MOSCOW. Aug 4 (Interfax) - The books of Alexander Solzhenitsyn overturned the preconceptions of Russian people, writer and historian Roy Medvedev has said.

"His novel 'One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich' published in 1962 changed my life. But this was a revolution not only in my own thoughts and opinions, but in the intellectual community as a whole. Writers, scientists, cultural workers, intellectuals stopped viewing the world through rose-tinted glasses," Medvedev said in an interview with Interfax Monday.

Solzhenitsyn belongs to the top 10 personalities of the 20th century named by Russians, he added.

Medvedev reminded Interfax that Solzhenitsyn actively supported dissidents in Soviet times.

"We often disagreed and argued. Moreover, he often spoke very critically of me because I advocated socialism. But that did not prevent us from cooperating and meeting often. And, of course, I will never forget that Solzhenitsyn helped to free my brother Zhores from a mental institute. The news of the death of this great man deeply shook me," Medvedev said.

Medvedev said he plans to thoroughly analyze Solzhenitsyn's role both in literature and in politics, stressing that the Nobel prize winner was a figure of international scale and a great Russian writer.

Solzhenitsyn died in Moscow on Sunday night at the age of 89.