Winner of the Plutarch Award for Best Biography
National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist
PEN Literary Award Finalist
New York Times Notable Book
Washington Post Notable Book
Boston Globe Best Book of the Year
The award-winning author of Villa Air-Bel returns with a painstakingly researched, revelatory biography of Svetlana Stalin, a woman fated to live her life in the shadow of one of … award-winning author of Villa Air-Bel returns with a painstakingly researched, revelatory biography of Svetlana Stalin, a woman fated to live her life in the shadow of one of history’s most monstrous dictators—her father, Josef Stalin.
Born in the early years of the Soviet Union, Svetlana Stalin spent her youth inside the walls of the Kremlin. Communist Party privilege protected her from the mass starvation and purges that haunted Russia, but she did not escape tragedy—the loss of everyone she loved, including her mother, two brothers, aunts and uncles, and a lover twice her age, deliberately exiled to Siberia by her father.
As she gradually learned about the extent of her father’s brutality after his death, Svetlana could no longer keep quiet and in 1967 shocked the world by defecting to the United States—leaving her two children behind. But although she was never a part of her father’s regime, she could not escape his legacy. Her life in America was fractured; she moved frequently, married disastrously, shunned other Russian exiles, and ultimately died in poverty in Wisconsin.
With access to KGB, CIA, and Soviet government archives, as well as the close cooperation of Svetlana’s daughter, Rosemary Sullivan pieces together Svetlana’s incredible life in a masterful account of unprecedented intimacy. Epic in scope, it’s a revolutionary biography of a woman doomed to be a political prisoner of her father’s name. Sullivan explores a complicated character in her broader context without ever losing sight of her powerfully human story, in the process opening a closed, brutal world that continues to fascinate us.
Illustrated with photographs.
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“Stalin’s Daughter” is an incredibly well-researched and compelling biography of Svetlana Alliluyeva – Stalin’s only daughter. Written in an objective manner, it draws a portrait of a woman who was forced to spend her entire life in her father’s shadow. I personally found Svetlana’s story to be truly tragic. Despite being seen by many as a …
It never occurred to me that Stalin had a family, really, since he was such a looming, dark character. The controlling, manipulative way she was raised explains her emotional issues as an adult. There are so many humanizing moments in this book ,as well as disturbing recounts of executions and “disappearances” that I’m now also interested in …
I never was a fan of Russian history and knew only sketchy bits about Stalin. This book gave me a look into that missing area of history in a way that I could connect to it–as another woman. Svetlana’s story is wrenching, complex, filled with darkness and she worked hard to overcome the her early trauma.
Growing up as Stalin’s daughter was insulating, privileged, and damaging. The story of her life is full of twists and turns reflecting her strength and intelligence but also remnants of being forever “Stalin’s Daughter.”
Interesting book dealing with someone so close to the leader of the Soviet Union who was responsible for over 20 million deaths.
Fascinating read by Stalin’s own daughter of her defection to U.S. and what life in Russia is really like
Redundant. Slow read
Good history!
Drags at places, but presents interesting historical perspective
FASCINATING
I haven’t finished it and probably won’t. It isn’t holding my interedt
Interesting information but boring to read.
I learned things I never knew about the soviets
I liked it, but it was a difficult read. It is an extremely interesting and well-researched biography of Svetlana Stalin which encompasses a historical period in Russia’s history under the brutal dictator Stalin. I lived in northern Wisconsin during the time that Svetlana lived there and I remember the rumors about her unhappy life and her tragic …
Lost interest after a while. Just seemed to drag.
All I can think is…what a unsettling, horrible life to lead, full of anxiety.
I love history so I loved this book. It is quite long but it kept my interest the whole time I was reading it. If you love history as well, I would recommend this book highly. It wasn’t dry but made you feel like you were getting to know each person and their struggles and tragic experiences.
I’m reading this book intermittently instead of my usual all the way through. I read mostly at bedtime and this is rather a long book for me to tackle then. While history is not my first choice in nonfiction; I am reading every word. Her story is very interesting.
Loved the history. Excellent character development. Her life of many twists and pain.
It was adequate