CAVENDISH, Vermont -- The Russian author and dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn bade farewell to his "dear neighbors" here as he prepared to return to his homeland this spring.


"You forgave me my unusual way of life, and even took it upon yourselves to protect my privacy," Solzhenitsyn told residents gathered for Monday night's annual town meeting.


"For this, I have been truly grateful throughout all these years; and now, as my stay here comes to an end, I thank you."


Solzhenitsyn said he and his wife, Natalya, plan to return to Russia at the end of May, but that his sons would continue to call Cavendish home.


"I hope I can be of at least some help to my tortured nation, although it is impossible to predict how successful my efforts will be," he said.


The Nobel laureate said his most productive years had been spent in the small Vermont community, where he has lived in relative seclusion since his 1975 expulsion from the Soviet Union.


At the meeting, Solzhenitsyn's wife, two sons and mother-in-law stood for the traditional American pledge of allegiance to the U.S. flag, their hands over their hearts. Alexander, who has never become an American citizen, did not stand.


The 200-plus crowd gathered at an elementary school gymnasium gave Solzhenitsyn a standing ovation. His three sons, Yermolay, Ignat and Stephan, had attended school in the building.


Solzhenitsyn and his family presented the town with a stack of his autographed books for the town library, including several copies of his masterpiece, "The Gulag Archipelago," a condemnation of life in Soviet prison camps.