Author Description

Title: Under Stalin's Sun: My Escape From A Siberian Gulag Author: Suren H. Oganessian Translator (Armenian to English): Murad A Meneshian Publication Date: November 7, 2023 Publisher: Pomegranate Music (USA) Foreword: Knarik O. Meneshian Introduction, Publisher's Note: Raffi Meneshian Hardcover Edition (2024) Book Summary: This particular book reflects the first-hand account of Suren H. Oganessian’s arrest, imprisonment, and escape from the Soviet Union’s gulag system during portions of the 1930s and 1940s. His reflections during those harrowing times were handwritten in private journals from the mid-1950s through the mid-1960s, which was when Hairenik (an Armenian language weekly newspaper in Boston) published his writings in a serialized format. Oganessian’s work caught the attention of historians, academics, and intellectuals during its initial print run but was limited to an Armenian-literate audience. In 1976, an imprint in Buenos Aires, Argentina compiled his collected works and published them into a single Armenian volume (“Baykari Dirkerum”). In addition to Oganessian’s gulag experience, the book also included his reflections on Armenian history, current events, and other topics of interest related to his native country. He self-published a similar collection in 1984 called “Hayreni Ashkhari Gyankits,” constituting the second and final volume of his works spanning reflections from 1920-1984. Many, if not most, of the collected works in both volumes were originally published in Hairenik. Oganessian’s gulag experience was eventually translated into English with a book entitled Under Stalin’s Sun. James H. Tashjian—who had served as chief editor for Hairenik, Armenian Weekly, and the Armenian Review during lengthy partnerships with various publishing organs of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF)—was responsible for the translation.A friend and associate of William Saroyan, Tashjian also ed