The First Circle

*The First Circle* is a novel by Russian author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, first published abroad in 1968. Solzhenitsyn completed the book in the 1950s, drawing heavily from his own experiences as a prisoner in the Soviet penal system. It is widely considered one of the masterpieces of 20th-century Russian literature.

The story is set in a Moscow *sharashka*, which is a specialized, privileged prison camp for scientists and engineers. Inmates at the *sharashka* conduct scientific research for the Soviet state instead of doing hard labor in the Gulag. The title refers to Dante's *Inferno*, where the first circle of Hell is reserved for noble pagans.

The prisoners, who are highly skilled physicists and linguists, are tasked with developing a voice scrambling device. This technology is intended to make Stalin's telephone conversations secure from eavesdropping by foreign intelligence agencies. The moral dilemma of working to benefit the oppressive state is central to the plot.

Yes, the version published in 1968 was a heavily self-censored edition known as the "softened" version. Solzhenitsyn had removed many of the most direct and dangerous criticisms of Stalin to get it past Soviet censors. In 2009, an unabridged, fully restored English translation was finally released to the public.