Good morning. I'm something of an expert in Soviet History. Most of my interest in the subject emanates from studying primary and secondary sources on Cold War espionage, such as those which can be gleaned from the Mitrokhin Archives. (Note: Mitrokhin Archives are the largest collection of handwritten notes made secretly by KGB spy working for the west, known as Vasili Mitrokhin during three decades in the foreign intelligence service and the First Chief Directorate).

The source for the story is not only, or originally Solzhenitsyn. The story originally appeared in West the context of notes linked to Western intelligence from a high ranking Soviet defector in the late 1950s, which have been variously described in Western and Russian historical writings on the same. Likewise, what was actually reported to Western intelligence was not that the man who first stopped clapping was imprisoned for ten years, as Solzhenitsyn wrote. What was reported to Western intelligence was that he was interrogated for disloyalty, imprisoned, and then executed for "political crimes".

On the one hand, there are numerous seemingly independent sources which confirm this story -- or something like this story -- from inside the KGB archives that were unsealed temporarily after the USSR fell. It was 'widely known' that NKVD members would watch to identify the first in a crowd to stop clapping, before party officials installed devices intended for the purpose of signaling when it was appropriate to stop clapping. Presumably this is why Stalin often received ostentatious ten, fifteen, or twenty minute standing ovations before and after certain speeches.

Outside of direct evidence to corroborate Solzhenitsyn's claim, there is a wealth of circumstantial evidence widely known which is perhaps why this story was almost something of 'lore' among Soviet citizens. For example, the NKVD was known to interpret benign arbitrary actions as political disloyalty. Stalin, likewise, would sign what was the equivalent of death warrants without even reading the charges -- much less affording the condemned anything that would resemble due process. Stalin was likewise famously paranoid, often killing off those who worked under him 'just to be on the safe side'. In that way, there are a lot of circumstantial facts which would tend to suggest that this is something that would be likely to occur.

Sadly, most of Russian language primary source archival records respecting NKVD conduct in general, and NKVD conduct during the Stalin era respecting crimes against the Russian people, have since been closed since Putin came to power. While this is surely an unsatisfying answer, it is also a reality of the Putin government. However, what readers should realize is that while the "kill or imprison the first to stop clapping" notion was well known in among Soviet citizens, what is truth and what is rumor are sometimes but not always the same thing. Speaking candidly of the regime, or even a past regime, could cause very real trouble for a Soviet citizen, although to be on the safe side, people would clap until they were told otherwise just to be safe.

It is my view based on my knowledge of Soviet history that readers should consider that while Solzhenitsyn may not have been relaying first hand information, there is very little reason to doubt it's accuracy when considering the surrounding circumstances as well as the nature of how the NKVD conducted its "affairs". (Note: were the Russian government to take a position on the issue of Solzhenitsyn's account's validity, it is likely that they would be able to produce something which purported to be evidence to disprove the claim.)

Recommended English Language Reading: The Sword and the Shield, The World Was Going Our Way, Comrade J.

Edit: Clarity.

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