Stalin as Warlord
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Alfred J. Rieber
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Format: HardcoverPrice: $38.00
An authoritative account of Stalin as a wartime leader—showing how his paradoxical policies of mass mobilization and repression affected all aspects of Soviet society
The Second World War was the defining moment in the history of the Soviet Union. With Stalin at the helm, it emerged victorious at a huge economic and human cost. But even before the fighting had ended, Stalin began to turn against the architects of success.
In this original and comprehensive study, Alfred J. Rieber examines Stalin as a wartime leader, arguing that his policies were profoundly paradoxical. In preparation for the war, Stalin mobilized the whole of Soviet society in pursuit of his military goals and intensified the centralization of his power. Yet at the same time, his use of terror weakened the forces vital to the defense of the country. In his efforts to rebuild the country after the devastating losses and destruction, he suppressed groups that had contributed immeasurably to victory. His steady, ruthless leadership cultivated a legacy that was to burden the Soviet Union and Russia to the present day.
Alfred J. Rieber is university professor emeritus at the Central European University and emeritus professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of numerous books including Stalin and the Struggle for Supremacy in Eurasia, which was shortlisted for the Pushkin Book Prize.
“How Stalin, for all his strategic misjudgements, succeeded in preparing for war, mobilizing his people and fighting to victory in Berlin remains an intriguing historical question. Stalin as Warlord is a thought-provoking and informed account set squarely in the many debates that surround Stalin's role, but at the same time refreshingly perceptive, intelligently critical and lucidly written.”—Richard Overy, author of Blood and Ruins: The Great Imperial War, 1931-1945
Publication Date: October 11, 2022
15 b/w illus.
