Molotov's Magic Lantern
When Rachel Polonsky went to live in Moscow, she found an apartment block in Romanov Street. One apartment had been Vyacheslav Molotov's, Stalin's henchman. Molotov was ruthless - and an ardent bibliophile. Rachel visited cities and landscapes associated with the books in his library. In each place, she encountered the spirit of great artists such as Chekhov, Dostoevsky, Pushkin, Akhmatova - and the terrible past of a country ravaged by war, famine, and totalitarianism.
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