After limited circulation inside the Soviet Union as samizdat, the book caused a sensation in the West after it revealed that the Soviet gulag system had continued after the death of Joseph Stalin.
Setelah peredarannya dibatasi di Uni Soviet Union sebagai samizdat, buku tersebut menyebabkan sensasi di dunia Barat setelah mengetahui bahwa sistem gulag Soviet masih berlanjut setelah kematian Joseph Stalin.