Wasn’t quite sure
what to expect with this, as I knew the very basic outline of
Stalin’s life but few details. Initially (the book has a loose
opening focus centring on a key event some time before WWII) I found
it a little difficult to get into. Stalin’s obviously the
overarching figure but many others (Molotov, Beria etc) feature
prominently.
After this opening, the
biography falls into a more traditional, chronological, account of
Stalin, from difficult childhood through early adulthood, eventually
ending with his death some time after the conclusion of the Second
World War. The author has clearly drawn on existing histories,
testimonies (which he frequently acknowledges may be somewhat biased
by those seeking to protect the reputation of themselves or their
relatives), and diaries and other papers.
The result is a 600
page or so account of one of the critical men of the 20th
century, which sheds new light in many areas due to the opening up of
archives that were inaccessible previously, and personal interviews
with the individuals (and relatives of those) who were present at the
time.
The monstrous
capriciousness of Stalin, toying with victims sadistically whilst
feigning ignorance, and his bizarrely double-faced nature, ordering
executions by quota yet helping a colleague’s daughter with her
maths homework when she rang up and her father was absent, paints a
picture of a chaotic, lethal maelstrom. The only constant was the
rise and then supremacy of Stalin.
Those of you who have
read 1984 or, perhaps even better, Animal Farm will recognise much of
the horror: the religious, zealous devotion to the ideal of the
Party, the blind, trusting devotion of many (reminiscent of Boxer the
horse), and dissolving individuality in the acid of socialism.
The title itself is a
signpost, with Stalin every bit the monarch a tsar, or king, or
emperor, might be.
Although post-war there
was a Terror against the Jews, before it the Soviet approach to
massacre was completely different to the Nazi way. The Third Reich,
of course, aimed for the extermination of the Jews. Stalin wanted to
get rid of the inconvenient, cared little for human life, and created
quotas for genocide. His underlings executed tens of thousands quite
literally to make up the numbers. One might say he was, at that
stage, an equal opportunities genocidal maniac.
The intelligence of
Stalin, particularly as a master manipulator of those who were his
colleagues and became his subordinates, is compelling, as is the
wilful blindness he displayed towards Hitler’s betrayal and
invasion of the USSR.
Beneath Stalin is a
cast of characters that occasionally match his wickedness, and others
who seem a little less brutal (it’s a difficult thing to try and
assess people who would’ve destroyed themselves and their families
if their words or actions had sought to save the persecuted
innocent). Voroshilov, the personally brave and politically wimpish
soldier; Budyonny, the likeable cavalryman with no appreciation of
how tanks might be better than horses; Beria, the sadist, the rapist,
the schemer.
This isn’t my period
of history, but I still felt displeased by my own ignorance about
someone so significant to recent events. Similar to the first time I
learnt something about the Eastern Roman Empire, albeit with less
ignorance and more recency.
However, having
recently finished it, I’ve got to say I enjoyed the book a lot.
It’s grim in many places, but engaging and enlightening. As I
posted elsewhere,
it’s baffling that a man who died within living memory and was
responsible for the deaths of 20 million people (and the enslavement
of a similar number) isn’t better understood. Even today, some
idiots in the UK happily march under banners of a man every bit as
evil as Hitler.
I strongly recommend
this book.
Thaddeus
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