Stalin was a dictator for so long that most historians considered the officials around him to be simple compromisers and elements of political decor. This book disputes such a notion, showing that behind Stalin was a group of loyal men who formed an unusually effective team with him from the late 1920s until his death in 1953. Drawing on extensive original research, Sheila Fitzpatrick offers the first detailed description of the participants in this inner circle and their families.