This book provides a detailed insight into how Soviet leaders used their internal intelligence agency as an instrument of ultimate oppression. Lots of well-documented detail. The present tense only gets in the way for a bit (remember it was published while this was still going on -- before the fall of the USSR) and does not alter the facts as they were under the Soviet system. There is no other book which gives one quite the depth and insight this one does. Definitely a MUST for anyone interested in how things really worked in the USSR. Its a lesson to all of us. You want this book.

The book reveals the unique qualifications and inside knowledge of the two authors. There is no better description of the systematic repression of a modern population. Its appearance just before the fall of the Soviet Union invalidated its present tense, nevertheless, for anyone interested in how Soviet power survived for 70 years, this is the definitive work. A must for students of this subject.

Peter Deriabin's autobiography is a microcosm of the best and worst of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Deriabin was born into a system which educated, designed,and shaped him. He rose from an unknown provincial status as a bright Komsomol (Communist Party Youth--equivalent of the Boy Scouts), fighting heroically in WWII, to being wounded and assigned to Stalin's personal bodyguard unit. Later, he worked for the KGB in espionage while stationed in Austria. Ultimately, Deriabin became a defector to the West because even this priviledged life was simply too dangerous and arbitrary to survive in. For example, he compares the battle to be the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union to that of Sir James Frazer's sacred kings constanty prowling the hold woods in search of their future murderer, killing everybody he encounters until his age and wits fail, and he is himself murdered and replaced by the next sacred king. The detail of the way that the Soviet Union functioned socially is terrifying for any normal man or woman from the free world. For example, it was perfectly acceptable to beat and murder your wife and be accepted back into society after a brief jail term whereas if you exchanged currency, you could be shuttled into a gulag and forgotten, living a life of torture and starvation. This is not chauvanism from an occidental anti-Communist; it is the memoirs of a man whose whole life was designed to protect Stalin's variety of Communism. If you have ever wondered why the Cold War was fought, Deriabin's life serves as a prime example

This book is really for the Soviet cognesceti since it does not have enough rigor and scholarship to qualify as a primary text. Nevertheless, it is a measure of the "through the looking glass" criminality of the Soviet experiment that the reader is constantly asking whether the author's account could be true. A quick read but "Caution-Thin Ice" Perhaps better to stick with Amy Knight, R. Conquest, Volkoganov pending corroboration.

This is the memoir of a high ranking officer within the bodyguard administration of the Kremlin (Stalin's bodyguards). The author is the only know member of Stalin's bodyguards know to have escaped to the West. This book was published some 6 years after the author's death. The interworkings of the dark side within Stalin's Kremlin is detailed. The book mainly details the Stalin Beria relationship and the author's conclusions of how the ruthless Beria ultimately murdered Stalin. A very captivating and intriguing read, the book is filled with little known details of the Stalin era and fills in the gap where other books leave out. This book tackles the big issues-Stalin's death-by providing the knowledge learned by the author, who was there. Other works simply don't discuss this. As a memoir with an easy suspenseful read, history buffs must focus on the details throughout the work. The author does substantiate claims made. The author clearly shows how Stalin was losing his power and protection in the year prior to his death. Beria's behind the scene maneuverings and Stalin's own paranoia were responsible for much of the stripping of Stalin's protection. (The author even provides a list of those fired or executed during Stalin's last months in chapter 14.) Even on the pages of Pravda Stalin was reduced to Secretary from General Secretary-as Pravda had always printed-announcing that Stalin's position was weakening. It is these significant facts added to the author's own experiences that give new weight to Stalin's demise. As far as I am aware, other works have not mentioned this. Another example is the author's revelation that Stalin murdered his wife, and how he was almost removed as leader because of it. The author then reveals that Stalin ordered the executions of all the doctors who signed her death certificate (verified by other sources) to cover his tracks. That the gun used to kill her was Stalin's. It is these added details that give credence to the author's claims. He goes beyond other works. The author does not hesitate to address controversial areas. After reading the author's first book, The Secret World, first published in 1959, which is a complete autobiography of the author that details his extensive career in the KGB and the Communist Party, I understood the terror that Stalin spread through his reign. The author has written many books about Russia and has used his experience from within to share with his audience. A gripping account of great historic value. Highly recommended.

Peter Deriabin served in Naval SMERSH, the Guards Directorate and the Foreign Intelligence Directorate of the KGB in Moscow and Vienna. His story of the "Saboteur-Doctor's" , Kirov's death, Stalin's murder by Beria, Beria's removal, and the Sled-Chast [special investigative unit]reveals what those serving in Lubyanka at the time knew of these events as they occurred. His version of Stalin's murder has never been told in print before this book. While some of the stories told originate from close KGB friends, others are supported by various authors and news account cited in the end notes, and Deriabin's own experiences. Deriabin provides new information about KGB officers known to many. The chapters about his defection Vienna are well documented. Joseph Evans, an experienced CIA clandestine service officer, worked with Deriabin for years and finished the book after Deriabin's death. This is a remarkable contribution to the intelligence literature with many new details of the KGB as it functioned under Stalin.