Crucibles of power : Smolensk under Stalinist and Nazi rule / Michael David-Fox.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

David-Fox, Michael, 1965- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Menʹshagin, Boris Georgievich, 1902-1984.

Menʹshagin, Boris Georgievich.

Smolenskiĭ obkom KPSS. Partiĭnyĭ arkhiv.

Smolenskiĭ obkom KPSS.

Power (Social sciences)--Russia (Federation)--Smolenskai͡a oblastʹ.

Power (Social sciences).

National socialism--Russia--History--20th century.

National socialism.

Smolenskai︠a︡ oblastʹ (Russia)--History--20th century.

Smolenskai︠a︡ oblastʹ (Russia).

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

Soviet Union.

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

Physical Description:

ix, 460 pages : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm

Other Title:

Smolensk under Stalinist and Nazi rule

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Massachusetts : Harvard University Press, [2025]

Summary:

"An exploration of prewar and postwar power relations in Russia's Smolensk amid Stalinism and Nazism in Russia's Smolensk. The book investigates how lived experiences shaped people's fateful choices and how ordinary people sustained the twentieth century's two most murderous regimes"-- Provided by publisher.

"During the Cold War, the Smolensk Archive held the only collection of Communist Party documents available to Western scholars, becoming the foundation for generations of scholarship on Soviet history. Crucibles of Power returns to the Smolensk Region with fresh eyes and fresh sources. Prizewinning historian Michael David-Fox traces the experiences of Smolensk residents between the interwar years and the end of World War II, a period during which the city and region passed from Stalinist rule to Nazi occupation and back. The result is a revelatory examination of choice and power under dueling forms of murderous totalitarianism. Exploring the life-and-death decisions of a fascinating cast of characters—from young women in the Communist Youth League to a defense lawyer during Stalin’s Great Terror who became Smolensk’s collaborationist mayor during the German occupation—David-Fox shows how deeply the Stalinist and Nazi regimes relied on the cooptation of average citizens motivated by greed and need, but always within the orbit of ideology. Challenging today’s Russian nationalist narrative of heroic WWII resistance, he finds that large numbers of Russians aided the Nazi occupation of Smolensk in order to protect themselves, secure their own self-interest, or pursue vendettas against a Soviet state they found no less corrupt or oppressive than its German foe. At a time when much of the world is tilting away from liberal democracy and toward authoritarianism, Crucibles of Power masterfully unravels the threads of dictatorial rule. Smolensk emerges as a laboratory for understanding the mechanics of both outright coercion and subtler forms of power, as well as the enabling behavior of ordinary citizens acquiescing to extraordinary crimes."-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

An epicenter of the Stalin revolution

Colonizing the countryside

The enemy within

Regime change

Murder and humiliation

Partisans come to power

Collaboration and the Russian question

Sex crimes and a clash over civilization

Soviet power returns.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 377-443) and index.

ISBN:

0674247469

9780674247468

OCLC:

1452731451