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The Commissariat of Enlightenment

by Ken Kalfus

The Commissariat of Enlightenment

by Ken Kalfus

In the shadow of Leo Tolstoy's final days at a remote Russian railway station, a young assistant named Nikolai Gribshin captures the event on film, marking the dawn of a media sensation. As the world's attention turns to celebrity culture, Gribshin encounters two influential men: the visionary Professor Vorobev and the revolutionary Joseph Stalin. Amidst the tumult of the Russian Revolution, Gribshin assumes the alias Comrade Astapov and plunges into the Bolshevik propaganda machine. Entwined with Stalin and Vorobev, he schemes a macabre plan involving Lenin's demise and an eternal cult of immortality that will hold sway over millions. 'The Commissariat of Enlightenment' is a deft amalgamation of historical fiction and satire, reflecting on the intersection of death, politics, and the burgeoning power of visual media.

  • Historical
  • Literary
  • Fiction
  • Satire
  • Revolution
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