of Sergey Kirov. The book has rightly documented about the rampant insecurity among the certain section of the Communist party. The book has reflected how the people were dealt with when they opposed the Stalinist line within the party. The book is narrative in nature where the author has shared its experiences in a reflective way. The book has described that how Stalin left no stone unturned to clear away all the oppositions in front of them. He even accused his party member as the Trotskyist terrorist groups and arrested them. The book has lots of information and all the information are described in detail fashion. All the above arguments are clearly indicating that the book may be a narrative sharing of personal experiences but all those information are reliable in nature. The book has shaded lights on the purges of Stalin in a unique manner. After release of the book, it became so popular that director Marleen Gorris became inspired to make a film on the theme of this book. Author’s viewpoint The book “Journey into the Whirlwind” is a representation of the personal and experiential viewpoint of the author Eugenia Ginzburg. According to the author, the book is a biography depicting the story and the real life experiences of an ordinary communist person. She has also mentioned that during her imprisonment she had observed as many things as she could and tried to remember them because she had decided during her imprisonment days that if she ever got a chance, she will write down the experiences of her life in a book. The book has been written on the basis of the memories of the imprisonment days of the author as experienced during the era of Stalin. This book is divided into two parts. The first part of the book includes the detailed description of the experiences that the author had during her tenure of imprisonment starting from her arrest. The author has given a detailed description of the procedures in her arrest, court trains and the eighteen months of her solitary imprisonment in the autobiography. Apart from the procedures, she has also discussed her personal viewpoints, feelings and experiences regarding her solitary confinement for two years. The second part of the book deals with the reassignment of Eugenia Ginzburg to Kolyma Group which is a group of the Gulag prison camps which operated in the depths of the Siberian regions at that time. Eugenia Ginzburg was a devoted communist. However, according to the writings of the author, when she met the communist leader Joseph Stalin, she did not feel the similarities in their viewpoints. Also she did not see a devoted communist leader in Stalin. As per the book, the author had a vision of the evilness within Stalin when she had her first encounter with the Communist leader in the year 1963. Both parts of the book mirror the personal opinion of the author and her critical perspective towards the reign of Stalin. The book is an account of the indefatigable sprit, eye for detail and the vast amount of profound strength that a woman demonstrated in her life which was severely affected by the turbulent times existing in the country . Literary quality of the book “Journey into the whirlwind” is a kind of autobiography which depicts the real life experiences of the author in a communist regime in the regime of Stalin. The documentation by the author indicates her endurance and patience which was evident during her eighteen years of solitary imprisonment in the prisons followed by her experiences of being confined in the labor camps. Her experience is reflective of the plight of millions of other Russian people who had suffered in the terrorizing reign of Stalin in the country. According to the author, this book is an account of the survival strategies taken up by her during her punishment period. The book is regarded as a classic documentary in the domain of survival literature. The writing is a classic documentation of the survival of a woman in the regime of Stalin and is considered as one of the most significant and reflective documents associated with the reign of Stalin in Soviet Union. Work Cited Ginzburg, Eugenia. Journey into the Whirlwind. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2002. Print. Read More