Stalin / Hiroaki Kuromiya.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kuromiya, Hiroaki.

Series:

Profiles in power (London, England)

Profiles in power

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Stalin, Joseph, 1878-1953.

Heads of state--Soviet Union--Biography.

Heads of state.

Soviet Union.

Soviet Union--History--1925-1953.

History.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xvii, 227 pages ; 21 cm.

Place of Publication:

Harlow, England ; New York : Pearson/Longman, 2005.

Summary:

"Half beast, half giant" is how Hitler once referred to Stalin. Like Hitler himself, Stalin was a tyrant. His rule of the Soviet Union was one of the bloodiest episodes in the modern history of the world. How did such a man, once regarded by his rivals as intellectually inferior, manage to rise to power to rule the largest country in the world for more than a quarter of a century, ultimately achieving a near divine status as dictator?

Hiroaki Kuromiya argues that the key to understanding Stalin lies in the fact that he lived solely for the purpose of shaping the body politic through the pursuit and exercise of power. Whatever private emotions Stalin had - whether affection, lust, hatred, or vindictiveness - he channeled to political ends and subsumed in his quest for power. Even ordering the deaths of people close to him evoked no special emotion because he deemed it necessary for the higher order. Kuromiya lucidly and systematically explains Stalin's use of terror as a political action - how Stalin viewed political terror, why he used terror so extensively, and how he felt about the deaths of millions.

Drawing on the author's extensive research into recently uncovered documents on Stalin's life, and reflecting the current state of knowledge in the field, this concise biography untangles the enigma of Stalin and elucidates his political thought and action. The world order changed irreversibly with the establishment of the Soviet Union. Kuromiya argues that without understanding Stalin, one cannot understand the twentieth century.

Contents:

1 From Georgia to Russia 1

Soso 1

Koba 11

Stalin 19

2 Revolution and Civil War 26

From February to October 26

Civil War 36

3 Struggle for Power 50

The New Economic Policy 50

Battle Royal 58

4 'Revolution from Above' 74

The Crisis of the NEP 74

Industrialisation and Collectivisation 85

5 Famine and Terror 101

Famine 102

Great Terror 113

6 War 133

Struggle for Survival 133

Uncertainty 143

War 150

7 Twilight of the God 169

Victory 169

Cold War 180

Death 191.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 212-216) and index.

ISBN:

0582784794

OCLC:

60776883

Publisher Number:

9780582784796