Sol ‧ zhe ‧ nit ‧ syn, Al ‧ ex ‧ an ‧ der /ˌsɒlʒəˈnɪtsɪn $ ˌsəʊl-, ˌælɪɡˈzɑːndəʳ $ -ˈzæn-/ BrE AmE
(1918–2008) a Russian writer who spent many years in prison because of his criticism of Stalinism and the system of government in the former Soviet Union. He was forced to leave the Soviet Union in 1974 and went to live in the US until 1994, when he returned to Russia. His books include One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich , Cancer Ward , and The Gulag Archipelago . He was given the Nobel Prize for literature in 1970.