The Whisperers: Private Life in Stalin's Russia

* It is possible that Stalin had a hand in the murder of Kirov. The Leningrad Party boss was a very popular and more moderate leader than Stalin, who had good reason to be afraid that Kirov might emerge as a serious rival to his leadership. No hard evidence has ever come to light of Stalin’s role in his murder. But Stalin used the murder to pursue his obsession with an internal threat and to persecute his ‘enemies’.