The Whisperers

The Whisperers: Private Life in Stalin's Russia

Orlando Figes (author)

Exploring the inner life of a Russia where everyone was afraid to talk and society spoke in whispers, whether to protect friends and family - or to betray them - Orlando Figes tells the story of how Russians tried to endure life under Stalin's Terror. Where a junior worker might inform on their superior to get their job; a husband to get rid of a lover; a neighbour out of petty jealousy. Where living a double life became the norm and yet, somehow, a few defied the state.
Those who shaped the political system became, very frequently, its victims. Those who were its victims were frequently quite blameless. Drawing on hundreds of family archives from across the whole spectrum of Russian society, The Whisperers recreates the sort of maze in which Russians found themselves, where an unwitting wrong turn could either destroy a family or, perversely, later save it: a society in which everyone spoke in whispers - whether to protect themselves, their families, neighbours or friends - or to inform on them.

Orlando Figes is Professor of History at Birkbeck College, University of London. He is the author of Peasant Russia, Civil War, A People's Tragedy, Natasha's Dance, The Whisperers and Just Send Me Word. His books have been translated into over thirty languages.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin; Reprint edition (4 Sept. 2008)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 784 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 9780141013510
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 19.8 x 12.9 x 4.65 cm