By IAN DE MELLO
Staff Writer
Autopsy for an Empire by Dmitri Volkogonov has to be one of the most compelling books I’ve read in Soviet history. Volkogonov lends himself intense credibility, being a three-star general of the Soviet army, serving even under Stalin himself. Having a plethora of knowledge from classified military knowledge, he was a hardliner Marxist-Leninist in his youth only to become disillusioned with the communist system in his later years. This disillusionment morphed into fierce anti-Leninist rhetoric as he began to dictate the biographies of Lenin, Stalin, and Trotsky. Autopsy for an Empire was the magnum opus of all his research, condensing the men who made and ultimately destroyed the Soviet Union. This book was the final work that Volkogonov worked on before sadly passing away from colon cancer at the age of 67.
The book follows the leaders of the Soviet Union in chronological order, starting with Lenin and then ending with Gorbachev. When this book was published, he had used never before seen archives in aid of his work, granting an incredibly unique perception of the Soviet Union and the leaders of its time. He attacks the corruption, incompetence, and cruelty of the leaders who ran this state, sparing no punches. Even after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Lenin was held in high regard by the Russian people, who still viewed him as a deity. This was no doubt due to the careful propaganda of the Soviet system which hid the dark history behind Lenin’s tyrannical and downright incompetent control. This book casts those misdeeds to light in a stunning display, which ultimately led to most of his books being banned in the Soviet Union, only to be unbanned after its collapse.
Dmitri Volkogonov
My only critique of the book is when talking about the leaders, Volkogonov jumps forward and back in time to further emphasize whatever he is talking about. This can be disorientating or confusing for some readers and might muddle whatever point he is trying to make. However, this is not much of an issue to me, as he typically does this for good reason. Whether to make comparisons or to explain a cause and effect, these perspectives grant great insight into how the Soviet system was doomed from the beginning. Overall, I am currently enthralled with this book and hope to finish it and gain more insight into the supposedly utopian ideals of Marxist-Leninism.