About
Svetlana Alliluyeva, born Stalina, was the only daughter of Joseph Stalin and Nadezhda Alliluyeva. After her mother's suicide in 1932, she grew up in the shadow of the Soviet regime. Graduating from Moscow University in 1949, she taught Soviet literature and English, and worked as a translator. In 1967, she defected to the West from India, shocking the world. Her book 'Twenty Letters to a Friend' (1967) became a bestseller. She later published 'Only One Year' (1969) and 'The Faraway Music' (1984). She briefly returned to the USSR in 1984 but left again for the US in 1986. She died in Wisconsin in 2011.
* 1926-02-28 — † 2011-11-22
Major works
- Twenty Letters to a Friend (1967)memoir
- Only One Year (1969)memoir
- The Faraway Music (1984)memoir
Key milestones
- 1967Defected to the West from New Delhi, India, with assistance from the U.S. Embassy.
- 1984Briefly returned to the Soviet Union, had her citizenship restored, then renounced it again and returned to the U.S. in 1986.
- 2011Died in Richland County (Spring Green), Wisconsin, at age 85.
Themes
Childhood under dictatorshipDefection and exileFamily memoirsDisillusionment with the WestIdentity and belonging
Sources: britannica.com · bbc.co.uk