In this new biography of Joseph Stalin, Oleg Khlevniuk provides well-documented answers to questions that have puzzled historians and political scientists, as well as the general public, for decades. How did Stalin evolve from an insignificant revolutionary to one of the most powerful men in history? How did he first manage to overpower his rivals within the Soviet leadership, then subjugate the Communist Party and the Red Army to his personal authority, ultimately building an empire whose ghost continues to haunt Eastern Europe to this day? And - the most critical question - why did no one stop him before it was too late?

Khlevniuk, a deep connoisseur of the vast archives of the Soviet period that have come to light in the last 25 years, offers a new, revealing portrait of Stalin. Without mythologizing him, either as a charismatic or as a diabolical genius, he sheds light on many contentious issues regarding events in his life. Utilizing hundreds of letters, memoranda, reports, and diaries, Khlevniuk manages to compose a comprehensive, imposing narrative of the life of a man who has left enduring scars on the peoples he ruled and who changed the course of world history.