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This I Cannot Forget: The Memoirs of Nikolai Bukharin's Widow
Larina tells the story not only of her twenty years in the Gulag but of her life as a daughter and a wife among the founding fathers of the Soviet Union.
410 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 26, 2025
Last night I read Stephen Cohen's brief introduction to this book, and want to recommend it. At least for someone like myself, who doesn't know much about this period - it was quite an eye-opener. Bukharin was apparently a quite remarkable man, and his influence has proven to be enormous, since it was Bukharin and the 'Right Deviationists', drawing their ideas from Lenin's NEP, who were the real inspiration behind the the peristroika of Gorbachev and, even more importantly -- for after all, Gorbachev failed... - for Deng.
I really should read a couple of good books on Stalin and and the Gulags and, more generally, on the two periods of 1921-1953, and on Khrushchev -- and so if anyone has any good ideas (hopefully not any of those 900 page tomes -- as I don't need to know the excruciating details of every unimplemented program, every trial, every luncheon negotiation), I'd be very grateful for any ideas -- either here or via inbox. (I already know the names/titles of many of the standard 900 pagers, for the most part)
I've decided not to read Larina's memoirs, which mostly cover the period of her marriage to Bukharin, until his imprisonment in Feb. 1937 (he was murdered on March 15, 1938 -- the day Hitler swept into Austria -- thus, deliberately ?? burying the story...??). She had little or no contact with him after his imprisonment. There is some, but not that much about her own experiences in exile and in the Gulag.
Bukharin -- like Serge -- was open to people of other political persuasions. He was an open and "zestful" man (Cohen). He was friends with Pasternak, and protected Mandelstam for a decade (though he could not save him). He was also an anti-fascist, who was urging an anti-Hitler alliance with the West during the 'thaw' of 1934-1936 (leading up to the period of Blum and the Popular Front in France: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_...).
Had he triumphed, rather than Stalin, there would have been no Hitler-Stalin pact, and Russia may have embarked on the type of modernization that we are observing in China today -- more than half a century ago. Of course, Russia does have cultural baggage that China lacks (religion..., and a deep cultural pessimism... "In Russia, there are no happy endings...."). Moreover..., the course of American politics and subsequent world events -- so thoroughly distorted by the Cold War and the paranoia of the Dulles' and all their many spawn... would have been quite different as well.... profoundly different, perhaps....
But none of that was to be....
I really should read a couple of good books on Stalin and and the Gulags and, more generally, on the two periods of 1921-1953, and on Khrushchev -- and so if anyone has any good ideas (hopefully not any of those 900 page tomes -- as I don't need to know the excruciating details of every unimplemented program, every trial, every luncheon negotiation), I'd be very grateful for any ideas -- either here or via inbox. (I already know the names/titles of many of the standard 900 pagers, for the most part)
I've decided not to read Larina's memoirs, which mostly cover the period of her marriage to Bukharin, until his imprisonment in Feb. 1937 (he was murdered on March 15, 1938 -- the day Hitler swept into Austria -- thus, deliberately ?? burying the story...??). She had little or no contact with him after his imprisonment. There is some, but not that much about her own experiences in exile and in the Gulag.
Bukharin -- like Serge -- was open to people of other political persuasions. He was an open and "zestful" man (Cohen). He was friends with Pasternak, and protected Mandelstam for a decade (though he could not save him). He was also an anti-fascist, who was urging an anti-Hitler alliance with the West during the 'thaw' of 1934-1936 (leading up to the period of Blum and the Popular Front in France: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_...).
Had he triumphed, rather than Stalin, there would have been no Hitler-Stalin pact, and Russia may have embarked on the type of modernization that we are observing in China today -- more than half a century ago. Of course, Russia does have cultural baggage that China lacks (religion..., and a deep cultural pessimism... "In Russia, there are no happy endings...."). Moreover..., the course of American politics and subsequent world events -- so thoroughly distorted by the Cold War and the paranoia of the Dulles' and all their many spawn... would have been quite different as well.... profoundly different, perhaps....
But none of that was to be....
August 8, 2013
The memoir of Anna Larina, the widow of Nikolai Bukharin-- dubbed The Golden Boy of the October Revolution of 1917-- is one of the most fascinating books I have ever read. It is mainly on account of the character of Anna Larina. Anyone only interested in the history of the Soviet Union and the facts concerning the purges of the 30s-- the ones Bukharin became a victim of--might find the book somewhat less informative than expected. However, following Anna Larina through her life: the ordeal during her husband’s showcase trial and ending with her tribulations after his execution, is a stark revelation of the dictatorial communist system and the people who brought it into existence. It provides a rear peek into a secretive world described by an insider: a believable and sympathetic, though hard to understand character; daughter, wife and mother.
November 30, 2022
Šie memuāri ārkārtīgi precīzi rekonstruē retināto gaisu boļševiku valdošās kliķes stratosfērā un izcili labi ilustrē to, ko Orlando Faidžiss (Figes) gluži pamatoti raksturo kā vienu no tās galvenajām problēmām: pilnīgu atrautību no tautas, kuru tā it kā pārstāv. Pat atskatoties uz tektoniskajiem procesiem visā sabiedrībā un lielo teroru, kas savulaik pielika punktu arī pašas iepriekšējai dzīvei, memuāru autore svarīgāk šķiet turpat vai ceturto daļu visa teksta veltīt arhidetalizētam iztirzājumam par to, kurš kad ko ne tā pateicis vai uzrakstījis kādā - nē, ne kongresā vai sapulcē, ne grāmatā vai brošūrā, bet privātā sarunā vai zīmītē. Nu ko, acīmredzot tieši šādi kašķi un matu skaldīšana, nevis kaut kādas tur zemnieku sacelšanās vai bads tajā vai citā tālā nomalē patiešām bija galvenais satraukuma cēlonis elites aprindās, jo, kā vēsture liecina, parasti beidzās ļoti bēdīgi visām iesaistītajām personām. Bet, kā krievi teiktu, за державу обидно
January 20, 2013
A poinient insight into the inner circle of the Lennin's origional inner circle and the outcomes they suffered during Stalin's purges. A tremendous recount of love, loyality and hardship in Stalin's Russia.
October 27, 2016
interesting - would be very emotional for most Russian readers - enhanced my knowledge of the Stalin years
December 18, 2021
Tartuin tähän kirjaan toistamiseen lähes 30 vuoden ensi tutustumisen jälkeen.
Asiasisällöltään kirja oli järkyttävä ja mielenkiintoinen, mutta rakenteeltaan toivottoman sekava. Luettavuutta häiritsi myös kunnollisen jaottelun puute. Kaikki oli yhtä pötköä enkä pysynyt kronologiassakaan aina ajantasalla. Henkilöluettelo olisi myös ollut paikallaan, koska nimiä kirjassa oli runsaasti ja lyhenteitäkin jonkin verran.
Heikointa suomenkielisessä painoksessa oli kuitenkin epätasainen käännös. Lauserakenteet olivat monin paikoin kömpelöitä ja suomen kielelle vieraita todennäköisesti sen vuoksi, että ne oli käännetty liian suoraviivaisesti venäjästä.
Buharinan kirjan Goodreads arviot ovat olleet enimmäkseen erinomaisia. Mikäli teksti olisi ollut luettavampaa, olisin antanut kirjalle kolme tähteä. Heikko luettavuus pudotti kuitenkin arvosanani kahteen.
Asiasisällöltään kirja oli järkyttävä ja mielenkiintoinen, mutta rakenteeltaan toivottoman sekava. Luettavuutta häiritsi myös kunnollisen jaottelun puute. Kaikki oli yhtä pötköä enkä pysynyt kronologiassakaan aina ajantasalla. Henkilöluettelo olisi myös ollut paikallaan, koska nimiä kirjassa oli runsaasti ja lyhenteitäkin jonkin verran.
Heikointa suomenkielisessä painoksessa oli kuitenkin epätasainen käännös. Lauserakenteet olivat monin paikoin kömpelöitä ja suomen kielelle vieraita todennäköisesti sen vuoksi, että ne oli käännetty liian suoraviivaisesti venäjästä.
Buharinan kirjan Goodreads arviot ovat olleet enimmäkseen erinomaisia. Mikäli teksti olisi ollut luettavampaa, olisin antanut kirjalle kolme tähteä. Heikko luettavuus pudotti kuitenkin arvosanani kahteen.
April 23, 2017
Una mujer que va de revolucionaria y sólo sabe vivir por su importante marido. Una decepción.
August 29, 2025
The primary question for any socialist in the 21st century ought to be:
"How can a future degeneration of a proletarian, socialist society be avoided?"
The history of the Soviet Union must be addressed, and the lessons learned should be put into action in all class struggles of today. Socialism without humanism is not socialism at all. If this is forgotten, this book illustrates what horrors can await in the future.
Through the witness account of Anna Larina Bucharina, the complexity of history is shown and gives proof that the best way to understand the degeneration is through a materialistic and dialectical analysis; only then things make sense. This is in stark contrast to the ideological simplification and good versus evil thinking shown through a term like “stalinism,” a term by the way proposed by Lazar Kaganovich, a close ally of Stalin in the mid-1930s.
Does the root of degeneration lie in "partism" itself, i.e., the belief that a cadre party should lead the revolution? It might well be so; hence, the libertarian socialists who claimed this already in the 19th century were correct in retrospect.
The best way to honor the victims of the horrors of the degeneration that occurred in the Soviet Union is to remember the ideals but to learn from the mistakes.
An honestly written book by Larina Bucharina with very interesting details.
***
It is unfortunate that the above-mentioned simplifications have crept into the personal register, which must have been created by someone other than the author. However, who wrote the register does not appear clearly in the Swedish audiobook produced by MTM that I have listened to.
"How can a future degeneration of a proletarian, socialist society be avoided?"
The history of the Soviet Union must be addressed, and the lessons learned should be put into action in all class struggles of today. Socialism without humanism is not socialism at all. If this is forgotten, this book illustrates what horrors can await in the future.
Through the witness account of Anna Larina Bucharina, the complexity of history is shown and gives proof that the best way to understand the degeneration is through a materialistic and dialectical analysis; only then things make sense. This is in stark contrast to the ideological simplification and good versus evil thinking shown through a term like “stalinism,” a term by the way proposed by Lazar Kaganovich, a close ally of Stalin in the mid-1930s.
Does the root of degeneration lie in "partism" itself, i.e., the belief that a cadre party should lead the revolution? It might well be so; hence, the libertarian socialists who claimed this already in the 19th century were correct in retrospect.
The best way to honor the victims of the horrors of the degeneration that occurred in the Soviet Union is to remember the ideals but to learn from the mistakes.
An honestly written book by Larina Bucharina with very interesting details.
***
It is unfortunate that the above-mentioned simplifications have crept into the personal register, which must have been created by someone other than the author. However, who wrote the register does not appear clearly in the Swedish audiobook produced by MTM that I have listened to.
July 2, 2020
Stalin's "the cult of personality"-such a polite way to talk about him and his terrible legacy.
April 16, 2018
Buyuk tasfiye ve oncesinde olanlara iliskin "icerisi"ne yonelik essiz bir taniklik. Zehirlenmis ic iliskiler, paranoya, caresizlik, ve olum. Buharin ozelinde klasik kabullenme izleklerini okuyabiliyorsunuz: Inkar, Ofke, Pazarlik, Bunalim, Kabullenme.
Tanikligi muhtesem de olsa, bir insan olarak Anna Larina sanki orada degil gibi. Sanki yarim bir kayit cihazi. O donemki tartismalarda Stalin'e olan ofkesi saglikli ve nesnel, ama diger karsitlarinin goruslerine olan tepkisi naif ve kisisel.
Bu arada Beria ona yazmis, kizin haberi yok. Aman dikkat Anna Larina Buharinova...
Tanikligi muhtesem de olsa, bir insan olarak Anna Larina sanki orada degil gibi. Sanki yarim bir kayit cihazi. O donemki tartismalarda Stalin'e olan ofkesi saglikli ve nesnel, ama diger karsitlarinin goruslerine olan tepkisi naif ve kisisel.
Bu arada Beria ona yazmis, kizin haberi yok. Aman dikkat Anna Larina Buharinova...
June 28, 2025
при здравой доле скепсиса по отношению к информации полученной из мемуаров жены бухарина + при неприязни к самой фигуре бухарина я плакала когда дочитывала книгу потому что во1 какой же трэш и как же в россии до сих пор все плохо во2 про бухарина хотя бы было кому писать и кому биться за его реабилитацию не только юридическую но и историческую а у того же г.е. зиновьева сталин убил буквально всех... вот и думаем
December 25, 2023
highly recommend to anyone interested in women’s russian literature. bukharin’s widow, larina produces a really timeless memoir with all the benefits of its contemporary publication date.
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March 21, 2024good, but would recommend some knowledge of Soviet History before reading it
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews