The Rise And Fall Of The Soviet Empire

Following his great trilogy of biographies of the giants who dominated the history of the Soviet Union —Stalin, Lenin and Trosky — Russian historian Dmitri Volkogonov delves deeper into the Soviet archives to reveal the truth behind the activities of the world's most secretive political leaders.


In vivid, devastating and sometimes surreal detail, he has produced a clear-eyed assessment and political evaluation of the seven leaders who ruled the Soviet Union from 1917 to 1991. He throws new light on Lenin's paranoia about foreigners in Russia and his creation of a privileged system for top Party members; Stalin's repression of the nationalities and his singular conduct of foreign policy; the origins and conduct of the Korean War; Khrushchev's relationship with the odious secret service chief Beria and his handling of the Cuban missile crisis; Brezhnev's vanity and stupidity; the Afghan War; Poland and Solidarity; Gorbachev's Leninism and his role in history. With his final work, Volkogonov has once again provided an invaluable service to twentieth-century history.