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 91
... USSR proposes spheres of influence agreement in the Balkans Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina annexed by the USSR Baltic States agree to incorporation in the USSR Germany, Italy and Japan conclude tripartite pact Molotov–Hitler ...
... USSR breaks off diplomatic relations with the Polish government in exile in London Publication of resolution proposing the dissolution of the Comintern Battle of Kursk Mussolini falls from power Allied invasion of Italy Smolensk ...
... USSR renounces its pact of neutrality with Japan Soviet–Yugoslav Treaty of Friendship, Mutual Aid and Postwar Co-operation Roosevelt dies; Truman becomes President Vienna falls to the Red Army Red Army's Berlin Operation begins San ...
... , particularly his role in the socialist industrialisation of the USSR.7 In the late 1980s a new phase of condemnation and criticism of Stalin began in the Soviet Union. But this time the critique of Stalin became Introduction: Stalin at.
... USSR was not ready for war with Germany in 1939 and that Stalin as well as Hitler made a number of strategic gains from the pact which, crucially, bought the Soviets time to prepare their defences. In the 1990s the debate about 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 |