Cover art for The Death of Stalin
Published
Black Inc, June 2025
ISBN
9781760645090
Format
Softcover, 128 pages
Dimensions
19.6cm × 12.8cm × 1cm

The Death of Stalin

1 IN STOCK
Ships Monday 23rd!
Fast $7.95 flat-rate shipping!
Only pay $7.95 per order within Australia, including end-to-end parcel tracking.
100% encrypted and secure
We adhere to industry best practice and never store credit card details.
Talk to real people
Contact us seven days a week – our staff are here to help.

The personal and the political collide in this masterful account of the death of a dictator.

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. He was surrounded by a cult that made him seem godlike; no successors were in sight. His death was bound to be a deeply unsettling event, both in the Soviet Union and elsewhere.

Sheila Fitzpatrick draws on her unparalleled knowledge of Stalin's circle and Soviet society to tell a tale that blends black comedy with forensic analysis, exploring the problems and opportunities - often missed - created by the death of the dictator. The final chapter deals with Stalin's eventful afterlife, including his recent resurrection in Putin's Russia. This is both a riveting read and a salutary one.

'Wise, comprehensive and brilliantly succinct' - Owen Matthews

'Fitzpatrick knows more than almost anyone about the Soviet system.' - Orlando Figes

Related books