Modern Age - Summer 2014 - 28

MODERN AGE

the pursuit of wealth, care for the family,
or concern for the particular problems and
anxieties of people around him, Lenin either
ignores or dismisses as irrelevant. His wife is
totally dedicated to his well-being; she supports him financially, takes care of the chores
of daily life, obeys his every command, and
even receives his mistress into the family
(1.186-87).
Lenin is so self-centered that he does not
accept frailties of others-in fact he "never"
forgives "a mistake . . . no matter who made
it" (1.184). Although he strives to improve
the lot of humanity, he has very little empathy for actual people. Inessa Armand, his
mistress, is "the only human being whose
moods he sensed and responded to" (1. 185).
Because he hardly considers the needs of others, except in regards to his goal of bringing
about revolution, he "never" feels "ashamed"
(1.188).
Vorotyntsev is a fictional character who
always seems to be present at critical moments
in the war and during the revolution. Solzhenitsyn places him in all the key turning
points of Russia's defeat in World War I and
its descent into chaos and revolution. It is as
if Solzhenitsyn, who experienced battle as a
military officer in World War II, placed his
younger soldier-self into the narrative. Vorotyntsev is almost never wrong in his assessments of the tactical and strategic situation of
the war or of the rise of revolutionary fanaticism. He is Solzhenitsyn's reflection on how
Russia might have avoided catastrophic losses
in the war, the victory of Bolshevism, and the
tyranny of Communist rule. Solzhenitsyn's
assessment of the political situation during
the war and revolution is indicative of his
views on the complex relationship between
the earthly and spiritual realms. Had Russia
not lost the war, Communism would not
have taken power, and its fiercely antireligious doctrine would not have crushed the
28

SUMMER 2014

religious traditions, spiritual longings, or
moral fiber of the Russian people.
No two human beings seem more different
than Lenin and the fictional hero of The Red
Wheel, Vorotyntsev. One is an intellectual,
the other a warrior. One wants to destroy
Russia, the other protect it. But Lenin and
Vorotyntsev share many personality traits.
Both are totally committed to their respective causes and both depend on their wives
for domestic peace and security, making it
possible for them to pursue broader public
issues. Neither has a great deal of empathy
for those around them. Lenin does not feel
obliged to thank anyone. "It never occurred"
to Vorotyntsev "to show . . . how much he
appreciated" the sacrifices his wife made for
his career; "he was just not very sensitive"
(2.86). Both men seem to care for their wives
even while engaging in torrid affairs with
other women-they compartmentalize their
romances in the same way that they separate
their private from public activities. Both
men are unused to deep personal emotions
and are taken aback by the passion they feel
toward their lovers.
Lenin and Vorotyntsev are, of course, not
really alike. They are doppelgängers-mirror
images of each other. Vorotyntsev is courageous, public-spirited, and patriotic-all
attributes Lenin deplores. Vorotyntsev
embodies the classical virtues (2.521). He
would have made an excellent Roman legionnaire or guardian in Plato's Republic. But like
the guardians, it is not clear whether Vorotyntsev's devotion is needed in times of peace.
Vorotyntsev does not love war itself, but he
esteems above all else the utter and complete
sacrifice required in times of war (1.98, 103).
"The only sentiment" his "masculine heart
can fittingly cherish is love of country or
community or of mankind at large" (1.108).
Most men are not like Lenin and Vorotyntsev. For the vast majority, private con-

Modern Age - Summer 2014

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