Memoirs of Stalin's Former Secretary

The book provides a detailed account of the backstage political intrigues in the Kremlin, starting with Trotsky’s expulsion, as well as Stalin’s subsequent actions to remove from the political stage his allies and rivals—Kamenev, Zinoviev, Rykov, Frunze, Bukharin… Since the author served for five years as Stalin’s personal secretary, his account is a valuable source of information from a firsthand witness who observed the workings of the state apparatus from the inside. Bажанов became deeply disillusioned with communism and, having defected, left Russia. Reading his memoirs, you understand why this happened and how strongly the real picture of events of that time differs from what is presented to the masses.