Stalin Revolutionary in an Era of War

by McDermott, Kevin

• ISBN13: 9780333711224
• ISBN10: 033371122X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-09-04
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

Stalin's massive impact on Soviet history is often explained in terms of his inherent evil, personality defects, and power lust. This volume argues that Stalin's thoughts and actions are best contextualized in the inter-relationship between war and revolution in the first half of the twentieth century. Kevin McDermott incorporates recently declassified materials from the former Soviet Party archives and provides a critical review of western and Russian historiography.

Author Biography

KEVIN MCDERMOTT is Senior Lecturer in Political History at Sheffield Hallam University.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	ix
List of Abbreviations and Glossary of Terms	xi
Introduction	1	(16)
Stalin: Interpretations, Models and Personality	1	(16)
Interpretations and Issues	1	(5)
'War-Revolution Model'	6	(4)
Stalin's Personality	10	(7)
Chapter 1: Revolutionary	17	(24)
The Young Dzhugashvili	17	(3)
The Revolutionary Underground	20	(3)
Sources of Stalin's Marxism and Social Identity	23	(3)
Stalin and Lenin	26	(4)
Stalin in 1917	30	(4)
Stalin in the Civil War	34	(7)
Chapter 2: Oligarch	41	(23)
Stalin as General Secretary	43	(5)
Stalin, Trotsky and the 'United Opposition'	48	(4)
Stalin, Bukharin and the 'Right Opposition'	52	(3)
Stalin, the Opposition and the New Economic Policy	55	(3)
Stalin and 'Socialism in One Country'	58	(3)
Why Stalin?	61	(3)
Chapter 3: Moderniser	64	(24)
Stalin, Collectivisation and Famine	65	(6)
Stalin and Rapid Industrialisation	71	(5)
Stalin, Cultural Revolution and the 'Great Retreat'	76	(4)
Stalin and the National Question	80	(5)
Stalin as Moderniser?	85	(3)
Chapter 4: Dictator	88	(28)
From Chief Oligarch to Dictator	89	(6)
Stalin's 'Class War' Mentality	95	(3)
Terror: The Primacy of Stalin	98	(3)
Terror: Social and National Dimensions	101	(3)
Terror: Motivations and Outcomes	104	(5)
The Limits of Tyranny	109	(2)
The Stalin Cult	111	(5)
Chapter 5: Warlord	116	(21)
Stalin's Foreign Policy and the Road to War	117	(5)
Stalin and Operation Barbarossa	122	(4)
Stalin as Warlord	126	(7)
Stalin and the Home Front	133	(4)
Chapter 6: Statesman	137	(22)
Stalin's Power under 'High Stalinism'	138	(5)
Stalin as Intellectual	143	(2)
Stalin and the Comintern	145	(6)
Stalin and the Cold War	151	(5)
Stalin and the 'Paradigm of Death'	156	(3)
Conclusion	159	(9)
Stalin: Revolutionary in an Era of War	159	(9)
Stalin and the 'War-Revolution Model'	159	(4)
Stalin: A 'Weak Dictator'?	163	(2)
Stalin's Legacy	165	(3)
Notes	168	(26)
Bibliography	194	(20)
Index	214