"...would be useful reading for those studying the regimes of Adolf Hitler, Francisco Franco, Fidel Castro, or Saddam Hussein."--Eric Duskin, Christopher Newport University "...a close-to-definitive reappraisal of the political history of late Soviet Stalinism, an accomplishment that had eluded so many scholars due to the lack of sufficient archival access...an exhaustively researched and lucidly written volume ."--Slavic Review "A book of impeccable scholarship, which deserves to be read by all serious students of modern Russian history and politics."--The Russian Review "Whereas earlier historians of this period have relied largely on newspaper articles, leaked reports and memoirs -- many colored to show Khrushchev, Stalin's eventual successor, in a positive light -- Gorlizki and Khlevniuk have trawled through piles of newly available Central Committee paperwork and personal correspondence to create an admirably objective and balanced account of Stalin's relationship with his ruling circle....For scholars seeking a hard-nosed analysis of high-level Soviet politics after the war, this book could hardly be bettered."--Moscow Times "The authors' impressive work with the archival sources makes for a convincing and gripping account of the dictator's final months and days....a book of impeccable scholarship, which deserves to be read by all serious students of modern Russian history and politics....It may attract comparison with those two splendid blockbusters, William Taubman's Khrushchev: The Man and His Era and Simon Sebag Montefiore's Stalin: The Court of the Red Star. While the scope of their research is narrower, Gorlizki and Khlevniuk display no less skill in creating this definitive monograph."--T.H. Rigby, Australian National University, Canberra

Following his country's victory over Nazi Germany, Joseph Stalin was widely hailed as a great wartime leader and international statesman. Unchallenged on the domestic front, he headed one of the most powerful nations in the world. Yet, in the period from the end of World War II until hisdeath, Stalin remained a man possessed by his fears. In order to reinforce his despotic rule in the face of old age and uncertain health, he habitually humiliated and terrorized members of his inner circle. He had their telephones bugged and even forced his deputy, Viacheslav Molotov, to betray hisown spouse as a token of his allegiance. Often dismissed as paranoid and irrational, Stalin's behavior followed a clear political logic, contend Yoram Gorlizki and Oleg Khlevniuk. Stalin's consistent and overriding goal after the war was to consolidate the Soviet Union's status as a superpower and, in the face of growing decrepitude, tomaintain his own hold as leader of that power. To that end, he fashioned a system of leadership that was at once patrimonial-repressive and quite modern. While maintaining informal relations based on personal loyalty at the apex of the system, in the postwar period Stalin also vested authority incommittees, elevated younger specialists, and initiated key institutional innovations with lasting consequences. Close scrutiny of Stalin's relationships with his most intimate colleagues also shows how, in the teeth of periodic persecution, Stalin's deputies cultivated informal norms and mutual understandings which provided the foundations for collective rule after his death. Based on newly released archivaldocuments, including personal correspondence, drafts of Central Committee paperwork, new memoirs, and interviews with former functionaries and the families of Politburo members, this book will appeal to all those interested in Soviet history, political history, and the lives of dictators.