The essays in this book attempt, through the Stalinist gloom that marked the 20th century, to demonstrate the dominant role of power in the totalitarian system and the transformation of ideology into apologetics.

The 'success' of Stalinism consisted also in connecting messianic fantasies with real social problems. Its uniqueness and its halo lie in the promise of the ultimate goal, with the liberation from class society and the abolition of prehistory.

However, precisely the fatal embrace of Stalinism with the ultimate goal undermined any effort for social liberation in Western societies, as it identified it with violence and the imposition of tyranny.

Fanaticism and certainty about the ultimate goal, which turned into a religious faith, did not allow the functioning of institutions since the only authority was the party and its leader.

The analysis of Stalinism is eternally relevant as it pertains to the problematic of power, without the study of which we cannot approach the essence of totalitarianism in its various forms.

Millions of its adherents became victims of it, while cynicism and amorality, in the shadow of absolute power, allowed the survival of the subjects.

The triumphant course of Stalinism expresses the successful manipulation of the masses who thirst for and demand the cult of personality.

In this book, we will follow the power of Kolochovsky's thought, the insight of Milos, as well as the inability of Western Marxists to understand them, the uniqueness of Djilas, the penetrating nature of Russell, the persistence of Suvarin, the innocence of London and Chimbulski, and dozens of others, but also the cynicism of Molotov, Kalinin, Kuusinen, etc.

When the reader crosses this nightmarish landscape of tragedy, they will arrive at the farce of postmodern... thought with Žižek's witticisms and his naive applauders enjoying the ... revolution for free!