The Unknown Stalin

From the Introduction: More than a hundred biographies of Stalin have been written in the USSR, in the new Russia and in other countries in the decades following his death in 1953. When Communist Party and state archives began to open after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, yet more books and articles appeared, some examining specific aspects of the Stalin era: industrialization, collectivization, policies during the war, the terror, etc. Some authors have attempted to rehabilitate Stalin and justify his policies. Several pseudo-biographies have also been published, largely based on fictional 'information'. There have been books about Stalin's family, about his daughter Svetlana and his sons, Yakov and Vasily, as well as other relatives. Richard Harris 's novel Archangel was a British bestseller in 1999. Stalin is the central figure in a number of memoirs, often published posthumously, by his close and not so close colleagues, ministers, generals, intelligence officers, interpreters and even his personal servants and bodyguards. In view of this flow of literature about Stalin, the title we have chosen for the present volume, The Unknown Stalin, may seem rather surprising. However, after studying much of what has been written about Stalin since the opening of formerly top-secret archives, we remain convinced that so far only a surface layer of the new materials has been explored; a truly informed understanding of Stalin's era and his role in history is just beginning. Lenin was the protagonist in a revolutionary process that led to the creation of an innovative social and political structure in a new type of state, the Soviet Union. The development of this state into a highly centralized, totalitarian, industrially developed military power was accomplished by Stalin. It was also Stalin who after 1945 established an external empire that extended from Berlin to Beijing. There is a certain irony in the fact that it was the disappearance of this empire and the disintegration of the Soviet Union itself that made it possible for scholars to analyse the role of the USSR in history more objectively and to arrive at a more accurate assessment of the historical significance of its founders. Until recently, the study of history in the USSR was less an academic discipline than a tool of state and Party ideology. Therefore the restoration of a more authentic picture of our history in the twentieth century coincides with the restoration of history itself as a proper academic subject. And this is of significance beyond the borders of the new Russia. Josef Stalin remains one of the greatest enigmas of modern history. Unflinching, impenetrable, inhuman in his cruelty, bathed in misery himself, to many he represents a very paradigm of evil – perhaps, in his icy rationalism, even more so than Hitler himself. More than a hundred biographies of Stalin have been written since his death in 1953, but The Unknown Stalin is the first detailed study of the torrent of new material unleashed with the opening of the secret Soviet archives when the Union collapsed. In some cases, long held assumptions are questioned and revised: detailed study of the days before and after the outbreak of war with Germany make it clear that Stalin had a better idea of Hitler's intentions than is often supposed. In others, rumours are put to rest: in a chapter that reads like a detective story, the authors finally disprove the widely held-belief that Stalin was murdered by his colleagues. The truths sucked out of these long secret archives provides a radically fresh insight into the life and career of one of the major figures of our twentieth century. The Unknown Stalin represents one of the most important contributions to the study of Stalin in decades, and will be of vital interest to scholars and lay readers alike.'I found this book very difficult to put down. It is extraordinarily vivid and revealing. Given its breadth and perceptiveness, it deserves to be a resounding success. Its elucidation of some of the most important mysteries of the Stalin period makes this an invaluable contribution to identifying'the unknown Stalin'. - John Erickson, FBA, Professor of Defence Studies, University of Edinburgh.'In this important and intriguing volume, the indefatigable Medvedev brothers have detailed a series of key episodes in Joseph Stalin's later career. Drawing in part on newly available sources, they probe some of the critical instances of Stalin's malevolent will, including the Soviet nuclear program, his interventions in Soviet science, and his cat-and-mouse game with the ill-fated Nikolai Bukharin, not to mention the contentious circumstances of Stalin's death in 1953. They graphically evoke the unparalleled depth of sycophancy and fear that Stalin engendered and exploited. This book is a must resource for researchers and students of the Soviet historical experience.'Robert V. Daniels, Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Vermont. Josef Stalin remains one of the greatest enigmas of modern history. Unflinching, impenetrable, inhuman in his cruelty, bathed in misery himself, he represents to many a very paradigm of evil - perhaps, in his icy rationalism, even more so than Hitler himself. More than a hundred biographies of Stalin have been written since his death in 1953, but this study looks at the torrent of new material unleashed with the opening of the secret Soviet archives when the Union collapsed. The truths extracted from these long-secret archives provide a radically fresh insight into the life and career of one of the major figures of the 20th century Stalin remains one of the greatest enigmas of modern history; he represents to many a very paradigm of evil. This is a study of the new material unleashed with the opening of the secret Soviet archives, providing a radically fresh insight into Stalin's life and career.