Revisioning Stalin and Stalinism: Complexities, Contradictions, and Controversies

This thought-provoking collection of essays, assembled in honour of renowned historian Geoffrey Roberts, analyses the complex, multi-faceted, and even contradictory nature of Stalinism and its representations. This volume 'revisions' Stalin in his various guises - despot and diplomat, soldier and statesman, rational bureaucrat and paranoid politician - and explores the complex picture that this created in Russia during the period. Broadly speaking, three important areas of debate are examined, united by a focus on political leadership: the key controversies surrounding Stalin's leadership role; a reconsideration of Stalin and the Cold War; and new perspectives on the cult of personality.--Provided by publisher