The Unquiet Ghost : Russians Remember Stalin

by Adam Hochschild

Release Date: 04 February, 2003

Edition: Paperback

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Life after Communism

I guess for us in the West, the fall of the Communist regime in Russia was the end of an era, which simply meant that the Cold War was over and there was no more Soviet Union--and not much more. But for the people of Russia, who struggled to survive through all the irrationalities, terror, and oppression, the memories of life under Communism cannot be forgotten. This book is about some of those Russians who are, in varying ways, trying to come to terms with the past, and the stories are truly remarkable. Hochschild is an excellent writer, and anyone who has an interest in post-Communist Russia will find this book very informative.

Am I an expert on this?

Several reviews of this book have splendid remarks and thoroughly profound analyses. But, is the subject of this book, the despotic Joseph Stalin and what is remembered about him, really reaching out to its readers?

This book can abruptly remind us of the generalities of life all over the world (i.e. psychological and physical abuse) when it comes to the terror of Stalin. The life and people around him he was ceaselessly suspect of doesn't necessarily mean it, his terrror, could never happen again, even on the smallest scale. Terror cannot be quantified. No, what Stalin did was and is as pervasive as any cult of personality.

This book decidely opens the door to many perceptions of what Stalin's terror meant, and sadly, still means all over the world. Ever carry your friend or your child on your shoulders as a joke or for fun? A friend of Stalin's did this to him and was later shot. But after this despot died, people mourned and when the new leadership came into being, the terror then manifested itself in the people. They basically reiterated towards the new order all that had held them in complete and utter fear of for more than a generation. This book documents this.

It's a book about how unstable people are who have been victims their whole lives, whether they knew it not, and how they come to realize life for others and themselves. It could be a book about life in general when we think of victims of any type of terror and suppression. Their messages to us could be of caution but on the other hand, of propagation, believing the terror to have some substantiation.

This book is a good read. But it requires a healthy open mind.