Svetlana — M.I. Quandour

Svetlana Alliluyeva grew up in the Kremlin in the shadow of her father, the Soviet leader, Joseph Stalin. Because of her defection to the West, she is labelled as a traitor, an enemy of the people and a terrible mother for deserting her children and fleeing the Soviet Union. On the day that Mikhail Gorbachov becomes leader of the USSR, Svetlana writes to him asking permission to return. The Supreme Council of the USSR sees her return as an ideal propaganda opportunity, especially since they were now trying to rehabilitate Stalin as a military genius and brilliant diplomat. Their intention is to use her return to bolster the foundations of the Soviet Union which is becoming shaky with protests occurring throughout the country. Her intention is to reconcile with her abandoned children and to see her beloved Russia once more.