Robert Conquest (1917 ¿ 2015) was one of the twentieth century¿s greatest historians of the Soviet Union. He came to international renown on publication of his ground-breaking history The Great Terror: Stalin¿s Purge of the Thirties in 1968, which revealed the true extent and nature Stalin¿s political executions and imprisonments. As well as holding academic posts at various universities, including the London School of Economics, Columbia University and Stanford University, he was an acclaimed poet, critic, novelist and translator.