He became a US citizen 1974. He was in prison and exile 1945-57 for anti-Stalinist comments. Much of his writing is semi-autobiographical and highly critical of the system, including One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich 1962, which deals with the labour camps under Stalin, and The Gulag Archipelago 1973, an expose of the whole Soviet labour-camp network. This led to his expulsion from the USSR 1974. He was awarded a Nobel prize 1970. Other works include The First Circle and Cancer Ward, both 1968, and his historical novel August 1914 1971. His autobiography, The Oak and the Calf, appeared 1980. He has adopted a Christian position, and his criticism of Western materialism is also stringent. In 1991, cleared of the original charges of treason, he returned to Russia.
