Stalin's children : three generations of love and betrayal by Owen Matthews

Jan 16, 2009 Heather rated it 4 of 5 stars

Stalin's Children is the story of one family's unique experiences amid the changing social and political sphere of Russia. Encompassing Russia's history from the 1920s onwards, Matthews acquaints us with three generations of his family who experienced extreme persecution and overwhelming odds, each bearing witness to pre- and post-Stalinist Russia. The memoir begins with the story of Boris Bibikov, a prominent Russian party member in the 1920s. Bibikov and his small family lived in relative comf...more Stalin's Children is the story of one family's unique experiences amid the changing social and political sphere of Russia. Encompassing Russia's history from the 1920s onwards, Matthews acquaints us with three generations of his family who experienced extreme persecution and overwhelming odds, each bearing witness to pre- and post-Stalinist Russia. The memoir begins with the story of Boris Bibikov, a prominent Russian party member in the 1920s. Bibikov and his small family lived in relative comfort and plenty, taking full advantage that his status afforded him, until, like so many others, he was accused of anti-Party sentiments. After his arrest and imprisonment, his wife and two young daughters were left to fend for themselves. Eventually the girls were taken to a state-run orphanage after their mother was also imprisoned. It is here that the girls, Lyudmilla and Lenina, became separated. Lenina eventually moved in with relatives, and Lyudmilla remained a ward of the state until her adulthood, in essence becoming one of Stalin's many children. After many heartrending circumstances, including the orphans' harrowing escape from the Germans invasion of the city in the early days of WWII, near starvation, and serious disease, the sisters were once again reunited by miracle and chance. Although their years of separation and abandonment left indelible marks upon them for all time, they remained optimistic.

The second section of the book tells of the love affair between Lyudmilla and Mervin, the author's parents. Mervyn, a British russophile, begins a scholarly career in Moscow, living his dream of immersing himself in Russia. When Lyudmilla and Mervyn meet, it is clear to both that they should be together. But after Mervyn rejects the courting of KGB officials in their attempts to recruit him into their organization, he becomes persona non grata to the Russian government and is deported. He must leave Lyudmilla behind in Russia with promises that he will return soon to marry her. What follows is the couple's anguished battle to attain Lyudmilla's right to marry a foreigner and leave the country. Peppered throughout this tale is the author's own story of returning to a Russia in the 1990s that has changed in so many ways, yet in some ways remains the same.

This book was very impressive. From the distinct and eloquent nature of the author's ability to express his family's story, to the staunch and ardent persistence of the players involved, I found myself completely captivated by this memoir. Not only were the stories of his family very moving, the author has a very encompassing and instructive way of conveying the politics of Russia from the early 1900s until today. The book was informative and dealt with a vast amount of history, but it was not sluggish or boring. Each era of political change in the country was illustrated not only in terms of what was going on in the government, but also in how these changes affected the people living amongst the tumult of their oppression. In addition, the shifts in the narrative melding the past and present were deftly handled, blending the stories of each of these generations into a panoramic view of life in Soviet Russia. Although at times the author's sentiments appear somewhat dark and maudlin, I would argue that his attitude fits perfectly with the story he tells. Although there are small triumphs and large victories, there is also a sense of grim strife throughout the story. In particular, I found the hardships that Lyudmilla endured as a ward of the state to be very tragic and distressing, but I truly marveled at her optimism and perseverance. She had a quintessentially hardy spirit that I found remarkable. In addition, the struggles that Lyudmilla and Mervin face in their efforts to be married were by turns bitter and poignant. I admired the strength and conviction of these two lovers, fighting with indomitable resoluteness for their relationship. I read with mixed emotions the joys and disappointments of the couple, and felt that the inclusion of pieces of actual love letters between the two was a a brilliant touch that gave Lyudmilla and Mervyn a real sense of humanity. I liked this book for so many reasons. From the soulfulness of the characters, to the conversational style of the history, I found much here to be impressed with. This is not only a story of history and politics, but a story of people. People with hopes and fears and dreams that were expertly captured by the author.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has a curiosity about Russia. It is easily the best and most concise history of the times and people that I have ever read. The bonus of reading this for the history is that you will also get the very wonderfully rendered story of the people inside this country, and the sacrifices and joys that shaped their lives. Filled with unforgettable characters and relateable history, this book was a great read. Highly recommended.(less)

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Feb 19, 2010 Melissa Moorhead Wilde rated it 3 of 5 stars

Owen Matthews is a wonderful storyteller. Really magnificent prose. He does a good job of painting the various shades of Russia, depending on which decade/social class/ethnicity you happen to belong to. I think this effort deserves praise since Russia in the 1930s was vastly different from Russia in the 1990s, not to mention the years between them. Matthews captures this change, and shows the heart of Russia with insight and intelligence, all while portraying the resilience and instinct for surv...more

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Feb 16, 2009 James rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: when-criminals-become-politicians

Heather gives such a complete synopsis of the book that I'd almost think she was the author.

Two other people mention 2 generations, actually it's quite clear there are 3,
so I wonder how closely they read the book.

The first part was interesting, the grandfather was a party man,
and has the task of building a tractor factory with almost no tools.
He and his wife were later victims of Stalin's purge.

Stalin's actions in that decade, the starvation of millions of people to show
"who is master", a...more

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May 14, 2011 Gina rated it 3 of 5 stars

I wish I could give it 3.5 stars! I did really enjoy it overall, but a few minor negative thoughts about the book keep me from giving it 4 stars...

The story follows 3 generations of a Russian/Ukrainian famly. The 2nd of these 3 generations had a very interesting story. This generation's story forms the bulk of the book. The 1st generation's story was pretty intriguing, but was told with an amount of distance that made me not really care about the character. The 3rd generation, the writer and his...more

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Sep 26, 2009 Kerfe rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads, non-fiction, biography-memoir

"Stalin's Children" follows the childhoods of the author's parents in Stalinist Russia and World War II England to their point of prolonged intersection at the hands of Russian authorities, their final reunion, and a bit of follow up on the result. Matthews also intertwines his own, more contemporary, Russian experiences.

By far the most compelling characters and story lie in Russia. The surrealistic early life of his mother Mila and her family are straight out of Kafka's "The Trial", and she an...more

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Jan 08, 2009 Vicki rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: biographies-and-memoirs

A very interesting book -- a bit hard to describe briefly. The author's mother was from the Soviet Union and his father was British. They met in Russia and feel in love (1960s). He was kicked out of the country and they spent six years trying to get her out so they could get married. Eventually they succeeded and their son is one of the results. He ended up living in Russia himself -- he was a reporter -- and was actually there when Yeltsin "saved the day." The author investigated the disappeara...more

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Apr 23, 2010 Oldroses rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biography, history

"Stalin’s Children" was written as a memoir of a family but it is much more than that. It is an intimate look at life in mid-20th century Russia. The story of those years is told through the lives of three generations of the Bibikov family.

Scholarly histories can only give dry descriptions of the tumultuous years from Stalin’s purges through Perestroika. The Bibikov’s lived those events. Through them, we experience the despair of parents rounded up in a purge and sent to the Gulag, the helpless...more "Stalin’s Children" was written as a memoir of a family but it is much more than that. It is an intimate look at life in mid-20th century Russia. The story of those years is told through the lives of three generations of the Bibikov family.

Scholarly histories can only give dry descriptions of the tumultuous years from Stalin’s purges through Perestroika. The Bibikov’s lived those events. Through them, we experience the despair of parents rounded up in a purge and sent to the Gulag, the helplessness of orphans caught up in the chaos of the mass evacuations as the German army invades Russia. We share the joy of two sisters, separated during the war, who are miraculously reunited. Then we settle down with the sisters in Moscow and endure the privations of the Cold War.

Owen Matthews, the author, is the son an Englishman, Mervyn Matthews, who studied Russian, worked in the British Embassy in Moscow and fell in love with both Russia and one of the sisters. It was the correspondence between Mervyn and Mila during the six years that they were separated while Mervyn worked to get his fiancée out of Russia that inspired this book.

Readers who came of age after the break-up of the Soviet empire may find the tactics Mervyn used in his six year campaign unbelievable, if not downright silly. Those of us who remember “duck & cover” drills, hiding under our desks in school in the vain hope that they would shield us from nuclear attack, will be less skeptical. We remember the extreme measures taken by those desperate to escape from behind the Iron Curtain.

There is danger in writing a true story about dramatic events. The result could be maudlin or read like a fictional thriller. The author has avoided both of these extremes. He allows the family members to tell their stories through reminisces, letters and official documents, accurately capturing the fatalistic attitude of the Russian people.

I was a little disappointed at the end of the book. The constant foreshadowing of the dramatic love story between Mervyn and Mila builds expectations so high that the actual telling is a letdown. The final chapters are an attempt on the part of the author to draw parallels between his parent’s lives and his own. His effort to make his story, told in a rambling oblique manner, as dramatic as his parents’ doesn’t end the book so much as let it just fade away.(less)

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Nov 28, 2009 Kathrina rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: memoirs-bios, russian

A tragic story of the author's own family through the decades of Stalinist and cold-war Russia. Any family's personal struggles and sufferings during the age of Stalinism is poignant and sad, and a survivor's tale always makes for good reading. Matthew's skills as an author, and personal investment in the story, help to make this memoir readable and even edifying. The enduring struggle for the author's parents to reconnect and finally marry is, though romantic, a bit tedious, as well, and a bit...more

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Mar 03, 2012 Jessica rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: novels, pinjeman

entah mengapa, saya menyukai kisah-kisah yang dituturkan. kisah dua manusia yang saling jatuh cinta namun dipisahkan akibat perang dan permusuhan. di generasi sebelumnya berkisah seseorang lah penyebab hal-hal di masa kini terjadi. penulis mengisahkannya begitu terperinci hingga terkadang membuat saya sedikit bosan. penulis sendiri menceritakan bagian masa lalu dari referensi buku, buku ayahnya, surat-surat kedua orang tuanya, foto-foto lama. menarik sekali, membuat saya terheran-heran, apa maks...more

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Sep 06, 2012 Nadia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Un livre intéressant qui nous fait découvrir certaines facettes du régime soviétique plus ou moins méconnues, politique et sociale. Pour donner quelques exemples, les premières purges de Staline et leurs effets sur les familles de ces hommes héros soudain déchus, la collectivisation forcée et ses horreurs, les errances des populations pendant la seconde guerre mondiale, la fascination que la politique communiste a pu exercer sur les milieux intellectuels d'après guerre, la bataille de ces couple...more

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Sep 10, 2012 Ana Sofia rated it 4 of 5 stars

“Owen Matthews has an extraordinary story to tell, spanning three generations of his own family, all caught up with the cataclysmic events of Russia in the 20th century. He came to know Russia well while working as a journalist in Moscow in the years immediately following the collapse of the Soviet system (…)” (in http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-ent...)
It is easy to read when it comes to the language but can be very difficult to deal with the recounts, some of them profoundly moving and sour t...more

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Dec 21, 2009 Kelly (TheWellReadRedhead) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads, biography-memoir, nonfiction

I won this from Goodreads a few months ago, and just finally got around to reading it. This book was a pleasant surprise for me. I don't read a ton of nonfiction, but when I do, I love when it exposes me to people or places that I know very little about. Russia is certainly one of those places, and I am particularly uninformed when it comes to Russian history. It took me a little while to figure out what direction this book was taking (is it about the author? his parents? Russia itself?)...event...more

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Apr 11, 2013 Eddy Allen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arts-and-historical

"On a midsummer day in 1937, a black car pulled up to a house in Chernigov, in the heart of the Ukraine. Boris Bibikov - author Owen Matthews's grandfather - kissed his wife and two young daughters good-bye and disappeared inside the car. His family never saw him again, for, though they would only find out much later, he had been caught up in one of Josef Stalin's purges. His wife would soon vanish as well, leaving Lyudmila (then three) and Lenina (twelve) alone to drift across the vast Russian...more

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Nov 27, 2012 Neiya rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: history, memoar, true-story

Cinta dan perang 3 Generasi. Yah benar, buku ini mirip sekali dengan memoar Wild swan yang sudah aku review lebih dahulu. Bedanya ini di Rusia,dan ini 3 generasi laki2 soviet yang kita tahu adalah tanah penuh darah.

Sebenarnya aku sangat menyukai buku-buku seperti ini, berbeda dengan Wild Swannya Jung chang, buku ini sarat dengan bahasa politik. Terkadang aku kebingungan menterjemahkan beberapa peristiwa dengan bahasa politik seperti itu. Buat aku ini sangat susah dinikmati. mungkin juga karena o...more

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Aug 20, 2009 Christina rated it 2 of 5 stars

I hoped for a sweeping family history about Russia, but instead got a lot of narcissistic introspection on the part of the author. He told his family story, and it was interesting, but kept breaking it up with stories about his exploits in the seedy underside of Moscow. And frankly, I really didn't like many of the people he writes about. His family are unfaithful to their marriages and rather selfish. I do find it sad that his dad, from Wales, spent six years doing everything possible to get hi...more

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Oct 15, 2009 Erin rated it 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book. I like reading about this era in Russian/Soviet history. But what I especially liked about this book is that is is told from an unusual point of view -- at least in my experience. This is from the pov of the grandchild of a Stalin supporter who then fell out of favor. It reads very easily, skipping back and forth between generations, but still very clear to follow. I viewed it primarily as the story of the middle generation, but in reality it is subtitled THREE Generations....more

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Dec 09, 2011 Kotinka rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The first section of the book, following the childhood of the author's Russian mother, is like one of the incredible "Great Terror" stories from Orlando Figes' 'The Whisperers', but told in an even more personal, moving and gripping way. The second half tails off some what from those electric begginings - but is none the less a really good read.

After being swept along by the unprecedented and terrifying persecutions that took place in the 1930's, the book settles primarily on the author's fathe...more

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Oct 13, 2009 Bobby rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads, own

I enjoyed this book in ebbs and flows, which really prolonged the length of time it took me to read this book. The tone, to me, is dry and tiresome. The passion was lacking - which if I'm reading a book about love, war and survival, I'm expecting a LOT of passion. As it is a memoir, I can understand the need for facts, quotes, and unhappy endings, but at times I forgot that the author was telling me the story of his mother and father's love.

I was excited to dive into this book and learn about R...more

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Oct 23, 2009 Irene rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: gr-giveaways, 2009, memoir-biography

Reading this memoir, I was struck by the fact that, as a Soviet emigre, I would somehow connect with Owen's experiences. I just finished the book and realized that our experiences are not alike at all.

I was four when we left (1979) via Austria, via Italy and finally to New York. I remember nothing. I was told nothing. If I had been a little older I would have been an indoctrinated "Pionerka," a child-Commie. But that never happened. Sure, my grandfather and my parents told me the stories of wait...more

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Oct 07, 2009 Karmen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Stalin's purges at their most intimate level. Over 30 million people were lost to his insecurity.

This book covers two generations (mother, grandfather) up to his own. Owen Matthews writes intimately but not overly emotionally of the pain visited upon his mother's family. The Russian epoch includes Owen and his finding of a Russian spouse.

The largest part of the book deals with his parents' rather improbable romance. His father, Mervyn Matthews, to escape his background, became enamored with Russ...more

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Jun 08, 2010 Chrissie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bio, soviet-union, history, kirkus, text-checked

This was a very interesting book about three generations of the author's family and life in the former Soviet Union under Stalin, through the Cold War and Perestroyka. This is a book about how some people were destroyed and yet others entered the dark tunnel and came out the other side still being able to smile. People are so different in how they react to what life throws at them. This book made me stop and think about how you look at people in your family and summarize their traits - for examp...more

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Mar 23, 2010 Tara rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, books-i-own

I got this book free as an advanced copy from Goodreads, and I thought it was an interesting history of how the Soviet Union/former situation in Russia affected people at a very real level. Now here's my qualms: first, it's "Ukraine" not "the Ukraine;" second, you never forget as a reader who the author is and how he's connected to the story. He's very present. It reads more like a journalistic piece than a novel, which I guess is more of what it is, being a memoir and non-fiction and all.

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May 12, 2009 Laurel rated it 5 of 5 stars

Beautifully written book. I found it all interesting, but was drawn most into Mila and Mervyn's courtship during the Cold War era. My memory of that time evolves around an image of Kruschev pounding a shoe on a table, fallout shelter plans, and school air raid drills. Those memories appear rather juvenile compared to the dark and disturbing events that drew Mila and Mervyn together and also kept them apart. It's incredibly romantic and filled with passion, not only between a man and a woman, but...more

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Nov 20, 2009 Jillian rated it 4 of 5 stars

Very informational, but I liked that he wasn't overly descriptive of the most horrible moments. I know they happened, but that doesn't mean I want to re-live it. He is detailed without making me miserable, which allowed me to learn more than I would have otherwise. Overall, a good look at what happened in Soviet Russia.

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Jul 27, 2011 Sparrow rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Really interesting memoir, I felt like it was a good introduction to soviet Russia. Not too much info and not too heavy, but enough to make you want to know more. The story is amazing and writing also very good. I liked his approach to the story, where he is not judgmental but presents the story for what it is.

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Jun 21, 2009 Pat rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is an interesting book since it really makes clear what happened to people during the 30s Stalinist purges in Russia and what it did to the psyche of the author's parents and grandparents - those who survived - and what the impact has been on the author and his generation as well.

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Dec 11, 2008 Cindy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Interesting view of two generations of Russians and their personal interactions with westerners without all the violence of most first hand accounts of interrogations. The section on moscow in the '90's is particularly telling

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Sep 26, 2009 Richilda rated it 4 of 5 stars

Outstanding! This memoir takes you right into the lives of people living during terrifying times in the Soviet Union. It also brings to light what a resilient family Owen Matthews came from. Beautifully written.

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Mar 04, 2009 Peggy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction

What we learned from "Animal Farm" really was true. "All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others." Greed eventually destroys any political system.

Owen Matthews is a great writer.

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Oct 21, 2009 Kl rated it 1 of 5 stars

I really wanted to like this book. The family's story was compelling. However, the author's style was difficult to handle. Memoirs/histories are best told in straight chronological order. It takes a special kind of author and tale to be able to handle a story that moves back and forth between time periods. This book would have been better served had the author told his family's story first and then, in the end, shifted to his experiences in Russia. Every time I really started to get into the sto...more

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