The Indian Prince and Stalin’s Daughter
Brajesh Singh and Svetlana’s love — as well as a journey to India — would defy Cold War geopolitics and change their lives forever.
The story begins in Moscow’s Kuntsevo Hospital in October 1963. A 37-year-old single mother, Svetlana Alliluyeva, was recovering from tonsillectomy when she met a slight, grey-haired Indian man. She was intrigued. For days, she waited and gathered the courage to start a conversation. When they finally spoke, it was to discuss Gandhi and Nehru.
What follows is a tale spanning Soviet Russia and India, where Svetlana would immerse the man’s ashes in the Ganges. Their meeting, and eventual romance, would have a fateful impact on Svetlana’s break from the Soviet Union. The man: Brajesh Singh Lal, a Communist and Indian prince. The woman: Svetlana Alliluyeva, Joseph Stalin’s daughter.