Mstislav Rostropovich
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Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich was a Soviet and Russian cellist and conductor. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was well known for both inspiring and commissioning new works, w
Rostropovich in 1991
House in Baku, where Rostropovich was born
Mstislav Rostropovich, 18 September 1959
Rostropovich playing the Duport Stradivarius at the White House in 1978
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
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Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn was a Soviet and Russian author and dissident who helped to raise global awareness of political repression in the Soviet Union, especially the Gulag prison system. He
Mstislav Rostropovich
…Symphony No. 13, which set verses by Yevgeny Yevtushenko; the subject of its first movement was the Babi Yar massacre. In 1970, Rostropovich sheltered Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, who otherwise would have had nowhere to go, in his own home. His friendship with Solzhenitsyn and support for dissidents led to official disgrace in…
Solzhenitsyn in 1974
Solzhenitsyn (right) and his long-time friend Mstislav Rostropovich (left) at the celebration of Solzhenitsyn's 80th birthday
Solzhenitsyn with Heinrich Böll in Langenbroich, West Germany, 1974
Solzhenitsyn looks out from a train, in Vladivostok, summer 1994, before departing on a journey across Russia. Solzhenitsyn returned to Russia after nearly 20 years in exile.