The Last Days of Stalin
A gripping account of the months before and after Stalin’s death and how his demise reshaped the course of twentieth-century history

Joshua Rubenstein’s riveting account takes us back to the second half of 1952 when no one could foresee an end to Joseph Stalin’s murderous regime. He was poised to challenge the newly elected U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower with armed force, and was also broadening a vicious campaign against Soviet Jews. Stalin’s sudden collapse and death in March 1953 was as dramatic and mysterious as his life. It is no overstatement to say that his passing marked a major turning point in the twentieth century.

The Last Days of Stalin is an engaging, briskly told account of the dictator’s final active months, the vigil at his deathbed, and the unfolding of Soviet and international events in the months after his death. Rubenstein throws fresh light on
  • the devious plotting of Beria, Malenkov, Khrushchev, and other “comrades in arms” who well understood the significance of the dictator’s impending death;
  • the witness-documented events of his death as compared to official published versions;
  • Stalin’s rumored plans to forcibly exile Soviet Jews;
  • the responses of Eisenhower and Secretary of State Dulles to the Kremlin’s conciliatory gestures after Stalin’s death; and
  • the momentous repercussions when Stalin’s regime of terror was cut short.
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The Last Days of Stalin
A gripping account of the months before and after Stalin’s death and how his demise reshaped the course of twentieth-century history

Joshua Rubenstein’s riveting account takes us back to the second half of 1952 when no one could foresee an end to Joseph Stalin’s murderous regime. He was poised to challenge the newly elected U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower with armed force, and was also broadening a vicious campaign against Soviet Jews. Stalin’s sudden collapse and death in March 1953 was as dramatic and mysterious as his life. It is no overstatement to say that his passing marked a major turning point in the twentieth century.

The Last Days of Stalin is an engaging, briskly told account of the dictator’s final active months, the vigil at his deathbed, and the unfolding of Soviet and international events in the months after his death. Rubenstein throws fresh light on
  • the devious plotting of Beria, Malenkov, Khrushchev, and other “comrades in arms” who well understood the significance of the dictator’s impending death;
  • the witness-documented events of his death as compared to official published versions;
  • Stalin’s rumored plans to forcibly exile Soviet Jews;
  • the responses of Eisenhower and Secretary of State Dulles to the Kremlin’s conciliatory gestures after Stalin’s death; and
  • the momentous repercussions when Stalin’s regime of terror was cut short.
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The Last Days of Stalin

The Last Days of Stalin

by Joshua Rubenstein
The Last Days of Stalin

The Last Days of Stalin

by Joshua Rubenstein

Paperback(Reprint)

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Overview

A gripping account of the months before and after Stalin’s death and how his demise reshaped the course of twentieth-century history

Joshua Rubenstein’s riveting account takes us back to the second half of 1952 when no one could foresee an end to Joseph Stalin’s murderous regime. He was poised to challenge the newly elected U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower with armed force, and was also broadening a vicious campaign against Soviet Jews. Stalin’s sudden collapse and death in March 1953 was as dramatic and mysterious as his life. It is no overstatement to say that his passing marked a major turning point in the twentieth century.

The Last Days of Stalin is an engaging, briskly told account of the dictator’s final active months, the vigil at his deathbed, and the unfolding of Soviet and international events in the months after his death. Rubenstein throws fresh light on
  • the devious plotting of Beria, Malenkov, Khrushchev, and other “comrades in arms” who well understood the significance of the dictator’s impending death;
  • the witness-documented events of his death as compared to official published versions;
  • Stalin’s rumored plans to forcibly exile Soviet Jews;
  • the responses of Eisenhower and Secretary of State Dulles to the Kremlin’s conciliatory gestures after Stalin’s death; and
  • the momentous repercussions when Stalin’s regime of terror was cut short.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780300228847
Publisher: Yale University Press
Publication date: 09/26/2017
Edition description: Reprint
Pages: 288
Product dimensions: 5.00(w) x 7.70(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Joshua Rubenstein is an associate of the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard University. He lives in Brookline, MA.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vi

Introduction viii

1 The Death of Stalin 1

2 A New Purge 35

3 Stalin's Paranoia and the Jews 56

4 The Kremlin Moves On 96

5 The Surprise of Reform 124

6 A Chance for Peace? 146

7 The End of the Beginning 189

Epilogue 222

Notes 230

Select Bibliography 251

List of Illustrations 254

Index 256

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