In the First Circle

In the First Circle by Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn is set in a Soviet prison-labor camp near Moscow, where intellectuals and scientists are confined for political crimes. Unlike the harshest camps, this “first circle of hell” offers slightly better conditions, but the men remain trapped in moral and spiritual dilemmas. When an inmate faces the choice between collaborating with the regime or holding onto his integrity, the novel explores themes of conscience, freedom, and the cost of truth under tyranny.