The Individual vs. The State
Solzhenitsyn portrays the state of Russia as a machine intent upon power at the cost of its citizens. In response, he writes about the minute yet costly opposition of individuals against their corrupt government. Under Stalin, respect has lost all meaning, so he and his allies enforce their will through fear. Thousands are thrown in gulags. Even in the impotence of their imprisonment, however, these men, like Volodin, Sologdin, and Rubin refuse to conform to the expectations of the state. In whatever ways possible, they oppose their government's authority. For most, this looks like losing their elite status as prisoners among the sharashka, but they choose honor over privilege. Their punishments are cruel and foreboding. Sologdin's cryptography machine is discovered, and he is forced to use it for the Russians instead of against them. Nevertheless, they persist in their efforts to defy state power. In Solzhenitsyn's telling this serves to expose how Stalin's authority was in enforcement only because he possessed no control or influence in the minds of his subjects.
Corruption by Power
Stalin is a dictator portrayed solely in terms of power. He is consumed by his desire for power, craving complete control of the entire globe, yet he is largely ineffective as a leader. As Solzhenitsyn writes, Stalin trusts nobody, suspicion being the natural result of his own untrustworthiness. He teaches his commanders and advisors to maintain authority through violence, silencing opposition instead of rising above it. Since power is the sole aim, they continually overstep authority and exact excessive punishments upon the Russian citizens. This sort of corruption is painfully obvious to anyone which is not under its control, so Volodin quickly realizes the truth and is forced to make a decision. Every government official is simultaneously making the same decision, but Volodin's narrative is powerful because he chooses true power -- the kind that does not need to employ violence to maintain control because it is inherent and uncompromising. He finds the power to defy Stalin and his aids by maintaining his personal integrity, in an effort which accomplishes little physical change but proves absolutely insulting to the arms of the state.
Disloyalty
Loyalty is the primary dilemma which Solzhenitsyn describes throughout the book. He places his characters in situations which challenge their various loyalties at every turn. In the first vignette, readers are introduced to Volodin as he decides whether or not to call the U.S. embassy. Ultimately he chooses to remain loyal to his conscience and the benefit of humanity than to the Russian government. He participates in disloyalty to the state in order to remain loyal to himself and his values. Similarly, the other gulag prisoners are presented with loyalty tests when they are placed in the ranks of sharashka. In order to receive the benefits of this elite group, they must use their expertise to assists the Russian government in its various schemes, largely military. Although they are still Russian citizens, they must choose alongside Volodin whether or not to honor their personal observations of the Russian government's corruption or to honor the particular brand of patriotism which the state has taught them. They choose individual integrity and opposition to the state. Nerzhina's wife, Nadya, on the other hand faces a loyalty dilemma in her marriage. As the wife of a prisoner, she is a social outcast and struggling to make her own way in the world. She must choose between loyalty to her husband or to herself.
