Synopses & Reviews
Larina tells the story not only of her twenty years in the Gulag but of her life as a daughter and a wife among the founding fathers of the Soviet Union.
Review
"Starred Review. Measured, vivid, and strikingly free of malice; her tone throughout is one of absolute self-reliance. Exceptionally moving and strong." Robert Conquest New York Review of Books
Review
"Surprisingly lyrical and free of bitterness, her tale belongs to the unfortunately rich and long tradition of Russian prison literature. . . . [The memoirs] provide a rare look into the innermost circle of the Bolshevik Revolution's doomed founding fathers." Harlan Robinson
Review
"This memoir is sure to endure. Written with the passion of an acolyte and the attention of a witness, it adds a unique angle of vision to what we know of the cruelty and absurdity of the Stalin era. . . . An astonishing account that loses very little for [Anna Larina's] being blindly in love with its hero." New York Times Book Review
Review
"Stephen Cohen's introduction is a model of its kind, giving not only the political and human background, but also describing his own relations with Larina and the Bukharin family." The New Yorker
Synopsis
A sensation when published in Moscow and a bestseller in Europe, the memoirs of this remarkable woman--the widow of the charismatic Bolshevik leader Nikolai I. Bukharin--offer a new dimension to our understanding of Soviet history.
About the Author
Stephen F. Cohen is director of Russian studies at Princeton University and a regular commentator on network television.