Stalin did not act alone. The mass executions, the mock trials, the betrayals and purges, the jailings and secret torture that ravaged the Soviet U...
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Nov 09, 2011
Anastasia
rated it: 
I bought Donald Rayfield’s Stalin and his Hangmen six or seven years while I was studying modern Russian history in sixth form at school. I never read it, though, because it was squeezed out by another book published at about the same time – Stalin: the Court of the Red Tsar by Simon Sebag Montefiore.
My present fascination with the writing of Vasily Grossman persuaded me to turn to the long-neglected Raysfield for some additional background information on the nature of the Soviet sta More...
My present fascination with the writing of Vasily Grossman persuaded me to turn to the long-neglected Raysfield for some additional background information on the nature of the Soviet sta More...
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Jan 09, 2012
Joel
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This was an excellent window into Russian history. It also made an indelible memory of what an absurd life. Stalin constantly cycled through underlings, gaining their loyalty, using them as agents, and eventually discarding them when they began to accumulate too much power. As each of these cycles unfolded, it was shocking to watch a man's rise, his fall, and ultimately his destruction. At the end of his own life, Stalin suffered a stroke that left him paralyzed, face-down in his room. His under
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Nov 09, 2011
Johnny David
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A more revolting account of Stalin's rule than Montefiore's, this book chronicles the murderous career of the Cheka and its many succeeding bodies, as well as its many successful 'hangmen'. Stalin murdered millions of his own countrymen, including his own allies and family, but this book makes clear that in order to be successful evil doesn't just need the good to do nothing, but evil also requires many busy hands to do its work. Stalin cultivated such hands, from the almost-tragic Genrikh Yagod
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Mar 01, 2011
Jeff
rated it:
This a well written and well researched book based on the most recently opened Soviet archives, that reveals in great detail not only what a monstrous regime Stalin's was, but also how much its existance played into the rise of Fascism and Nazism in Europe.
Jun 09, 2010
Missy
rated it: 
Very informative tome. The language bordered on pretentious but overall a good resource for Russian politics, Stalin in particular.
Jul 07, 2010
Leopold Aurelius
rated it:
A bit of a one-dimensional portrait, but enlightening nonetheless.
Feb 23, 2009
Mike
rated it:
Excellent book on the 20th century's biggest monster, and the men who killed for him.
More uplifting Soviet history.
More uplifting Soviet history.
Apr 16, 2009
Suzanne
rated it:
As a non-historian, I found this quite accessible. Have to confess I onlyl read two-thirds of it, but you get enough of the gist of Stalin, even from that. Extremely well written account.
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