When Joseph Stalin died in 1953, he had been the unchallenged leader of the Soviet Union for more than twenty years, having presided over the ruthless modernisation of the early 1930s, the Great Purges, the near-catastrophe and ultimate victory of World War II, and the country’s postwar emergence as a superpower. He was surrounded by a cult that made him seem godlike; no successors were in sight. His death was bound to be a deeply unsettling event, both in the Soviet Union and elsewhere.

Drawing on her unparalleled knowledge of Stalin's circle and Soviet society, Sheila Fitzpatrick tells a tale that blends black comedy with acute analysis of the problems and opportunities – often missed – created by the death of the dictator. Concluding with an exploration of Stalin’s legacy and his recent resurrection in Putin’s Russia, this is both a riveting read and a salutary one.