The life and times of Andrei Zhdanov, 1896-1948 / Kees Boterbloem.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Boterbloem, Kees, 1962-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Zhdanov, Andreĭ Aleksandrovich, 1896-1948.

Zhdanov, Andreĭ Aleksandrovich.

Politicians--Soviet Union--Biography.

Politicians.

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

Soviet Union.

Soviet Union--Cultural policy.

Soviet Union--History--1925-1953.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xxiv, 593 p. )

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Montreal ; Ithaca : McGill-Queen's University Press, c2004.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In 1934 Andrei Zhdanov was promoted to the post of secretary of the Communist Party's Central Committee in Moscow and entered the inner circle of Stalin's partners. Notable for his involvement in implementing the artificial crisis of the Great Terror in Moscow and Leningrad, Zhdanov was later involved in the preparation and signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and acted as Stalin's Party emissary in the Winter War and the sovietization of Estonia. Boterbloem details how Zhdanov's career was put in jeopardy in the summer of 1941 when German troops almost captured Leningrad. Stalin kept Zhdanov at the Leningrad front for much of the Second World War because of his alleged failure to halt the initial German advance, where he presided over the terrible suffering of the besieged city's population. In 1945, Zhdanov's ideological commitment led to his recall to the centre of Soviet power where, more publicly visible than ever before, he berated Soviet artists, scientists, philosophers, composers, and foreign Communist Parties for failing to adhere to the Party line. Never in good health, the stress of being Stalin's main assistant in both the massive bureaucracy of the Communist Party and the attempt to restore ideological orthodoxy, combined with anxiety about his son Iurii, led to his death in 1948.

Contents:

Front Matter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Archival Annotation, Foreign Terms, Transcription, and Glossary

Preface

Stalin’s Accomplice

Youth, 1896–19181

Rise of a Bolshevik Chieftain, 1918–1924

The Proconsul of Nizhnii Novgorod, 1924–1929

The Great Turn, 1929–1934

Moscow and Leningrad, 1934–1936

Purification, 1937–1939

Dragon’s Teeth, 1939–1941

Dragon Harvest, 1941–1945

The Prodigal Son Returns, 1945–1946

The Selfless Fighter Succumbs, 1947–1948

Myths, the Man, and a Legacy in Limbo

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. [525]-563) and index.

ISBN:

9786612861703

9781282861701

1282861700

9780773571730

0773571736

OCLC:

929120907

Publisher Number:

2027/heb05217 hdl