Inside Stalin's Kremlin

by Peter S. Deriabin

Book Overview

The odd bedfellows of the only known Stalin KGB bodyguard to have escaped the Soviet Union and a retired CIA officer elucidate Soviet power struggles of the Stalin era, and provide new details about... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1574881744
• ISBN13: 9781574881745
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: Potomac Books
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Gripping factual account that tackles the tough questions.

This is the memoir of a high ranking officer within the bodyguard administration of the Kremlin (Stalin's bodyguards). The author is the only know member of Stalin's bodyguards know to have escaped to the West. This book was published some 6 years after the author's death. The interworkings of the dark side within Stalin's Kremlin is detailed. The book mainly details the Stalin Beria relationship and the author's conclusions of how the ruthless Beria ultimately murdered Stalin. A very captivating and intriguing read, the book is filled with little known details of the Stalin era and fills in the gap where other books leave out. This book tackles the big issues-Stalin's death-by providing the knowledge learned by the author, who was there. Other works simply don't discuss this. As a memoir with an easy suspenseful read, history buffs must focus on the details throughout the work. The author does substantiate claims made. The author clearly shows how Stalin was losing his power and protection in the year prior to his death. Beria's behind the scene maneuverings and Stalin's own paranoia were responsible for much of the stripping of Stalin's protection. (The author even provides a list of those fired or executed during Stalin's last months in chapter 14.) Even on the pages of Pravda Stalin was reduced to Secretary from General Secretary-as Pravda had always printed-announcing that Stalin's position was weakening. It is these significant facts added to the author's own experiences that give new weight to Stalin's demise. As far as I am aware, other works have not mentioned this. Another example is the author's revelation that Stalin murdered his wife, and how he was almost removed as leader because of it. The author then reveals that Stalin ordered the executions of all the doctors who signed her death certificate (verified by other sources) to cover his tracks. That the gun used to kill her was Stalin's. It is these added details that give credence to the author's claims. He goes beyond other works. The author does not hesitate to address controversial areas. After reading the author's first book, The Secret World, first published in 1959, which is a complete autobiography of the author that details his extensive career in the KGB and the Communist Party, I understood the terror that Stalin spread through his reign. The author has written many books about Russia and has used his experience from within to share with his audience. A gripping account of great historic value. Highly recommended.

The Kremlin's Greatest Mystery

Contrary to Amy Knight's assertion in her book on Kirov, the Kremlin's greatest mystery is actually whether Stalin was assassinated and, if so, by whom and for what reason. Deriabin's version of Stalin's death, which is fascinating, has the ring of truth, mostly because his intriguing stories of service in the Soviet state-security bureaucracy are so clearly authentic.

Excellent snapshot of State Security/KGB culture

Deriabin presents a fascinating, easy-to-read account of topics that are usually quite messy: all the nastiness behind Kremlin walls 1947-1954, Stalin's slip from power, Beria's perilous ascent to power, Stalin's assassination, the details of The Doctor's Plot, and other lesser events. Best of all, perhaps, is the depiction of the organizational culture of Soviet/Russian State Security, and the detailed, sometimes surprising explanation of relationships inside the MGB and its offspring, the KGB.

A unique acount from a KGB insider who defected in 1954.

Peter Deriabin served in Naval SMERSH, the Guards Directorate and the Foreign Intelligence Directorate of the KGB in Moscow and Vienna. His story of the "Saboteur-Doctor's" , Kirov's death, Stalin's murder by Beria, Beria's removal, and the Sled-Chast [special investigative unit]reveals what those serving in Lubyanka at the time knew of these events as they occurred. His version of Stalin's murder has never been told in print before this book. While some of the stories told originate from close KGB friends, others are supported by various authors and news account cited in the end notes, and Deriabin's own experiences. Deriabin provides new information about KGB officers known to many. The chapters about his defection Vienna are well documented. Joseph Evans, an experienced CIA clandestine service officer, worked with Deriabin for years and finished the book after Deriabin's death. This is a remarkable contribution to the intelligence literature with many new details of the KGB as it functioned under Stalin.

Fasinating! It seemed like I was reading a novel.

This book is a fasinating and gripping story of high level political corruption and brutality. It reads better than fiction and is a fascinating look behind the scenes of what really goes on that the public doesn't know. I highly reccommend this book. If you want to read a novel don't, this book proves that fact is more gripping than fiction.