The collection includes articles by famous scientists, publicists and writers, as well as a number of documents and testimonies dedicated to the figure of Stalin and the phenomenon of Stalinism. Different in genres, approaches to the topic, final conclusions, largely internally polemical, all these works are united by one aspiration: to understand deeper both Stalin's personality and the model of social structure he created; determine the origins of Stalinism in the global context and in the specific conditions of Russia and the USSR; clarify the degree and nature of deformation of the socialist ideal as a result of Stalin's activities; outline ways to overcome the hardest legacy left of him.