The Death of Stalin

By Sheila Fitzpatrick

Published by Black Inc

RRP $27.99 in paperback

ISBN 9781760645090

 

‘Brilliantly succinct’ … ‘exceptionally lucid’

Described variously by other reviewers as ‘brilliantly succinct’ and ‘exceptionally lucid’, this small volume tackles one aspect of Joseph Stalin’s life: his death, which appears to have descended into a macabre farce because of his entourage’s fear of the supreme leader.

When Joseph Stalin died in 1953, he had been the unchallenged leader of the Soviet Union for over twenty years, having presided over the ruthless modernisation of the early 1930s, the Great Purges later in the decade, the near-catastrophe and ultimate victory of World War II, and the country’s postwar emergence as a superpower.

What is clear, as he neared the end of his life without anointing a successor, is how his extreme paranoia developed as he aged.

Fitzpatrick describes his loneliness, which led him to depend on his household staff and bodyguards for company but he trusted no one.

In turn, they were so in awe of him and so afraid of him that they dithered on the important issue of getting him medical attention when he had clearly suffered a stroke.

The question of which doctor to call became problematic as many were in jail, having been arrested on Stalin’s instructions, accused of anti-Soviet activities because of their Jewish ethnicity.

His death was a deeply unsettling event for the Soviet Union.

Fitzpatrick, a noted Russian specialist, has drawn on her unparalleled knowledge of Stalin’s circle and Soviet society to recount the life and death of a dictator whose legend continues to be prominently featured in Putin’s Russia.

Vladimir Putin was five months old when Stalin died.

About the author:

WATCH THE LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS INTERVIEW WITH SHEILA FITZPATRICK

Link here