The Russian revolution and the purges of Leninist and Stalinist Russia gave birth to a literary production as diverse as it was voluminous. Darkness at Noon, a novel detailing the infamous Moscow show trials conducted during the reign of Joseph Stalin, is Arthur Koestler's commentary on this event which constituted another attempt by Stalin to silence his critics. In the novel, Koestler exposes Marxism and why a movement that had as its goal the "regeneration of humanity 'had to result in its enslavement' and how, despite its drawbacks, it still appealed to intellectuals. It is for this reason that Koestler may have attempted "not to resolve but to expose" the flaws of this political system and, in doing so, once again reiterated the sanctity of individual freedom in relation to the collective good that this ideology claims to promote. Besides its political theory, the novel also engages in philosophical discussions, usually in the fevered mind of its protagonist. Darkness at Noon is a sparsely populated novel and, in addition to Rubashov, the man on trial, it presents its two interrogators and Leader's number. 1, an obvious euphemism for Joseph Stalin. The novel is almost allegorical in nature as places, people or incidents are also not labeled, although it is obvious that the author is talking about the Moscow show trials; this is generally considered one of the greatest travesties of justice of all time. The novel is written as a series of three trials conducted to implicate Rubashov for his counter-revolutionary activities while other incidents in the novel are depicted through flashbacks and the dreams of the victimized former People's Commissar, Rubashov's designation at the during his mandate. .... middle of paper ......ea communist, who had seen life on both sides of the Iron Curtain.ReferencesBolton, Dr. KR “The Moscow Trials in Historical Context” Foreign Policy Journal. (2011) Retrieved from: http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2011/04/22/the-moscow-trials-in-historical-context/8/Conquest, Robert. The Great Terror: a reassessment. Oxford University Press (2007) Gregory, Paul R. “Martyred For Communism” Hoover Digest No.3 (2010) Retrieved from: http://www.hoover.org/publications/hoover-digest/article/36036 Hitchens, Christopher. “Darkness at Noon: Arthur Koestler's landmark anti-Stalinist novel” Slate. (2005) Retrieved from: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/book_blitz/2005/09/darkness_at_noon.single.html Schaefer, David Lewis. “The Limits of Ideology: Koestler's Darkness at Noon,” Modern Age, Vol. 29, no. 4, autumn (1985)