It begins on December 1, 1934, and someone tells Ginzburg that someone has assassinated Kirov, the secretary of the Communist Party’s General Committee. His murder generates paranoia about the dissident political elements within the party, and the government tightens its grip on society. Ginzburg is personally drawn into the fray when her old friend, Professor Elvov, is arrested in 1935. Ginzburg sees Stalin as ugly and can see his vision of evil. From the other first-person papers, we have read this is the first one that really says she can see the true colors of Stalin. Did the government have too much power? Why do you think Ginzburg could see that Stalin has a vision of Evil?
