Stalin's Wars: From World War to Cold War, 1939-1953This breakthrough book provides a detailed reconstruction of Stalin's leadership from the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 to his death in 1953. Making use of a wealth of new material from Russian archives, Geoffrey Roberts challenges a long list of standard perceptions of Stalin: his qualities as a leader; his relationships with his own generals and with other great world leaders; his foreign policy; and his role in instigating the Cold War. While frankly exploring the full extent of Stalin's brutalities and their impact on the Soviet people, Roberts also uncovers evidence leading to the stunning conclusion that Stalin was both the greatest military leader of the twentieth century and a remarkable politician who sought to avoid the Cold War and establish a long-term detente with the capitalist world. By means of an integrated military, political, and diplomatic narrative, the author draws a sustained and compelling personal portrait of the Soviet leader. The resulting picture is fascinating and contradictory, and it will inevitably change the way we understand Stalin and his place in history. Roberts depicts a despot who helped save the world for democracy, a personal charmer who disciplined mercilessly, a utopian ideologue who could be a practical realist, and a warlord who undertook the role of architect of post-war peace. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 87
... Churchill and Roosevelt 7 Triumph and Tragedy: Stalin's Year of Victories 8 Liberation, Conquest, Revolution: Stalin's Aims in Germany and Eastern Europe 9 Last Battles: Stalin, Truman and the End of the Second World War 10 The Lost ...
... Churchill, Averell Harriman, Stalin and Molotov at the Kremlin during Churchill's visit in August 1942. Corbis. Victorious Soviet soldiers marching through the ruins of Stalingrad. Interfoto. Ruins of the factory district in besieged ...
... Churchill, Roosevelt and Truman fought their diplomatic and political battles, and why the coalition collapsed after the Second World War. That aim remains a central strand of this book but in 2001–2002 I conducted a study of the battle ...
... Churchill–Stalin conference in Moscow Red Army enters Belgrade Bulgaria surrenders De Gaulle visit to Moscow Franco-Soviet Treaty of Alliance German Ardennes offensive USSR recognises the Polish Committee of National Liberation as the ...
... Churchill's 'Iron Curtain'speech in Fulton, Missouri CFM meeting in Paris CFM meeting in Paris Paris Peace Conference USSR demands joint control of the Black Sea Straits with Turkey Zhdanovshchina begins CFM meeting in New York Signing ...
Contents
Stalin and his Generals | |
Stalin Churchill and Roosevelt | |
Stalins Year of Victories | |
Stalins Aims in Germany and Eastern Europe | |
Stalin Truman and the End of the Second World | |
Stalin and the Origins of the Cold | |
The Domestic Context of Stalins Postwar Foreign Policy | |
Stalin Embattled | |
Stalin in the Court of History | |
Select Bibliography | 1957 |
Index | 1975 |