Le Fantôme de Staline

article by Sartre

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June 26, 2026

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"Le Fantôme de Staline" (The Phantom of Stalin) was an article written by Jean-Paul Sartre in 1956 for Les Temps Modernes. It was a critical response to the Soviet intervention in Hungary and the French Communist Party's alignment with Moscow. In this piece, Sartre condemned both actions, marking a shift in his previously more admiring stance towards the Soviet Union and communism. This article signaled a move towards a more critical examination of Marxist ideology and its practical application, which he further explored in his later work, Critique of Dialectical Reason.12

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Jean-Paul Sartre
Political activities of Jean-Paul Sartre
…Modernes a long article, “Le Fantôme de Staline,” that condemned both the Soviet intervention and the submission of the PCF to the dictates of Moscow. Over the years this critical attitude opened the way to a form of “Sartrian socialism” that would find its expression in a major work,…
Read More
…Modernes a long article, “Le Fantôme de Staline,” that condemned both the Soviet intervention and the submission of the PCF to the dictates of Moscow. Over the years this critical attitude opened the way to a form of “Sartrian socialism” that would find its expression in a major work,…
Read More