During the mid 20th century, Stalin tyrannically ruled over the Soviet Union. He committed many atrocities including mass genocide of the Ukrainian people, killing over 6 million. He also established a system of political censorship to preserve the nature of the communistic ideas in Soviet society. Gulag system was a series of prison camps for people that have allegedly committed political crimes or demonstrated signs of unacceptable views. These political prisoners were called "enemies of the people." Alexandr Solzhenitsyn was a Russian novelist, historian, former prisoner of the Gulag and critic of Soviet totalitarianism. He helped to raise awareness of the Gulag and the Soviet Union's forced labor camps system. Author of "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich," Solzhenitsyn uses the text to describe the work camps as a microcosm of the society of the USSR during the mid 20th century.
Soviet society during that time lacked elementary human rights, including freedom of speech. Stalin was resolved to achieve his vision of a perfect communist society without regards to its cost in human lives. Soviet citizens of that time were heavily indoctrinated with communist ideas. Total censorship and enforcement of political congruence were the features associated with Stalin's regime. Soviet people brainwashed by forceful censorship of all anti-Soviet ideas were under the impression that the USSR was progressing towards the betterment of society and the western countries were wrong in their views of democracy. Solzhenitsyn's book holds value in how it enlightens the Soviet citizens about what really happened within Gulag. In reality, life within the camp was not so different from the life outside and the readers can clearly see the parallel demonstrated by the author. There is an atmosphere of constant terror within the camp, much like outside. Life behind the bars is tightly controlled and no one can ever speak outside of certain restrictions.