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 66
... France declare war on Germany Red Army invades eastern Poland Soviet Union declares its neutrality in the European war Soviet–German Boundary and Friendship Treaty Soviet–Estonian Treaty of Mutual Assistance Soviet–Latvian Treaty of ...
... France, the UK and the USA Peace talks begin in Korea 'Stalin note' on the terms for a peace treaty with Germany Second 'Stalin note' on the German question 19th Congress of the Soviet communist party Stalin's last public statement ...
... France in the west, his eastern flank was safeguarded by Soviet neutrality in the form of a non-aggression pact agreed with Stalin on 23 August 1939. Stalin concluded this pact in return for a secret agreement guaranteeing a Soviet ...
... France in August 1939 and thereby facilitated the Nazi takeover of most of continental Europe. The price of this miscalculation was the devastating blow of 22 June 1941 and the near success of the German invasion of the Soviet Union. On ...
... France and the USSR – a military coalition that would guarantee European security against further German expansion and, if necessary, go to war with Hitler. By the end of July agreement had been reached on the political terms of the ...
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 |