Stalin: The Court Of The Red Tsar
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Review
The publicity for this has been fantastic and it is still selling like a train, currently no. 6 on THE SUNDAY TIMES & no. 1 on EVENING STANDARD bestseller lists. The following pieces have run: an interview with Simon and his wife Santa in VOGUE (July issue); an article on Stalin's women in the SUNDAY TIMES News Review (29 June); a piece on Stalin's houses in the DAILY TELEGRAPH(8 July); a piece on his research in THE FINANCIAL TIMES (5 July); a book digest in THE DAILY MAIL (8 July) and an article in BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE (August issue). The TV programme, STALIN: THE TERROR, which Simon was the historical consultant on was shown on BBC 2 25 July. The reviews have been amazing: 'This is an extraordinary book..... he has succeeded in bringing alive a group of characters who for too long have seemed too dull to merit much historical investigation, and provided a glimpse of what life was really like behind theKremlin walls.... for anyone fascinated by the nature of evil - and by the effects of absolute power on human relationships - this book will provide new insights on every page.'Anne Applebaum, THE EVENING STANDARD 'Montefiore's new material is important, because it allows for a far more rounded portrait ofStalin....... Montefiore provides rich detail of daily life and family relationships in a world of human values turned inside out.'Antony Beevor, THE SUNDAY TIMES 'his masterful and terrifying account of Stalin.... seldom has the picture been put in finer focus than by Sebag Montefiore. It is partly through his diligent interviews with the children of survivors and his admirable combination of history and gossip that one sees the awful banality, the brutal crudity of the men who carelessly sent so many millions to their senseless deaths'Alistair Horne, THE TIMES 'Grimly brilliant'Andrew Marr, THE DAILY TELEGRAPH 'This is a thoughtful book of first-class scholarship as well as transfixing narrative of a vast nation walking head-first into a meat-grinder........ anyone reading this book will feel profound gratitude to Montefiore for a fascinating investigative analysis of the pathology behind the greatest and most senseless sustained blood-letting in world history.'Andrew Roberts, THE DAILY TELEGRAPH 'this grim masterpiece'Antonia Fraser, THE MAIL ON SUNDAY 'Its extraordinary revelation of the evil - the complete amorality - at the heart of the dictator's court will change the way historians approach the great historical questoins about the Stalinist regime.Orlando Figes, THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 'Montefiore's superb book'Tim Abrahams, THE SUNDAY HERALD 'spectacular..... an impressive and compelling work'Philip Mansel, THE SPECTATOR 'Magisterial.... Sebag Montefiore's book is well-written; he evidently has a superb grasp of Russia'Lesley Chamberlain, THE INDEPENDENT 'Thanks to Simon Sebag Montefiore, there is no longer the slightest justification for thinking of Joseph Stalin as anything other than a moster'Roy Hattersley, THE OBSERVER 'Gripping and timely.... This is one of the few recent books on Stalinism that will be read in years to come.'Robert Service, THE GUARDIAN 'A riveting portrait of the man and his ruling circle.'Marc Lambert, THE SCOTSMAN 'An astonishingly good and important book.'Simon Heffer, COUNTRY LIFE 'this magnificent portrait of the dictator'Richard Overy, LIT REVIEW Simon was on THE TODAY PROGRAMME (BBC Radio 4) on 8 July, THE THE ARTS SHOW (BBC Radio Scotland) on 11 July, SUNDAY PROGRAMME (GMTV) on 13 July, THE MORNING SHOW (BBC Radio 5 Live) on 18 July, together with BBC RADIO BRISTOL and BBC RADIO LEICESTER. On Saturday 19 July he was on LOOSE ENDS (BBC Radio 4) on 23 July BBC BREAKFAST NEWS (BBC 1),27 July BREAKFAST WITH FROST (BBC 1) and their were lots of previews for theBBC programme. We had a great launch party on 8 July with numerous diary stories. Simon has done a number of excellent events and sti
Review
'John nettles reads this abridgement with total engagement, keeping the listener enthralled even during he horribly repetitive accounts of the murder of millions of Russians.' BBC History Magazine 'This account f the man who carried Lenin's death mask with him wherever her went, hanging it like an icon in a suitably conspicuous place lit by a candle, is more concerned with detail than dates, and for this reason is easier to digest than most historical biographies...This is not a book for the squeamish, but John Nettles's genial tones manage to keep it in the PG rather than the X-certificate rating.' Guardian 'The Narrator, John Nettles, successfukly combines gravitas with vigour, and the abridgement of the 800-page book also manages to give the sources of much of the riveting details from the wrtier's primary research.' Observer 'More compelling than any thriller, this award-winning biography is read with unflagging verve by John Nettles.' Irish Times 'For such a long audiobook, the reader is crucial, and the choice of John Nettles is excellent. His voice is constantly pleasing and allows the barely comprehensible evils of Stalin's imperial court to speak for themselves.' Oldie 'Simon Sebag Montefiore , acclaimed biographer of Catherine the Great's lover, prime minister and geberal, Potemkim, has unearthed the vast underpinning that sustained Stalin' OPTIONS X11
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First Sentence
Nadya and Stalin had been married for fourteen years but it extended deeper and longer than that, so steeped was their marriage in Bolshevism. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Nadya and Stalin had been married for fourteen years but it extended deeper and longer than that, so steeped was their marriage in Bolshevism. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
43 of 45 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I share many of the comments of previous reviewers. Yes, it is a daunting size, and shorn of maps, photographs and references the narrative is still nearly 600 pages. Yes, it is sometimes difficult to remember who is who among the various magnates. Yes, sometimes the writing style is a little strange. Having said that, it is really worth persevering with. By having made great efforts to obtain first hand evidence, either from the archives, or by interviewing those still alive, Montefiori gives a new perspective on the lives of those in Stalin's closest circle.
The book is not a history of the Soviet Union under Stalin, and the great issues faced by the nation during his reign are not dealt with in detail. That, however, is not the purpose of the book. Much has already been written of the Ukrainian famine, the destruction of the Kulaks, the Terror and Stalin as a war leader. The book concentrates on Stalin's court, a microcosm of the appalling brutality occurring on a wider scale in the nation. In this respect, at least it could be said that the soviet leaders shared the hardships of their subjects, living in constant fear of Stalin's mood swings, which could see them demoted, sent to the Gulag or executed. Nor did it stop with them. The families of the soviet magnates were equally liable to capricious destruction, and even children were imprisoned or killed.
They were able, however, to live in some splendour in the dachas and apartments of the former ruling class. This was true for Stalin, as it was for his underlings, and the book explodes the myth of his ascetic lifestyle.
The fascinating postscript for the book shows that even amongst those who suffered first hand from his cruelty, who were forced to divorce or be divorced from loving spouses, and be separated from children, and who saw on a daily basis the destruction of close friends and their families, there are still committed Stalinists. The importance of this book is that it leaves no doubt that Stalin was one of the great mass murderers of history. It should be standard reading in Russian schools to prevent a resurgence of admiration for a man every bit as evil as Hitler.
The book is not a history of the Soviet Union under Stalin, and the great issues faced by the nation during his reign are not dealt with in detail. That, however, is not the purpose of the book. Much has already been written of the Ukrainian famine, the destruction of the Kulaks, the Terror and Stalin as a war leader. The book concentrates on Stalin's court, a microcosm of the appalling brutality occurring on a wider scale in the nation. In this respect, at least it could be said that the soviet leaders shared the hardships of their subjects, living in constant fear of Stalin's mood swings, which could see them demoted, sent to the Gulag or executed. Nor did it stop with them. The families of the soviet magnates were equally liable to capricious destruction, and even children were imprisoned or killed.
They were able, however, to live in some splendour in the dachas and apartments of the former ruling class. This was true for Stalin, as it was for his underlings, and the book explodes the myth of his ascetic lifestyle.
The fascinating postscript for the book shows that even amongst those who suffered first hand from his cruelty, who were forced to divorce or be divorced from loving spouses, and be separated from children, and who saw on a daily basis the destruction of close friends and their families, there are still committed Stalinists. The importance of this book is that it leaves no doubt that Stalin was one of the great mass murderers of history. It should be standard reading in Russian schools to prevent a resurgence of admiration for a man every bit as evil as Hitler.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a fascinating and at times magisterial portrait of Stalin, and his court he held sway over through more than two decades of Russias most turbulent recent history.
Using a huge range of sources of both official and personal reminiscences, Sebag continues where he left off with Young Stalin. Sebag is intellectually honest enough not to attempt psychologically profiling this enigmatic and extraordinary human figure.
What emerges is a man of iron-willed determination to ascend to power in a time of immense social upheaval.
Stalin was hugely well read- an autodidact for life- with a library of 20,000 books This was the Dictator, Writer and Literary Critic. Humanising elements of his character are frequent throughout his life. Small acts of kindness and often spontaneous acts of generosity to his suffering citizens, coupled with a calculated determination to mercilessly exterminate his enemies. The destruction of Zinoviev and Kamenev is macabre high theatre. The build up to the Great Terror is facilitated by the calculating Political murder of Kirov, which acts as a trigger for a wide ranging annihilation of Political opponents.
What emerges from the portrayal of the Kremlin, is an incestuous tight knit group of radicals, whose qualities were extraordinary and often seemingly incongruent. Loving family men, loyal friends, and yet as political animals and government officials, sadistic, perverted and utterly ruthless.
The state stage emerges as an experience through which its leaders would emerge warped beyond all human recognition, slaughtering as they did millions of their own citizens.
Danger was ever present at the court, which full of intrigue, Sebag chronicles pacily and with lucidity, such that survival for most of the principle characters was inordinately difficult. Indeed most of the original Politburo were purged.
These were men who spent months virtually sleepless, drank ferociously, were afflicted with illness and ever likely to be sucked into the destructive maelstrom of the regimes gaping maw they had created.
This book gives a fascinating behind the scenes look of many of these relationships, the characters and attributes of this sizeable body of men who bludgeoned and brutalised Russia into industrial modernity.
Stalin emerges as an immensely complex and exceptional figure of genius in many of his attributes. His political machinating is considered carefully, with his excellent insights in human behaviour making him the undoubted supremo.
Under this blanket term of dictator, tyrant or despot, Sebag has uncovered a living breathing suffering man. Cruel, ruthless and cold, yet also charming, talented and with elements of genius.
This book deserves deserves its place on the shelf of anyone seeking insights into the minds and mentalities of these key Soviet figures. Sebag with a light touch allows the story to speak for itself, without prejudice or undue authorial interference.
Using a huge range of sources of both official and personal reminiscences, Sebag continues where he left off with Young Stalin. Sebag is intellectually honest enough not to attempt psychologically profiling this enigmatic and extraordinary human figure.
What emerges is a man of iron-willed determination to ascend to power in a time of immense social upheaval.
Stalin was hugely well read- an autodidact for life- with a library of 20,000 books This was the Dictator, Writer and Literary Critic. Humanising elements of his character are frequent throughout his life. Small acts of kindness and often spontaneous acts of generosity to his suffering citizens, coupled with a calculated determination to mercilessly exterminate his enemies. The destruction of Zinoviev and Kamenev is macabre high theatre. The build up to the Great Terror is facilitated by the calculating Political murder of Kirov, which acts as a trigger for a wide ranging annihilation of Political opponents.
What emerges from the portrayal of the Kremlin, is an incestuous tight knit group of radicals, whose qualities were extraordinary and often seemingly incongruent. Loving family men, loyal friends, and yet as political animals and government officials, sadistic, perverted and utterly ruthless.
The state stage emerges as an experience through which its leaders would emerge warped beyond all human recognition, slaughtering as they did millions of their own citizens.
Danger was ever present at the court, which full of intrigue, Sebag chronicles pacily and with lucidity, such that survival for most of the principle characters was inordinately difficult. Indeed most of the original Politburo were purged.
These were men who spent months virtually sleepless, drank ferociously, were afflicted with illness and ever likely to be sucked into the destructive maelstrom of the regimes gaping maw they had created.
This book gives a fascinating behind the scenes look of many of these relationships, the characters and attributes of this sizeable body of men who bludgeoned and brutalised Russia into industrial modernity.
Stalin emerges as an immensely complex and exceptional figure of genius in many of his attributes. His political machinating is considered carefully, with his excellent insights in human behaviour making him the undoubted supremo.
Under this blanket term of dictator, tyrant or despot, Sebag has uncovered a living breathing suffering man. Cruel, ruthless and cold, yet also charming, talented and with elements of genius.
This book deserves deserves its place on the shelf of anyone seeking insights into the minds and mentalities of these key Soviet figures. Sebag with a light touch allows the story to speak for itself, without prejudice or undue authorial interference.
50 of 55 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book is both a confirmation and a revelation as it looks into the politics and intrigue at the court of the Red Tsar. Stalin is shown to be the paranoid, manipulative, tyrannical ideologue history has portrayed him as and additionally it is revealed how through cunning and political mastery this blood stained fanatic manages to get hold of and retain an ever increasing grip on power. We are also told the stories of the various toadies and their families who danced with the devil as they jousted for influence, prestige and survival. The courtiers in this bleak drama are nearly as evil and ruthless as their master or else simultaneously revering of and intimidated by him. The pulsating core spreading the poison is Stalin himself as he proceeds to kill all his enemies, real or imagined, and it has to be remembered that all the friends and acquaintances he sent to the torture chambers and death were merely the top of a pyramid of millions. Like Hitler, the man is driven by the logic of his delusions and he probably managed to kill more people. The fawning sycophants both encourage and act upon his malicious instructions as they denounce and threaten each other with levels of menace apportioned to their current state of favour with the tyrant. Such favouritism was usually short lived after which it was a battle for survival that was rarely won. As this jostling went on in the bear pit these cold-hearted bureaucrats were enacting the cruel, pitiless will of Stalin on the long suffering population of the Soviet Union.
There are many tales about the monstrous Yeshov and the chilling Beria, who was not a committed communist at all, and how unrestrained they could indulge in their sadism and depravities. Both came to bad ends. The story of Molotov is told and how his wife was exiled by Stalin and then re-united with her husband after the dictator's death. Molotov and his wife only survived because of Stalin's demise. Kruschev is another court crony who is far from unblemished. There are many insights into how these bureaucratic murderers were often kind and tender to their wives and children, yet so desperate when out of favour with the leader that they would betray their families, sometimes, in a supreme irony, in order to save them but always to try and save themselves. The book teems with anecdotes revealing the reactions of the courtiers when caught in Stalin's glare of hate.
The author does a commendable job at emphasising the dangers of tyrannical power and ideological fanaticism. He shows how the power and weakness of human nature in all its blood feasting lust and incredible displays of kindness and sympathy always prevails against ideology, both thwarting it and diminishing it. This beautifully written work is an excellent example of the many historical analyses that show how ideologues can only enforce their narrow, bigoted promises of some false nirvana through force and terror. It also shows how lunatics and evil come to power on the back of apologists, ideological sympathisers, cynical careerists and people who look the other way until the dark forces gain an unstoppable momentum that can usually only be ended by the death of the tyrants or war, often at the cost of the lives of millions of innocents.
The last chapter, simply a postscript, is surprising as it relates the attitudes of courtiers who survived and their descendants to the homicidal dictator. It is amazing to think that some of these sad victims can still make excuses for one of mankind's biggest killers. This has many parallels with the woolly, muddled and blind opinions we can still hear today in defence of vicious murdering tyrants. Stalin's useful fools indeed. The book is impeccably researched and the sources include living descendants of the players in the nightmare, Russian archives and other letters, documents and histories. The last 100 or so pages attribute these sources. It is very hard to fault this book but perhaps the editing is a little loose in places and some of the content could have been a bit tauter but apart from these extremely minor criticisms the book can be recommended wholeheartedly.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Stalin: the court of the red Tsar
At almost 700 pages, 'Stalin: the court of the red Tsar' is the culmination of years of research on the part of the author, Simon Sebag Montefiore. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Carroty Nell
Towering
This isn't just a great biography of Stalin, it is one of THE great political biographies. The man is revealed in all his grandiose and evil brilliance, and the surreal and... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Yaz
Superb book. Dreadful people.
Absolutely riveting, I couldn't put this book down. Monumental research has delivered a chronicle of unprecedented paranoia and brutality. Read more
Published 10 months ago by K. Gray
John Nettles is an excellent teacher!
I have to admit to only purchasing this audiobook as I love listening to anything narrated by John Nettles. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Claire Steed
Hard to read
Hard because of the relentless, bloody murder and sprawling evil of stalin's regime. You think it must surely get better, but page after page of murder and torture follow. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Stuart Fairney
The court of an almost surreal kingdom
In this long and entertaining book, British author Simon Sebbag Montefiore tells the story of Stalin from the moment that his second wife Nadezhda Alliluyeva committed suicide in... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Andres C. Salama
cracking book
A step inside the Kremlin, where the personality clashes come to life on the page, usually ending in the deaths of those who disagreed with Mr Stalin. A great book !!
Published 19 months ago by t j
Turning Stalinist monsters into rounded human beings
A difficult but rewarding read, this book draws upon a stupendous amount of material, much of it then newly released from Russian archives, to produce what feels like the... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Paul Durman
The Devil Is A Communist...
A superlative biography of Stalin. I must have read dozens of books about Stalin himself, let alone Soviet history of the 1917-1989 period (the latter date being the true date of... Read more
Published on 27 May 2010 by Ian Millard
Humanising inhumanity
Montefiore's excellent work "Stalin: Court of the Red Tsar" manages to humanise both the Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, whose murderous totalitarian reign loomed over the 20th... Read more
Published on 24 April 2010 by Craig Manton
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