The Curse of Stalin

In the 1930s, having already become a dictator, Stalin employed terror as a method of government, justifying it as a way to protect the revolution from the attacks of his internal and external enemies. At the same time, he fostered a cult of leadership that transformed him into a kind of god, inspiring activists and supporters around the world. Drawing on numerous original Russian documents and other Eastern European sources released after the collapse of the Soviet Union, as well as many other German, American, and English documents, bestselling historian Robert Gellately traces the origins of the tyrant's growing international influence, which began in the early days of World War II and continued even after his death in 1953. The author also examines the central role Stalin played, with strategic awareness, in the work of implementing communism in Europe and throughout the world, so that, even today, many millions of people bear his legacy, or his curse, on their shoulders.