Stalin. Vol. I, Paradoxes of power, 1878-1928
Stephen Kotkin (Author)
This biography restores a sense of surprise, even wonder, to the way we think about Stalin, the 20th century, revolution, and indeed the art of history itself. The product of a decade of scrupulous and intrepid research, 'Stalin' contains a host of astonishing revelations. Kotkin gives an intimate view of the Bolshevik regime's inner geography, bringing to the fore materials from Soviet military intelligence and the secret police. He explains how chaos from revolution and civil war became a permanent feature of Soviet administration, even as the regime and Stalin acquired ever more power. The book details Stalin's invention of a fabricated trial and mass executions as early as 1918, the technique he would later impose across the whole country. It places Stalin's momentous decision for collectivization more deeply than ever in the tragic history of imperial Russia
Print Book, English, 2014
Allen Lane, London, 2014