Evgenia Ginzburg, a historian and journalist, mother of the renowned writer Vasily Aksyonov, was repressed in 1937, spending ten years in prisons and Kolyma camps and eight years in exile in Magadan. In 1955, her case was dismissed for lack of evidence. But even during the Thaw, her autobiographical novel, 'The Steep Route,' in which Ginzburg recounted her horrific fate, was unable to be published in the USSR. It was published only during Perestroika, becoming one of the most famous accounts of the crimes of the Stalinist regime. Ginzburg, who was a staunch adherent of communist doctrine before her arrest, does not absolve herself of blame for what happened. The ability to restrainedly yet psychologically accurately convey feelings of 'madness and horror,' hope and utter despair, and to truthfully depict scenes of cruelty and self-sacrifice, displays of cowardice and courage—all of this allows 'The Steep Route' to be called an outstanding literary work. The novel's greatest value, however, is that it teaches us to maintain courage and dignity, helping us overcome the 'great Fear' that can destroy the destinies and lives of entire generations.