The Wolf of the Kremlin: The First Biography of L.M. Kaganovich

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This book is truly amazing in that it is the first, or one of the first, biographies of one of Stalin's closest comrades. How could such a wicked mass murderer go unnoticed for so many decades? The true value of this book lies not in the author's scholarly abilities but in the largely overlooked subject matter. Hopefully many more scholarly works on Kaganovich will be forthcoming. A "must read" for any serious student of the Soviet Union and man's inhumanity to man.

The chief attraction of Wolf of the Kremlin is the author's writing style. You can almost imagine you're sitting in a bar, hearing this story over drinks. But is it history? The Publishers' Weekly reviewer complained that "A meaningful biography of Kaganovich is still to be written". But the same could be said about Attila the Hun. The point is that they didn't leave behind many witnesses to what they did. And the fact that Kaganovich was really just a cog (albeit an important one) in Stalin's machine makes the fog of history even more difficult to penetrate. So your choices are either to take Wolf of the Kremlin as exactly what it says it is, a biography based on family history and one interview, and enjoy a vastly readable journey into one of the darkest eras of human history; or to leave it, and be the poorer for it.

Although the stories in this book cannot be accepted as "gospel," because they are from an old man who was aparticipant in some of the worst atrocities in modern history,it needs to be read by anyone interested in the history ofthe USSR.The subject, Lazar Kaganovich, was, indeed, the "wolf of theKremlin," as he was the one man Stalin could count on to "solve"problems being caused anywhere in the USSR. Kaganovich couldbe counted on by Stalin to take any and all steps necessaryto get rid of problems, because he always knew what Stalin wanted, and he had carte blanche to effect those wishes. He wastruly one of the most bloodthirsty henchmen Stalin had, at a time and place when many men were competing with each other tobe be just that, and who were apparently willing to do anythingto further their own careers. Kaganovich would be counted onto arrest anyone, execute anyone, bury anyone, or ship off tothe Gulug anyone who stood in Stalin's way.The book is based on the author's family history, and he didvisit his aged relative in Moscow, but the results of that interview are sketchy and, as said, must be read with skepticism. Even when the old Stalinist was elderly and livingon his pension in a large apartment bldg in Moscow, he wasstill afraid of the truth, and he didn't even want to visit with, and talk to, his relative from the U.S.Any study of Stalin and his crimes have to include referenceto Kaganovich, and that the man survived to even tell his story, even in a very sanitized form, is a testament to his strength and cunning. One explanation of Kaganovich's bloodthirstiness, and willingness to do the worst, is that he was always afraid for his own life. His fear was especially strong because he wasJewish, and Stalin was famously paranoid, and his hatred of Jewswas well-known and documented. The theory is that Kaganovichwas therefore, in his strong desire to show he was not Jewishfirst and foremost, willing to to to any lengths necessary toimpress Stalin that he was truthworthy. No job was too dirty,too low, or too vicious for Kaganovich, and he performed themall throughout his life.Even his relative's viewpoint can't hide that fact.But the man was at the side of Stalin during his entire reign,and he deserves to be studied.Even allowing for this book to be less than 100% accurate, because of the limited and self-serving sources, it is still fascinating to students of terror specifically, and the USSR in general.

Kaganovich was an utterly evil man without redeeming characterists. He was responsible for far more deaths than Hitler.He was selfish, cared only about his career. He purged the Ukraine, the railroads, heavy industry - sent millions to their death.