A review by kingarooski
The Whisperers: Private Life in Stalin's Russia by Orlando Figes

5.0

The accounts and stories of those affected by Stalin's reign of terror. I found many of these very moving and Orlando Figes' research was on such an enormous scale that I sometimes felt crushed by the weight of evidence. People being arrested for no real reason as traitors, being held without trial or tortured before being sent to labour camps, then being released and sometimes re-arrested within a year or two. The testament of those released, who went on to try and live the best lives they could and what I found most moving was the fact that many had found reasons within themselves to forgive and explain their arrests to themselves. Although they'd done nothing wrong, they felt that their arrests were justified and continued to adore and admire Joseph Stalin. I found this book emotionally exhaustive, but fascinating.