I'm reading a book right now about Russia under the rule of Stalin, specifically the Great Terror of the 1930's.

For some reason Stalinist Russia has become my new point of interest for things I want to learn about. And the book I'm reading is supposedly THE definative work on the subject.

But I don't know if I can handle it. I'm about 10 pages in and I'm so lost. It's not that the author did a bad job or that he is boring. Far from it. I just don't have a clue who 90% of the people he's talking about are! One can only take so many Trotsky's, Leaonivansky's and Ulianov's with no frame of reference before one starts to have a severe thirst for vodka and a desire to turn to friendlier tomes...

I will soldier on though. I think the subject matter is interesting enough that I'll be able to finish the book and hopefully once I've laid the groundwork of how the Politbureau worked, etc., I'll be able to handle the rest of the book without having an aneurisym.