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[THE MYSTERY OF STALIN’S DEATH - BANNED] Zagadka smerti Stalina: (Zagovor Beriya) [i.e. The Mystery of Stalin’s Death: (Beria’s Conspiracy]

Avtorkhanov, A.

Item #2019

Moscow: Posev, 1976. 168 leaves (text printed on one side). 30.5x20.6 cm. In owner’s cardboards. Original carbon copy typescript. Loss of the spine, occasional soiling, otherwise
in a very good condition.

Text in Russian.
An extremely rare samizdat copy of the prominent Soviet émigré historian Abdurakhman Avtorkhanov’s acclaimed work, Zagadka smerti Stalina [i.e. The Mystery of Stalin’s Death]. The author printed the official book in the Russian émigré publishing house Posev in Frankfurt am Main in 1976. Shortly after, the text was illegally smuggled into the Soviet Union as a microfiche and covertly disseminated in samizdat form. Zagadka smerti Stalina was first officially printed in Russia in the magazine Novyy mir [i.e. New World] in 1991.
Abdurakhman Avtorkhanov (1908-1997), a Soviet Kremlinologist of Chechen descent, earned his degree in Russian history from the Moscow Institute of Red Professors in 1937. Following his bold critiques of Stalin’s personality cult in the late 1930s, he fell out of favor and became persona non grata in the USSR. After his arrest, torture, and subsequent release in 1942, Avtorkhanov fled to Germany, where he resided until the rest of his life. He became renowned as the author of numerous books addressing the history and fundamental aspects of Communism. In the Soviet Union, his works were banned and prohibited from official publication until the collapse of the USSR in 1990.
Zagadka smerti Stalina was the first book to cast doubt on the notion of Stalin’s natural death. “At the pinnacle of the Soviet party bureaucracy, there was not enough room for two criminal geniuses – Stalin and Beria.” The book reconstructs the historical process of the last five years of Stalin’s rule from 1948 to 1953. The narrative delves into the intricate conspiracy organized by Beria against Stalin and features numerous official documentation such as excerpts from official papers, plenums, party meetings, periodicals, etc. The edition consists of thirteen sections, including the inaugural biography of Lavrenty Beria, whose portraits and related texts were mandated to be torn from books by Soviet citizens after his death.

Status: On Hold