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"Gradually, however, we are beginning to find strength within ourselves, and this means that sooner or later much can change. Judging by his books, it is impossible to say that Solzhenitsyn is 'persecuted and tormented.' He gives the impression of a man capable of standing up against persecution. He has already once preserved his inner freedom in prison, and will evidently do so again if he is once more put in jail. From this we can all derive strength.
"I warmly and sincerely congratulate you on being now in a free country, and I hope this will be an important step for you on your path to inner freedom."
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Amalric's entire argument is in line with the very Russian attitude that the best man is the one who stands and fights —or suffers. Two of his books, both critical of Soviet policy—Involuntary Journey to Siberia and Can the Soviet Union Survive Until 1984?—will be published in the West next year, but without the approval of official Soviet organizations. As a result, Amalric has been denied his hard-currency royalties. That, in turn, prompted him last week to send a second open letter to six Western newspapers: "Stalin would have executed me for the fact that my books had been published abroad. His wretched successors only dare to embezzle a part of my money. It only reaffirms my opinion of the degradation and decrepitude of this regime."
Would Amalric go unpunished for such bold talk? Whatever his ultimate fate, it seemed certain that he would retain his "inner freedom."
* A dated but still pertinent case in point is Lillian Hellman, who signed a statement in the Daily Worker supporting the 1938 Great Purge trials in Moscow. The trials brought about the execution of Russia's greatest writers, together with millions of other innocent Soviet people.