Stalinism and the politics of mobilization : ideas, power, and terror in inter-war Russia / David Priestland.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Priestland, David.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Soviet Union--Politics and government--1917-1936.

Soviet Union.

Politics and government.

Soviet Union--Politics and government--1936-1953.

Communism--Soviet Union--History.

Communism.

History.

Physical Description:

xii, 487 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2007.

Summary:

The relationship between ideas and politics in inter-war Russia has long been controversial, and historians have been sharply divided over the influence of Marxism on Stalinist politics. In this book David Priestland presents a reassessment of Bolshevik ideas, and of the ways in which they interacted with other political forces during the period. By analyzing the political discourse of the Bolshevik leadership, he shows how differing interpretations of Marxism-Leninism inspired and justified contrasting political and economic strategies. In particular, he traces the emergence of a strategy of mobilization, which was closely associated with leftist trends within Bolshevism. In exploring these ideas and strategies, the book sheds new light on inter-war Bolshevik politics, and on the origins of Stalin's 'Great Terror' of 1936-8.

Contents:

Introduction Ideas and Politics in Bolshevik Russia 1

1 Victory and Fragmentation, 1917-1921 58

2 The Emergence of Left and Right, 1921-1927 133

3 Mobilization and `Class Struggle', 1928-1930 189

4 The Search for Unity and Order, 1930-1935 244

5 Mobilization and Terror, 1934-1939 304

Conclusion Mobilization and `Class Struggle' in Communist Politics 404.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [432]-460) and index.

ISBN:

9780199245130

0199245134

OCLC:

77334151