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20 LETTERS TO FRIEND Paperback – June 1, 2016

by Svetlana Alliluyeva (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 97 ratings
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In this riveting, New York Times-bestselling memoir—first published by Harper in 1967—Svetlana Alliluyeva, subject of Rosemary Sullivan’s critically acclaimed biography, Stalin’s Daughter, describes the surreal experience of growing up in the Kremlin in the shadow of her father, Joseph Stalin.

Svetlana Iosifovna Alliluyeva, later known as Lana Peters, was the youngest child and only daughter of Joseph Stalin and Nadezhda Alliluyeva, his second wife. In 1967, she fled the Soviet Union for India, where she approached the U.S. Embassy for asylum. Once there, she showed her CIA handler something remarkable: A personal memoir about growing up inside the Kremlin that she’d written in 1963. The Indian Ambassador to the USSR, whom she’d befriended, had smuggled the manuscript out of the Soviet Union the previous year—and returned it to her as soon as she arrived in India.

Structured as a series of letters to a “friend”—Svetlana refused to identify him, but we now know it was her close friend, Fyodor Volkenstein—this astounding memoir exposes the dark human heart of the Kremlin. After opening with Stalin’s death, Svetlana returns to her childhood. Each letter adds a new strand to her remarkable story; some are wistful—romanticized recollections of her early years and her family—while others are desperate exorcisms of the tragedies that plagued her, such as her mother’s suicide and her father’s increasing cruelty. It is also in some ways a love letter to Russia, with its ancient heritage and spectacularly varied geography.

Candid, surprising, and utterly compelling, Twenty Letters to a Friend offers one of the most revealing portraits of life inside Stalin’s inner circle, and of the notorious dictator himself.

Previous page
  1. Print length
    272 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    June 1, 2016
  4. Dimensions
    5.31 x 0.68 x 8 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    0062442600
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0062442604
  7. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Fascinating, revealing, profoundly human, and significant.... The letters move relentlessly on through deepening tragedy, dark happenings, and deaths.” — Los Angeles Times, ORIGINAL EDITION

“Svetlana…has considerable literary talent.” — Elizabeth Hardwick, New York Review of Books, ORIGINAL EDITION

“Compelling reading from first page to last.... To be Stalin’s daughter and to remain human is an admirable accomplishment, and this remarkable book, written with grace and human compassion, is a testimony to a remarkable woman.” — Houston Post, ORIGINAL EDITION

“She is a shrewd observer of character, and her analysis of her father’s psychology…is chillingly convincing.... Has an unexpected power to stir speculation and to evoke a strange but vitally significant era.” — Baltimore Sun, ORIGINAL EDITION

“Fascinating from the first page to the last.... A rich and absorbing memoir.... An illuminating and haunting portrait... Stalin comes vividly to life.... To be Stalin’s daughter and to remain human is itself admirable.” — New York Times Book Review, ORIGINAL EDITION

“It is a testament which, someday, one must hope, Russians will be free to read―and will then be grateful to Svetlana Alliluyeva for the witness she has so courageously and movingly borne.” — Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., The Atlantic, ORIGINAL EDITION

From the Back Cover

In this riveting, New York Times bestselling memoir—first published by Harper in 1967—Svetlana Iosifovna Alliluyeva, subject of Rosemary Sullivan’s critically acclaimed biography, Stalin’s Daughter, describes the surreal experience of growing up in the Kremlin in the shadow of her father, Joseph Stalin. In 1967, she fled the Soviet Union for India, where she approached the U.S. Embassy for asylum. Once there, she showed her CIA handler something remarkable: a manuscript about her life that she’d written in 1963. The Indian Ambassador to the USSR, whom she’d befriended, had smuggled the manuscript out of the Soviet Union the previous year.

Structured as a series of letters to a “friend”—Svetlana refused to identify him, but we now know it was her close friend, the physicist Fyodor Volkenstein—this astounding memoir, also in some ways a love letter to Russia, with its ancient heritage and spectacularly varied geography, exposes the dark human heart of the Kremlin. Each letter adds a new strand to her story; some are wistful, while others are desperate exorcisms of the tragedies that plagued her life. Candid, surprising, and compelling, Twenty Letters to a Friend offers one of the most revealing portraits of life inside Stalin’s inner circle, and of the notorious dictator himself.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Perennial; Reprint edition (June 1, 2016)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0062442600
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0062442604
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.31 x 0.68 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 97 ratings

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
97 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Kevin
5.0 out of 5 stars Wow!
Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2024
Verified Purchase
If you think you know Josef Stalin, read this book. Written as a collection of letters to form a kind of autobiography, they paint an amazing picture of the tragic life of the princess of Soviet Russia. The story of how the book got out of the Soviet Union is a movie in itself!
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Michael Cayton
5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely convincing
Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2020
Verified Purchase
I think everyone should read this book. It is a very credible, honest portrayal of a family living the Stalinist nightmare -- and by the daughter of Stalin himself. It makes the reader understand how horribly a totalitarian dictatorship can wreck even the lives of those around the dictator himself.
3 people found this helpful
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blueskies
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating
Reviewed in the United States on August 17, 2021
Verified Purchase
Couldn't put this book down. Provides a whole new perspective of her father and Soviet life. She was a very talented and engaging writer.
One person found this helpful
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Johns Yvonne
3.0 out of 5 stars Good read
Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2017
Verified Purchase
It was an interesting read, but rather repetitive since it was a daughter's recollection of her father. The account was more personal feelings in a father/daughter setting. It would have been more interesting if there was more of a family historical background of her father and mother which l would lead up to the present read. However, I was glad I did read it.
4 people found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Required reading
Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2017
Verified Purchase
This is a truly moving memoir and a valuable piece of world history. Should be required reading for our high school world history students since it gives us an inside view of one of America's previously considered most dangerous enemies. This book makes one appreciate freedom even more than we thought possible.
5 people found this helpful
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billie avery
5.0 out of 5 stars AS DESCRIBED
Reviewed in the United States on May 1, 2020
Verified Purchase
ARRIVED PROMPTLY AND IN GOOD CONDITION. GOOD TRADE
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Genie Shuda
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2018
Verified Purchase
My mother loved the book.
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mmm
2.0 out of 5 stars Two Stars
Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2016
Verified Purchase
Provided less insights into the historical context than I expected.
5 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Lucas
5.0 out of 5 stars Simply human
Reviewed in France on November 29, 2022
Verified Purchase
Simply human, modest
Worth reading and then watch again the movie Stalin's death.
Back to troubled but for some ideal times.
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Miguel Angel
5.0 out of 5 stars Excelente documento histórico de la época más grandiosa y dolorosa de la Unión Soviética.
Reviewed in Mexico on November 22, 2020
Verified Purchase
FANTASTICO libro. Escrito de una forma muy amena y cautivadora. Por la propia hija de Stalin, Svetlana. Sin rencor, describe lo bueno y lo malo de su extraordinaria vida como testigo único de un ambiente bastante complejo tan cercano al omnimodo poder de su padre. Muy recomendable.
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Premdayal G.
5.0 out of 5 stars A historical document .
Reviewed in India on May 13, 2021
Verified Purchase
I'm still reading the book .
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Nina C
5.0 out of 5 stars arrived on date as promised
Reviewed in Canada on May 19, 2019
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book for reading
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James of Liverpool
5.0 out of 5 stars A disturbing very profound personal history.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 13, 2018
Verified Purchase
Read with you mind open to what a Daughter is told and observes, and what she then finds out about her Father's inheritance.
One person found this helpful
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