Lenin's Tomb: The Last Days of the Soviet Empire is a book by American author David Remnick. Often cited as an example of New Journalism, it won the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1994.

The book is equal parts history and eyewitness account, covering the collapse of the Soviet Union. Opening with the excavation of the corpses of Poles killed in the Katyn massacre, Lenin's Tomb begins by describing the structural flaws present from the country's early days, and then uses individual accounts from a wide variety of contemporary individuals to display the modern consequences of these historical errors and cruelties.

Lenin's Tomb: The Last Days of the Soviet Empire

Within the book, Remnick draws heavily on his past work as Moscow correspondent with The Washington Post. In addition to officials and public figures, current and former—one chapter in part recounts Remnick's attempts to interview Lazar Kaganovich, of Joseph Stalin's inner circle—he takes advantage of a wide variety of "everyman"-type sources. These individuals, while not themselves notable, help add richness and texture to Remnick's depiction of the world around them.

Lenin's Tomb: The Last Days of the Soviet Empire

In 1997, Remnick published a follow-up work, Resurrection, dealing with the creation of a new Russian state.

Lenin's Tomb: The Last Days of the Soviet Empire

The book was the required reading for the University Interscholastic League's Social Studies Competition in 2018. Jay Nordlinger gave a favorable assessment of the book.

References

External links

Lenin's Tomb: The Last Days of the Soviet Empire at Archive.org

Booknotes interview with Remnick on Lenin's Tomb, July 25, 1993

1993 non-fiction books

20th-century history books

Books about Soviet repression

Dissolution of the Soviet Union

History books about the Soviet Union

Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction-winning works

Random House books