The book includes Stalin's interviews with foreign correspondents and his conversations with cultural and scientific figures. Gathered together, they represent a kind of self-portrait of a man whom some called the great leader of the working people of the whole world and the father of nations, while others called the red tyrant.In official speeches and speeches, it is difficult to see the true face of a person. An answer to an unexpected question, a lyrical digression in a conversation, an opinion about something that surprised, an assessment of an insignificant event, confusion, ambiguity of speech, simplicity and clarity of statements, firmness and confidence, or a joke are often more important for understanding a historical figure than his multi-volume biographies.The book includes several of Stalin's famous orders and his unusual letters to his mother.