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
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... directive on Operation Barbarossa Soviet–Turkish statement on neutrality Soviet–Yugoslav Treaty of Friendship and Non-Aggression German invasion of Yugoslavia and Greece Soviet–Japanese neutrality pact Stalin appointed Chairman of the ...
... directive on Operation Blau Battle of Kharkov Molotov trip to London and Washington British–Soviet Treaty of Alliance Soviet–American agreement on mutual aid Anglo-Soviet–American communiqués on the opening of a second front in 1942 ...
... directives and orders to the armed forces. His speeches and statements were major milestones in the declaration of Soviet military strategy and political aims and played an important role in boosting popular morale. Stalin represented ...
... directives and commands showed front commanders their mistakes and shortcomings, taught them how to deal with all manner of military operations skillfully.48 While Vasilevskii is generally seen as one of the brains behind the Red Army's ...
... directives to Dimitrov after the outbreak of war were cautious and conservative. At a meeting with Dimitrov on 25 October 1939 Stalin observed that 'during the first imperialist war the Bolsheviks overestimated the situation. We all got ...
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 |