Svetlana Alliluyeva facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Svetlana Alliluyeva
|
|
|---|---|
|
|
Alliluyeva in January 1970
|
|
| Born |
Svetlana Iosifovna Stalina
28 February 1926 |
| Died | 22 November 2011 (aged 85) |
| Other names | Lana Peters |
| Citizenship |
|
| Occupation | Writer and lecturer |
| Known for | Daughter of Joseph Stalin |
|
Notable work
|
Twenty Letters to a Friend (book), Only One Year (book) |
| Spouse(s) |
Grigory Morozov
(m. 1944; div. 1947)Yuri Zhdanov
(m. 1949; div. 1952)Ivan Svanidze
(m. 1962; div. 1963)William Wesley Peters
(m. 1970; div. 1973) |
| Children |
|
| Parent(s) | |
| Relatives |
|
| Signature | |
 |
|
Svetlana Iosifovna Alliluyeva (born Stalina; 28 February 1926 – 22 November 2011), later known as Lana Peters, was a famous writer. She was the only daughter of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin and his second wife Nadezhda Alliluyeva.
In 1967, Svetlana made headlines around the world. She decided to leave the Soviet Union and move to the United States. In 1978, she became an American citizen. She was the last of Stalin's children to be alive.
Contents
Growing Up
Svetlana Stalina was born on February 28, 1926. Her mother, Nadezhda Alliluyeva, wanted to have a career. So, a nanny named Alexandra Bychokova helped care for Svetlana and her older brother, Vasily. Svetlana and Alexandra became very close friends. They stayed friends for 30 years until Alexandra passed away in 1956.
Svetlana's mother died on November 9, 1932. In 1933, Svetlana and Vasily started attending Moscow School No. 25. Svetlana stayed at this school until she graduated in 1943. She was treated like any other student, without special favors.
In 1942, Winston Churchill, the British leader, met Svetlana. He described her as a "handsome red-haired girl." She kissed her father, and Churchill felt Stalin was showing him their family life.
When Svetlana was 16, she fell in love with Aleksei Kapler. He was a Soviet filmmaker who was 38 years old. Her father, Joseph Stalin, strongly disliked this relationship. Kapler was sent away from Moscow in 1943 and later to labor camps in 1948.
Her Marriages
Svetlana Alliluyeva was married four times. Her first marriage was in 1944 to Grigory Morozov. He was a student at Moscow University. Svetlana's father did not approve of Morozov, but they never met. Svetlana and Grigory had a son named Iosif, born in 1945. They divorced in 1947 but remained good friends.
Her second marriage was arranged for her. She married Yuri Zhdanov in 1949. Yuri was the son of one of Stalin's close helpers. Svetlana lived with Yuri's family. She felt controlled by his mother, Zinaida. Yuri was very busy with his work for the Communist Party. They had a daughter, Yekaterina, in 1950. Their marriage ended soon after.
In 1962, she married Ivan Svanidze. He was the nephew of Stalin's first wife. They married in a church, which was against Soviet rules. Ivan was not well due to past difficulties. This marriage lasted less than a year.
From 1970 to 1973, she was married to an American architect named William Wesley Peters. They had a daughter together, Olga Peters. Olga is also known as Chrese Evans.
Life After Her Father's Death
After her father, Joseph Stalin, died in 1953, Svetlana worked in Moscow. She was a lecturer and a translator. Her father had made her study history and political ideas. However, Svetlana truly loved literature and writing.
In a 2010 interview, she said her father's refusal to let her study arts and his treatment of Aleksei Kapler "broke her life." She said Stalin loved her but was "a very simple man. Very rude. Very cruel." When asked about her father's rule, she said she disagreed with many of his choices. But she also felt the Communist government as a whole was responsible.
Moving to the West
In 1963, Svetlana met Brajesh Singh, an Indian Communist, in a hospital. They fell in love, but the Soviet government did not allow them to marry. Brajesh Singh died in 1966. Svetlana was allowed to travel to India to take his ashes to his family.
While in India, Svetlana asked to stay there. But her request was denied, and she was told to return to the Soviet Union. On March 9, 1967, Svetlana went to the United States Embassy in New Delhi. She wrote down her wish to leave the Soviet Union. The U.S. ambassador offered her a new life in the United States.
Svetlana accepted. The Indian government worried about angering the Soviet Union. So, Svetlana was sent from India to Rome. From Rome, she traveled to Geneva, Switzerland. The Swiss government gave her a tourist visa for six weeks. She then traveled to the United States. She left her adult children behind in the Soviet Union. When she arrived in New York City in April 1967, she spoke to the press. She spoke against her father's actions and the Soviet government.
After living in New York for a few months, Svetlana moved to Princeton, New Jersey. There, she gave lectures and wrote books. She later moved to Wisconsin. In 2010, she said she was "quite happy" in Wisconsin. Her children in the Soviet Union did not stay in touch with her.
Svetlana tried different religions. Her first book, Twenty Letters to a Friend, was very popular. It earned her a lot of money. However, she said she gave much of it to charity. By 1986, she faced financial problems.
In 1978, Svetlana became a U.S. citizen. In 1982, she moved to Cambridge, England, with her daughter Olga. In 1984, she and Olga moved back to the Soviet Union. They were given Soviet citizenship again. But in 1986, she moved back to the U.S. with Olga. She said that comments she made while in the USSR, like not enjoying freedom in the West, were not true.
Svetlana spent her last two years in southern Wisconsin. She died on November 22, 2011, from colon cancer.
Her daughter Olga now lives in Portland, Oregon. Her older daughter, Yekaterina, is a scientist who studies volcanoes in Siberia. Svetlana's son Iosif, a heart doctor, died in Russia in 2008.
Her Beliefs
Svetlana Alliluyeva was baptized into the Russian Orthodox Church in 1963. During her time living outside the Soviet Union, she explored various religions. She was interested in the Orthodox Church and even thought about becoming a nun.
In 1982, Svetlana converted to the Catholic Church in Cambridge, England.
Her Books
While still in the Soviet Union, Svetlana wrote a memoir in 1963. A copy of this book was secretly taken out of the country. It was titled Twenty Letters to a Friend. This book became a worldwide sensation.
Her main books are:
- Twenty Letters to a Friend (1967)
- Only One Year (1969)
- Faraway Music (1984)
Images for kids
-
Alliluyeva in January 1970
-
Alliluyeva in 1967
See Also
- List of Eastern Bloc defectors
- List of people granted political asylum
