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Beria's Death: Unraveling the Mystery Surrounding Lavrentiy Beria's Execution
The chilling execution of Lavrentiy Beria, Stalin's feared chief of the NKVD (People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs), remains one of the most debated and shrouded events in 20th-century history. His sudden downfall and brutal death, far from being a straightforward affair, involved a complex web of political maneuvering, personal vendettas, and the chilling power struggles that defined the twilight years of Stalin's reign. This in-depth article delves into the circumstances surrounding Beria's demise, examining the key players, the conflicting accounts, and the enduring legacy of his controversial life and abrupt end. We'll explore the events leading up to his arrest, the chaotic trial, and the ultimate execution, shedding light on the unanswered questions that continue to fuel speculation even today. Prepare to uncover the chilling truth behind Beria's death.
The Rise and Fall of Lavrentiy Beria: A Path to Power and Peril
Lavrentiy Beria, a Georgian Bolshevik, rose through the ranks of the Soviet Union's security apparatus with ruthless efficiency. His expertise in espionage and his unwavering loyalty to Stalin secured him a position of immense power as head of the NKVD, controlling the vast network of secret police and overseeing the Great Purge, a period of mass repression and executions that decimated the Soviet population. His influence extended far beyond the NKVD; he played a significant role in Soviet industrial development and military strategy. However, this immense power also made him a target. As Stalin's health deteriorated, the jockeying for position intensified, and Beria, with his ambition and ruthlessness, found himself increasingly isolated and vulnerable. The seeds of his downfall were sown within the very system he had helped create.
The Conspiracy and Arrest: A Coup D'état in the Kremlin
Beria's arrest on June 26, 1953, was not a solitary event but rather the culmination of a meticulously planned coup orchestrated by a powerful coalition of his rivals within the Politburo. These rivals, including Georgy Malenkov, Nikita Khrushchev, and Lazar Kaganovich, saw Beria's immense power as a threat to their own ambitions. They exploited Stalin's death to consolidate their power and eliminate Beria, painting him as a dangerous traitor and an obstacle to the stability of the Soviet state. The arrest itself was swift and brutal, carried out by a specially selected group of military and security officials. The speed and decisiveness of the operation underscore the extent of the conspiracy and the determination of his enemies.
The Show Trial and Summary Execution: A Farce of Justice
The trial of Lavrentiy Beria was a sham, a blatant display of political expediency rather than a genuine pursuit of justice. He was accused of treason, espionage, and various other heinous crimes, with little to no evidence presented. The proceedings were rushed, devoid of due process, and characterized by coercion and intimidation. Beria, a master manipulator and skilled interrogator himself, was utterly helpless against the overwhelming power of his accusers. The pre-determined verdict was a foregone conclusion; his execution was swift and brutal, carried out on December 23, 1953, by a firing squad in the Kremlin. The haste with which the entire process unfolded further reinforces the perception that it was a calculated political maneuver designed to eliminate a powerful rival.
The Legacy of Beria's Death: Unanswered Questions and Enduring Speculation
The death of Lavrentiy Beria remains a subject of intense debate and speculation. Many questions remain unanswered. The true extent of his involvement in various crimes remains contested, while the motivations and machinations of his rivals continue to fuel historical analysis. The absence of a transparent and fair trial casts a long shadow on the event, leaving room for alternative interpretations and conspiracy theories. Beria's legacy is complex and multifaceted, reflecting both his significant contributions to Soviet industrialization and his brutal role in the repression of millions. His death, however, served as a stark reminder of the precarious nature of power within the Soviet system and the ruthless methods employed to secure and maintain it.
The Enduring Mystery: Unraveling the Truth
The story of Beria's death isn't just a historical account; it's a gripping narrative of betrayal, ambition, and the chilling consequences of unchecked power. The lack of a transparent investigation and the conflicting accounts surrounding the event only serve to heighten the intrigue and fuel ongoing discussions among historians and researchers. While the official narrative portrays Beria as a villain who deserved his fate, a deeper examination reveals the complexities of the political climate and the motivations of those who orchestrated his downfall.
Article Outline: Beria's Death
Introduction: Hooking the reader with the mystery surrounding Beria's death and outlining the article's scope.
Chapter 1: The Rise and Fall of Lavrentiy Beria: Exploring Beria's career, his ascent to power, and the factors that led to his downfall.
Chapter 2: The Conspiracy and Arrest: Detailing the events leading up to Beria's arrest, identifying the key players, and analyzing the political machinations involved.
Chapter 3: The Show Trial and Summary Execution: Examining the flawed legal process, the accusations against Beria, and the circumstances surrounding his execution.
Chapter 4: The Legacy of Beria's Death: Discussing the enduring impact of Beria's death on Soviet history and exploring the unanswered questions that persist.
Conclusion: Summarizing the key takeaways and emphasizing the enduring mystery surrounding Beria's demise.
(Detailed Explanation of each point in the outline is provided above in the main article body.)
FAQs
1. Who ordered Beria's execution? While officially sanctioned by the Politburo, the exact individuals who initiated and spearheaded the plot remain a subject of debate amongst historians. Khrushchev is often cited as a key figure.
2. What were the charges against Beria? He was accused of treason, espionage, plotting a coup, and various crimes against the state, though the evidence presented was highly questionable.
3. Was Beria's trial fair? No, the trial was a show trial, lacking due process and fairness. It served primarily as a means to eliminate a political rival.
4. How was Beria executed? He was executed by firing squad in the Kremlin.
5. What is the significance of Beria's death in Soviet history? It marks a pivotal moment in the post-Stalin power struggle and highlights the brutal methods used to consolidate power within the Soviet system.
6. What role did Stalin's death play in Beria's downfall? Stalin's death created a power vacuum, allowing Beria's rivals to act decisively against him before he could consolidate his power further.
7. Are there any conspiracy theories surrounding Beria's death? Yes, various theories exist, questioning the official narrative and suggesting different motives and players involved.
8. What is Beria's lasting legacy? His legacy is complex, encompassing both his immense contributions to the Soviet state (particularly in industry and technology) and his brutal role in the Great Terror.
9. Where can I find more information about Beria's life and death? Numerous books and scholarly articles explore his life, career, and demise. Academic databases and libraries offer access to these resources.
Related Articles:
1. The Great Purge: Stalin's Reign of Terror: An examination of the widespread repression and executions during Stalin's era, highlighting Beria's key role.
2. Stalin's Death and the Power Struggle: An analysis of the events following Stalin's death and the subsequent power struggle amongst his successors.
3. Nikita Khrushchev's Rise to Power: A look at Khrushchev's trajectory to become the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, including his role in Beria's downfall.
4. The NKVD and the Soviet Secret Police: An exploration of the history and operations of the Soviet secret police, emphasizing Beria's leadership.
5. The Georgian Roots of Soviet Power: Examining the influence of Georgian politicians in the Soviet system, including Beria's background and career.
6. The Post-Stalin Era in the Soviet Union: An overview of the political and social changes following Stalin's death.
7. Show Trials in the Soviet Union: A study of the use of show trials as a tool of political repression during the Stalinist era.
8. The Cold War and Soviet Espionage: A look at the role of Soviet espionage during the Cold War and the impact of the NKVD.
9. The Legacy of Stalinism: A comprehensive analysis of Stalin's rule and its lasting effects on the Soviet Union and the world.
| berias death: The Beria (Rai Dancers) Arun K. Jain, A. N. Sharma, 2006 Fieldwork Conducted Among The Berias Of Loohari (Hawla) Gram Panchayat Of Rahatgarh Block Of Sagar District Of Madhya Pradesh, India. Most Of The Women Of This Community Are Traditionally Involved In Prostitution And Rai Dance. Beria Women, Known As Berani, Are The Village Dancing Girls Are Employed To Give Performance In Could Weather Especially At The Holi Festival And Other Occasions Like Marriage, Etc. Where They Dance The Whole Night Through, Fortified By Continuous Of Liquor. This Dance Is Called Rai , Accompanied By Most Obscene Songs And Gestures.The Present Study Is Conducted Among The Beria Women, Who Engaged In Prostitution. The Objective Of The Study Is To Assess The Reproductive And Child Health Care Practices Among The Berias, Loohai (Hawla) Gram Panchayat Of Rahatgarh. The Authors Highlight The Socio-Demographic, Reproductive And Child Health Care Practices, Source Of Income And Living Standard, Problems And Solutions Of Prostitution, Environmental Sanitation, Sanitary Habits And Personal Hygiene, Fertility Aspects, Morbidity And Mortality, Indigenous Health Practices, Antenatal Care And Delivery Health Practices, Dietary Habits, Feeding Practices And Child Immunization, Utilization Of Health And Family Welfare Services, Etc. The Book Contains Fifteen Chapters; In Which Approximate Twelve Different Aspects Of Berias Life Have Been Covered. In View Of Its Multidisciplinary Nature, The Book Is Unique, Would Be Of Immense Help And Use To General Readers, Academicians, Socio-Cultural Anthropologists, Medical Anthropologists And Researchers. |
| berias death: Beria Amy Knight, 1993 This is the biography of Lavrentii Beria, Stalin's notorious police chief and for many years his most powerful lieutenant. Beria has long symbolized the evils of Stalinism, yet because his political opponents removed his name from public memory after his execution in 1953, little is known of him. |
| berias death: Bloodlands Timothy Snyder, 2012-10-02 From the author of the international bestseller On Tyranny, the definitive history of Hitler’s and Stalin’s politics of mass killing, explaining why Ukraine has been at the center of Western history for the last century. Americans call the Second World War “the Good War.” But before it even began, America’s ally Stalin had killed millions of his own citizens—and kept killing them during and after the war. Before Hitler was defeated, he had murdered six million Jews and nearly as many other Europeans. At war’s end, German and Soviet killing sites fell behind the Iron Curtain, leaving the history of mass killing in darkness. Assiduously researched, deeply humane, and utterly definitive, Bloodlands is a new kind of European history, presenting the mass murders committed by the Nazi and Stalinist regimes as two aspects of a single story. With a new afterword addressing the relevance of these events to the contemporary decline of democracy, Bloodlands is required reading for anyone seeking to understand the central tragedy of modern history and its meaning today. |
| berias death: The Beria Papers Alan Williams, 1977 |
| berias death: Beria Amy Knight, 2020-06-16 This is the first comprehensive biography of Lavrentii Beria, Stalin's notorious police chief and for many years his most powerful lieutenant. Beria has long symbolized all the evils of Stalinism, haunting the public imagination both in the West and in the former Soviet Union. Yet because his political opponents expunged his name from public memory after his dramatic arrest and execution in 1953, little has been previously published about his long and tumultuous career. |
| berias death: Beria, My Father Sergo Beria, 2003 This book is a memoir of the daily life of two men from Georgia--Stalin and Beria--who sent millions to their graves. |
| berias death: The Mysteries of the Caucasus Dorota Gierycz, 2010-09-23 The author, a former senior United Nations official stationed in Sukhumi and Tbilisi, tells the stories of people in Abkhazia and Georgia proper, intertwined with astute and timely analysis of the political events that have shaped the small Caucasus nation in the years since she gained her independencefrom the rise and fall of Shevardnadze, the hero of perestroika and the Wests favourite democrat, to the era of Saakashvili, the proclaimed beacon of democracy, increasingly authoritarian and challenged by a discontented public. The analysis is also anchored in Georgias history and collective memory, indelibly marked by the lasting impact of the brutal rule of Stalin and Beria and the ever-present shadow and interference of Russia. |
| berias death: Stalin and His Hangmen Donald Rayfield, 2007-12-18 Stalin did not act alone. The mass executions, the mock trials, the betrayals and purges, the jailings and secret torture that ravaged the Soviet Union during the three decades of Stalin’s dictatorship, were the result of a tight network of trusted henchmen (and women), spies, psychopaths, and thugs. At the top of this pyramid of terror sat five indispensable hangmen who presided over the various incarnations of Stalin’s secret police. Now, in his harrowing new book, Donald Rayfield probes the lives, the minds, the twisted careers, and the unpunished crimes of Stalin’s loyal assassins. Founded by Feliks Dzierzynski, the Cheka–the Extraordinary Commission–came to life in the first years of the Russian Revolution. Spreading fear in a time of chaos, the Cheka proved a perfect instrument for Stalin’s ruthless consolidation of power. But brutal as it was, the Cheka under Dzierzynski was amateurish compared to the well-oiled killing machines that succeeded it. Genrikh Iagoda’s OGPU specialized in political assassination, propaganda, and the manipulation of foreign intellectuals. Later, the NKVD recruited a new generation of torturers. Starting in 1938, terror mastermind Lavrenti Beria brought violent repression to a new height of ingenuity and sadism. As Rayfield shows, Stalin and his henchmen worked relentlessly to coerce and suborn leading Soviet intellectuals, artists, writers, lawyers, and scientists. Maxim Gorky, Aleksandr Fadeev, Alexei Tolstoi, Isaak Babel, and Osip Mandelstam were all caught in Stalin’s web–courted, toyed with, betrayed, and then ruthlessly destroyed. In bringing to light the careers, personalities, relationships, and “accomplishments” of Stalin’s key henchmen and their most prominent victims, Rayfield creates a chilling drama of the intersection of political fanaticism, personal vulnerability, and blind lust for power spanning half a century. Though Beria lost his power–and his life–after Stalin’s death in 1953, the fundamental methods of the hangmen maintained their grip into the second half of the twentieth century. Indeed, Rayfield argues, the tradition of terror, far from disappearing, has emerged with renewed vitality under Vladimir Putin. Written with grace, passion, and a dazzling command of the intricacies of Soviet politics and society, Stalin and the Hangmen is a devastating indictment of the individuals and ideology that kept Stalin in power. |
| berias death: Titans of History Simon Sebag Montefiore, 2017-09-14 NEW EDITION - FEATURING UPDATED INTRODUCTION AND NEW CHAPTERS The giant characters of history - from Mozart to Michelangelo, Shakespeare to Einstein, Henry VIII to Hitler, Catherine the Great to Margaret Thatcher, Jesus Christ to Genghis Khan - lived lives of astonishing drama and adventure, debauchery and slaughter, but they also formed our world and will shape our future. In this eclectic and surprising collection of short and entertaining life stories, Simon Sebag Montefiore introduces his choice of kings, empresses, sultans and conquerors, as well as prophets, explorers, artists, actresses, courtesans and psychopaths. From the ancient times, via crusades and world wars, up to the 21st century, this accessible history introduces readers to the titans who changed the world: the characters we should all know, and the stories we should never forget. |
| berias death: The genuine and complete works Flavius Josephus, 1800 |
| berias death: Translations on International Communist Developments , 1964 |
| berias death: Dissertations Upon the Principles and Arrangement of an Harmony of the Gospels Edward Greswell, 1837 |
| berias death: The Bomb Gerard J. De Groot, 2005 Bombs are as old as hatred itself. But it was the twentieth century--one hundred years of incredible scientific progress and terrible war--that brought forth the Big One, the Bomb, humanity's most powerful and destructive invention. In The Bomb: A Life, Gerard DeGroot tells the story of this once unimaginable weapon that--at least since 8:16 a.m. on August 6, 1945--has haunted our dreams and threatened our existence. The Bomb has killed hundreds of thousands outright, condemned many more to lingering deaths, and made vast tracts of land unfit for life. For decades it dominated the psyches of millions, becoming a touchstone of popular culture, celebrated or decried in mass political movements, films, songs, and books. DeGroot traces the life of the Bomb from its birth in turn-of-the-century physics labs of Europe to a childhood in the New Mexico desert of the 1940s, from adolescence and early adulthood in Nagasaki and Bikini, Australia and Kazakhstan to maturity in test sites and missile silos around the globe. His book portrays the Bomb's short but significant existence in all its scope, providing us with a portrait of the times and the people--from Oppenheimer to Sakharov, Stalin to Reagan--whose legacy still shapes our world. |
| berias death: Khrushchev Lied Grover Furr, 2011 Khrushchev Lied: The Evidence That Every “Revelation” of Stalin’s (and Beria’s) “Crimes” in Nikita Khrushchev’s Infamous “Secret Speech” to the 20th Party Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union on February 25, 1956, is Provably False / Grover C. Furr; translations by Grover C. Furr |
| berias death: Dissertations upon the principles and arrangement of a harmony of the Gospels. 3 vols. [and] Suppl. dissertations. 4 vols [in 5 ]. Edward Greswell, 1837 |
| berias death: The Ghost of Freedom Charles King, 2008-02-11 The Caucasus mountains rise at the intersection of Europe, Russia, and the Middle East. A land of astonishing natural beauty and a dizzying array of ancient cultures, the Caucasus for most of the twentieth century lay inside the Soviet Union, before movements of national liberation created newly independent countries and sparked the devastating war in Chechnya. Combining riveting storytelling with insightful analysis, The Ghost of Freedom is the first general history of the modern Caucasus, stretching from the beginning of Russian imperial expansion up to the rise of new countries after the Soviet Union's collapse. In evocative and accessible prose, Charles King reveals how tsars, highlanders, revolutionaries, and adventurers have contributed to the fascinating history of this borderland, providing an indispensable guide to the complicated histories, politics, and cultures of this intriguing frontier. Based on new research in multiple languages, the book shows how the struggle for freedom in the mountains, hills, and plains of the Caucasus has been a perennial theme over the last two hundred years--a struggle which has led to liberation as well as to new forms of captivity. The book sheds valuable light on the origins of modern disputes, including the ongoing war in Chechnya, conflicts in Georgia and Azerbaijan, and debates over oil from the Caspian Sea and its impact on world markets. Ranging from the salons of Russian writers to the circus sideshows of America, from the offices of European diplomats to the villages of Muslim mountaineers, The Ghost of Freedom paints a rich portrait of one of the world's most turbulent and least understood regions. |
| berias death: The Death of Stalin Fabien Nury, 2018-03-06 The graphic novel which inspired the hotly tipped and highly controversial new movie directed by Armando Iannucci, due in theatres in March, and starring a host of high profile actors, including Michael Palin, Steve Buscemi and Jason Isaacs. Fear, corruption and treachery abound in this political satire set in the aftermath of Stalin's death in the Soviet Union in 1953. When the leader of the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin, has a stroke - the political gears begin to turn, plunging the super-state into darkness, uncertainty and near civil war. The struggle for supreme power will determine the fate of the nation and of the world. And it all really happened. |
| berias death: Problems of Communism , 1955 |
| berias death: The Wolf of the Kremlin Stuart Kahan, 1989 |
| berias death: The Jewish Encyclopedia Isidore Singer, Cyrus Adler, 1901 V.I:Aach-Apocalyptic lit.--V.2: Apocrypha-Benash--V.3:Bencemero-Chazanuth--V.4:Chazars-Dreyfus--V.5: Dreyfus-Brisac-Goat--V.6: God-Istria--V.7:Italy-Leon--V.8:Leon-Moravia--V.9:Morawczyk-Philippson--V.10:Philippson-Samoscz--V.11:Samson-Talmid--V.12: Talmud-Zweifel. |
| berias death: Man in India Sarat Chandra Roy (Rai Bahadur), 2006 |
| berias death: A Lexicon of Medieval Nordic Law Jeffrey Love, Inger Larsson, Djärv Ulrika, 2020-06-10 |
| berias death: A Vindication of the Defence of Christianity from the Prophecies of the Old Testament Edward Chandler (Ld. Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield), 1728 |
| berias death: Stalin's Last Crime Jonathan Brent, Vladimir Naumov, 2010-06-15 A new investigation, based on previously unseen KGB documents, reveals the startling truth behind Stalin's last great conspiracy. On January 13, 1953, a stunned world learned that a vast conspiracy had been unmasked among Jewish doctors in the USSR to murder Kremlin leaders. Mass arrests quickly followed. The Doctors' Plot, as this alleged scheme came to be called, was Stalin's last crime. In the fifty years since Stalin's death many myths have grown up about the Doctors' Plot. Did Stalin himself invent the conspiracy against the Jewish doctors or was it engineered by subordinates who wished to eliminate Kremlin rivals? Did Stalin intend a purge of all Jews from Moscow, Leningrad, and other major cities, which might lead to a Soviet Holocaust? How was this plot related to the cold war then dividing Europe, and the hot war in Korea? Finally, was the Doctors' Plot connected with Stalin's fortuitous death? Brent and Naumov have explored an astounding arra of previously unknown, top-secret documents from the KGB, the presidential archives, and other state and party archives in order to probe the mechanism of on of Stalin's greatest intrigues -- and to tell for the first time the incredible full story of the Doctors' Plot. |
| berias death: On Stalin's Team Sheila Fitzpatrick, 2015-09-15 The first chronicle of Stalin's inner political and social circle—from a leading Soviet historian Stalin was the unchallenged dictator of the Soviet Union for so long that most historians have dismissed the officials surrounding him as mere yes-men and political window dressing. On Stalin's Team overturns this view, revealing that behind Stalin was a group of loyal men who formed a remarkably effective team with him from the late 1920s until his death in 1953. Drawing on extensive original research, Sheila Fitzpatrick provides the first in-depth account of this inner circle and their families. She vividly describes how these dedicated comrades-in-arms not only worked closely with Stalin, but also constituted his social circle. Stalin's team included the wily security chief Beria; Andreev, who traveled to provincial purges while listening to Beethoven on a portable gramophone; and Khrushchev, who finally disbanded the team four years after Stalin's death. Taking readers from the cataclysms of the Great Purges and World War II to the paranoia of Stalin's final years, On Stalin's Team paints an entirely new picture of Stalin within his milieu—one that transforms our understanding of how the Soviet Union was ruled during much of its existence. |
| berias death: The Life and Words of Chris John Cunningham Geikie, 1891 |
| berias death: Irrationality Justin E. H. Smith, 2020-12-08 What every leader needs to know about dignity and how to create a culture in which everyone thrives. This landmark book from an expert in dignity studies explores the essential but under-recognized role of dignity as part of good leadership. Extending the reach of her award-winning book Dignity: Its Essential Role in Resolving Conflict, Donna Hicks now contributes a specific, practical guide to achieving a culture of dignity. Most people know very little about dignity, the author has found, and when leaders fail to respect the dignity of others, conflict and distrust ensue. She highlights three components of leading with dignity: what one must know in order to honor dignity and avoid violating it; what one must do to lead with dignity; and how one can create a culture of dignity in any organization, whether corporate, religious, governmental, healthcare, or beyond. Brimming with key research findings, real-life case studies, and workable recommendations, this book fills an important gap in our understanding of how best to be together in a conflict-ridden world.-- |
| berias death: and 2 Cunningham Geikie, 1883 |
| berias death: The National Encyclopaedia of Business and Social Forms, Embracing the Laws of Etiquette and Good Society ... James D. McCabe, 1879 |
| berias death: Introduction to the Talmud Moses Mielziner, Joshua Bloch, 1925 |
| berias death: The Works of Josephus Flavius Josephus, 1870 |
| berias death: Destination Europe Kjell M. Torbiörn, 2003 Destination Europe interprets and interrelates the major political, economic and security developments in Europe--including transatlantic relations--from the end of World War II up until the present time, and looks ahead to how the continent may evolve politically in the future. The book fills a definite lacuna in the current literature on Europe, as most studies cover only specific aspects, such as the European Union. Destination Europe, by contrast, weaves all the different strands of European events together into a single overall and up-to-date picture and gives the reader a deeper understanding of the continent and its current and future challenges. |
| berias death: The life & words of Christ John Cunningham Geikie, 1883 |
| berias death: Guide to the Oracles Alfred Nevin, 1858 |
| berias death: Discourses on the Four Gospels, chiefly with regard to the peculiar design of each, and the order and places in which they were written. To which is added an Inquiry concerning the Hours of St. John Thomas TOWNSON, 1778 |
| berias death: The Katyn Massacre 1940 Thomas Urban, 2022-07-31 In the spring of 1940, Stalin‘s NKVD executed 22,000 Polish officers, ensigns and state officials near the Russian village of Katyn and other places. When Wehrmacht soldiers discovered some of the graves three years later, the Soviets succeeded in convincing US President Roosevelt of the German perpetration. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill had no clear picture of the crime, and therefore made no public comments. Using thousands of recently released US documents, this book refutes the popular thesis that the Western Allies deliberately lied about the Katyn case in order not to endanger the alliance with Stalin. As well as consulting Polish and Russian documentation on this war crime, for the first time, the diaries of the Nazi Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels, who wrote a great deal about Katyn, have been examined. Completely new for research is the role that Hitler's opponents in the Wehrmacht played in solving the crime: at the Nuremberg trial they convinced the US delegation that the executors were not from the SS, but from the NKVD. Nevertheless, it took until 1990 for Kremlin chief Gorbachev to admit Soviet responsibility. Today in Putin's Russia, however, there is a tendency once more to keep quiet about the crime or even to blame the Germans. |
| berias death: Stalin Robert Service, 2008-09-04 Drawing on a wealth of unexplored material - available for the first time since the collapse of the former Soviet Union - Robert Service's biography of Stalin is the most authoritative yet published. It concentrates not simply on Stalin as dedicated bureaucrat or serial political killer, but on a fuller assessment of his formative interactions in Georgia, his youthful revolutionary activism, his relationship with Lenin, with his family, and with his party members. 'This is effectively the first full biography since perestroika to encompass the economic, political, diplomatic, military, administrative and, above all, ideological dimensions, as well as the personal aspects of Stalin's colossal life . . . Gritty and unshowy, but enlightened by Service's compelling characterisation, magisterial analysis and dry wit, this outstanding biography of lightly worn authority, wide research and superb intuition will be read for decades' Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of STALIN: The Court of the Red Tsar Sunday Times |
| berias death: Harper's New Monthly Magazine , 1860 |
| berias death: Stalin's Loyal Executioner Marc Jansen, Nikita Petrov, 2013-11-01 Stalin's Loyal Executioner, drawn from still-classified Soviet archives, chronicles the meteoric and bloody career of Nikolai Ezhov, NKVD leader and security chief, revealing the tragic scope of communist terrorism under Joseph Stalin. |
| berias death: The Millennial Harbinger ... , 1857 |
