Stalin An Unknown Portrait

The best of all the books this year - and highly significant in terms of genuine new research - was Miklos Kun's Stalin: An Unknown Portrait, a splendid, subtle and deeply researched picture of the dictator and his circle, filled with new photographs. Kun manages to give a much more intimate and true picture of the workings of the inner circle: among several gems, he quotes Stalin's correspondence with his 10-year-old daughter Svetlana, who cheekily quizzes him on power and sends him orders signed "Svetlana Stalina the Boss".
-- Financial Times

"The book contains a number of fascinating revelations; in particular, it offers a wealth of new information about Stalin's persecution of the families of his two wives, Yekaterina Svanidze and Nadezhda Alliluyeva. An additional strength is the inclusion of over 300 photos from the collecction of David King. ... this impressive book is recommended for all collections with interests in Russian history." - Choice


This exceptional volume of oral history contains exciting new information about Stalin's actual and political 'family', the political Mafia and the clans around him. The author has interviewed key politicians who survived the Stalin era, including officials of the KGB and the Komsomol, as well as people who had personal contact with the dictator as secretaries or interpreters. Kun's special expertise and his access to archival sources in Russia have resulted in a work revealing jealously guarded secrets.

In addition to the interviews and hitherto unpublished correspondence between Stalin, Molotov, Voroshilov, Mikoyan, Zhdanov and others, the book also contains a fascinating selection from a private collection of photos of Stalin, his family members, and various political actors of the period. Extensive notes, a bibliography, and an index of names and photos add to the value of the volume.