Towards the end of his life, Solzhenitsyn several times expressed admiration for Vladimir Putin as a restorer of Russia’s greatness. But what would Solzhenitsyn have thought of Putin’s current adventures in Georgia? (Putin may be Russia’s ex-president, but events of the last week or two confirm what many have already said: that he is the de facto dictator calling the shots.) On August 8, just a few days after Solzhenitsyn died, Russian tanks and troops poured into the separatist Georgian province of South Ossetia. In the days following, Russian planes bombed civilian as well as military targets in several other locations throughout the country. A few days ago, Russia agreed to withdraw its troops. As we write, they are still there.

The whole drama has the eerie sense of history repeating itself. Shortly after the Russian onslaught began, the London Times carried an article about “The Revolt i ...