The Kirov Affair

by Adam B. Ulam

As Politburo member Mikhail Kondratiev maneuvers toward the position of secretary general of the Soviet Union and power struggles unfold, he is increasingly tormented by the memory of Serge Kirov's assassination

Hardcover

First published May 1, 1988

About the author

Adam Bruno Ulam was a Polish-American historian and political scientist at Harvard University. Ulam was one of the world's foremost authorities on Russia and the Soviet Union, and the author of twenty books and many articles.

Reviews

[Scott Rauland · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing piece of historical fiction, tracing the rise of a Communist Party official from the Stalinist purges to the pinnacle of power as one Secretary General dies and a replacement is named.

The novel bounces back and forth from the death of Leningrad party boss Kirov in 1934 to the succession crisis in the 1980s. The historical fiction is quite good - no surprise, since the author is a leading expert on Stalin and Soviet history. The pure fiction of the 1980s succession crisis is less convincing, and the ending is disappointing.