Listen to a sample
Exit Stalin
- Author
- Mark B. Smith
- Narrator
- Jonathan Keeble
- Publisher
- Penguin Books Ltd
- Publish Date
- 29 January 2026
- Run Time
- 20 hours 17 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
Not available in your country
We don't have the rights to sell this audiobook where you are. If it's already in your library you can still listen to it in My Books.
What to expect
Brought to you by Penguin.
An extraordinarily atmospheric and powerful history of the world's largest country and its decline and fall.
With Stalin's death, the Soviet Union remained a repressive, harsh and belligerent place, but one which became more predictable for its citizens and one which made a genuine attempt to create the egalitarian, progressive country that the Russian Revolution had once promised. That this attempt would fail was not clear until the 1980s.
Mark B. Smith's remarkable book recreates the day-to-day life of this vast state, the largest ever to exist. What was life like in a country which made such absolute claims for the future, which claimed to be on its way to creating a people's utopia and which, like the USA, owned enough atomic weapons to end human life on Earth?
Exit Stalin is filled with extraordinary stories about those who lived in the USSR and the distinctive and functioning civilization that they built. Many of them embraced its values, understood its goals and could not imagine life outside such a vastly ambitious and progressive project. The shortages, coercion and incompetence that underlay the USSR - and which by the late 1980s would doom it - has to be understood alongside the acceptance it always had from many of its citizens. And this in turn is a crucial issue for understanding Russia and the rest of the former Soviet Union in the 21st century.
© Mark B. Smith 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026
Critics Review
-
Accessible and comprehensive … Smith's authentic account of Soviet life is enlivened by biographical sketches and his deep understanding of Russian culture and society
Irish Times
-
Deeply informed … A significant book for anybody who seeks to understand modern Russia
The Sunday Times
-
Smoothly readable … A fascinating chronicle of the Soviet Union … Exit Stalin offers a superb history of the rise and fall of a utopian state and its dangerously deluded ideology
Observer
-
Superb... Immensely important... This is a tragic story, and Smith tells it magnificently
The Telegraph
See more reviews See fewer reviews
-
Richly detailed... Mark Smith’s impressive history gives readers a powerful sense of what it was like to live under communism in the four decades between Stalin’s death and the country’s disintegration at the end of the cold war
Financial Times
-
Exit Stalin asks a timely question: what is life in a non-democratic modern society actually like? Smith builds up a picture of an entire culture, a way of life, a vivid sense of an entire disappeared world and forces the question: would you accept the price?
New Statesman
-
Vivid ... Excellent ... An essential and accessible addition to the library of Soviet and post-Soviet studies
Kirkus Reviews
-
Despite the vast complexities and scope of Exit Stalin, Smith manages to fully immerse the reader throughout ... What is clear, even within the first few pages, is that this is a landmark work on Russian history, one like no other, and a gold mine filled with emotional power and unknown stories
Engelsberg Ideas
-
Meticulously researched ... For anyone interested in a dispassionate overview of the late Soviet period, it makes for fascinating reading'
The Tablet
-
Although it died less than half a century ago, the Soviet Union, even to many who experienced first hand its complexities, contradictions, cruelties, and moments of creativity, can seem as if it belongs to ancient history. Mark B. Smith brings this lost world to life through a powerful combination of exhaustive scholarship, lucid prose, and subtle insight
Douglas Smith
User Reviews
No reviews yet.
Details
- Author
- Mark B. Smith
- Narrator
- Jonathan Keeble
- Duration
- 20 hours 17 minutes
- Release Date
- 29 January 2026
- ISBN
- 9781837311682
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Penguin Books Ltd
- Genre
- European history, Social and cultural history
Synopsis
Brought to you by Penguin.An extraordinarily atmospheric and powerful history of the world's largest country and its decline and fall.With Stalin's death, the Soviet Union remained a repressive, harsh and belligerent place, but one which became more predictable for its citizens and one which made a genuine attempt to create the egalitarian, progressive country that the Russian Revolution had once promised. That this attempt would fail was not clear until the 1980s.Mark B. Smith's remarkable book recreates the day-to-day life of this vast state, the largest ever to exist. What was life like in a country which made such absolute claims for the future, which claimed to be on its way to creating a people's utopia and which, like the USA, owned enough atomic weapons to end human life on Earth?Exit Stalin is filled with extraordinary stories about those who lived in the USSR and the distinctive and functioning civilization that they built. Many of them embraced its values, understood its goals and could not imagine life outside such a vastly ambitious and progressive project. The shortages, coercion and incompetence that underlay the USSR - and which by the late 1980s would doom it - has to be understood alongside the acceptance it always had from many of its citizens. And this in turn is a crucial issue for understanding Russia and the rest of the former Soviet Union in the 21st century.© Mark B. Smith 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026
About xigxag
xigxag is an independent, UK-based audiobook platform and the UK's only B Corp certified audiobook company. We offer nearly 150,000 audiobooks, all with professional human narration. No AI-generated voices. xigxag is rated an Ethical Consumer Best Buy for audiobooks and a top-rated ethical bookshop.
There is no subscription. You buy the audiobooks you want, you own them permanently, and prices start at $13.95. The more you listen over the year, the less you pay per book, and there is always a selection in Listen for Less from $7.95. You can also send audiobooks as gifts using our audiobook gift cards or in-app gifting.
Every audiobook on xigxag has honest reviews covering both the book and the narration, and our community features make it easy to share what you are listening to, discover what others recommend, and find your next listen.
Download or stream on iOS, Android, or in your browser. Browse the full catalogue at xigxag.co.uk.