Stalin: The First In-depth Biography Based on Explosive New Documents from Russia's Secret Archives

I was looking for details on how Stalin molded Soviet society, not just in the systematic terror of a totalitarian state, but in the heavy industrialization of a largely peasant society. This book has plenty to offer on Stalin's brutality and even his pathological psychology as based on new documents that were coming to light, but it neglects the wider perspective, offering virtually no sociological context or comparison, even with the other great pioneer of totalitarianism, Hitler. As such, I was disappointed and must go elsewhere, but other readers might be looking for exactly what Radzinsky offers. It is much more about how he acquired power than what he did with it, beyond terror, that is.Stalin came from a dirt-poor family in Georgia. His father was a shoemaker and violent alcoholic who was largely absent, his mother was an illiterate peasant who provided what love and support she could. Early on, he entered a seminary, one of the few gateways to education available, and wrote poetry. However, once he discovered Marxism-Leninism, he became a revolutionary operative of ruthless efficiency and great experience. This caught the attention of Lenin, who quickly promoted him to be his deputy - Radzinsky makes very clear that he recognized a similarity of method to the man, i.e. the willingness to do whatever was necessary to promote the revolution, be it massacres, imprisonment of even loyal opponents, or the waging of war. Stalin enshrined Lenin as a kind of messiah, a personality cult that he would later claim for himself.Most crucially, Lenin appointed Stalin to the new post of general secretary, which enabled Stalin to promote the faithful to local and regional leadership roles, ensuring that they were ideological allies, hence translating into their willingness to do whatever they were told. Not only did this include the control of the secret police (the Cheka), but it allowed Stalin gain the allegiance of all those who owed their positions to him, whether by fear or loyalty. Stalin knew how to employ this monopoly of power to consolidate his position. Radzinsky argues that the enfeebled and dying Lenin began to oppose Stalin, but it was more for personal reasons than any misgivings or awareness of the excesses to which Stalin was headed.Radzinsky does an excellent job of portraying the terror. First, in the atmosphere of civil war as exacerbated by the encouragement of the western great powers, he clamped down on domestic opponents, purging classes such as the Kulaks (rich peasants) and even entire nationalities, such as the Tatars of the Crimea or Chechans. Then, he went after the old Bolsheviks, eliminating them with his customary efficiency. Finally, he went after anyone he perceived as a threat. It makes for chilling reading, but these facts are well known. What Radzinsky adds is the argument that Stalin was doing exactly what Lenin intended for him to do and does not represent any kind of aberration; indeed, Radzinsky makes the case that all the others who lost out would have done pretty much the same.The readers gets a good sense of Stalin the man, written in almost the tone of a folksy psycho-drama. Everyone around him suffered, including the second wife who probably committed suicide and his neglected children. He comes off as a psychopath in the mold of Ivan the Terrible, whom he admired. But then, Radzinsky was a playwright, not a historian or political scientist. I would have wanted much more on the economic and social impact of the collectivization, the concentration of the development of heavy industries like steel, the truncation of the capitalist mode of capitalist practices.Recommended. This is a good book, but not what I was expecting.

I grew up during World War II, when Joseph Stalin was one of the "Big Three" world leaders, and an ally along with President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. He was an enigma, having been originally associated with Adolf Hitler in a pact to take over Europe and divide it up between them, but switched sides when Hitler sent a couple of Armored Divisions east through the Ukraine to attack Russia at Stalingrad. This book is very well written, with the reader in mind, as a rolling, detailed account of the life, from birth to death, of a man born into poor, beginnings in a small mountain town, who rose through political activities to assume the powers of the czars that he had opposed as a violent revolutionary figure most of his life. The book carries the reader through the violent and raw times of the Russian people prior to, during and following the revolutions into the Communist era, and through World War II. Stalin, who chose his name as a symbol of his staunch role of "steel" during the revolution, was arrested by various government police during his early political career, and spent years in extremely harsh prisons, some near the arctic circle, in primitive conditions. He wore the bitterness of his early life on his sleeve, and ruled with an iron fist, though known to his friends and family as a very affable, likable fellow who used his charismatic personality to gain influence and trust on this way up. He was the prime example of the modern politician who endears himself with the public and his fellow politicians, but readily disposes of them when they become inconvenient. I recommend this book to anyone interested in understanding the course of the world from the introduction of the 20th century until this date, While our school textbooks have bent facts to suit an idealistic if not socialistic false-history, this one lays out all the gory details of the things that are ground up to make the stew we now are experiencing as world-politics. Stalin was the model after which the modern leaders, including Mr. Putin were fashioned and trained. The iron-fist of the Soviet system has always been the grim, steely-eyed enforcement arm most recently called the KGB. Mr. Putin was the most recent chief of the KGB. His training prepared him well for the job he now holds, as he seems to hearken back to several premiers ago, eschewing the comparatively timid regimes of people like Kruschev and his successors, all the way back to the stocky, dark and ruthless rule of the peasant revolutionary leader with the bushy moustache and the peasant jacket soft leather boots, pipe and ready wit -- Joseph Stalin.

On its front cover this book promises some "explosive new material" that will shine fresh light onto Stalin from an author whose family were contemporaries of the man himself. This made the reality of the reading very disappointing. While there are some genuinely powerful and moving moments in this book (such as the beautifully conceived imaginary scenes played out in a block of flats kept watch on constantly by the secret police), not much of the material could be described as 'new' and what is new could certainly not be described as 'explosive'; rather, its emphatically peripheral nature adds nothing substantial to what has been written about by eminent scholars of Stalin and Stalinist history already (e.g. Conquest, Sebag Montefiore, Service.) In many places it reads like a hastily written 'whodunnit', and here and there it dissolves into bouts of egocentric, breathless speculation which might be acceptable in a book by a playwright (which Rudetzky is) but which is at best highly dubious in a work that describes itself as being from the hand of a "trained historian." Further, the lack of proper citations for source material is so severe that as a work of historical reference the book is almost useless to students and scholars alike.

This book has a lot of good points, such as the enormous number of references used to pull the detail together, and the subsequent, sometimes complex, story that emerges.But I found it a hugely irritating read, and especially in the earlier chapters, difficult to get through. I generally feel that historical books should be impartial in their approach, even when the subject is so overwhelmingly bad. Radzinsky approaches this with the bias of someone that is too close to the events, and that seeps through frequently by means of sometimes sarcastic descriptions and comments. It infuriated me, as I read this thinking it would be a historical document where I could learn the facts - instead I found a biased author who at times seemed intent on turning detective and piecing together flimsy at best cases where he seems to have ‘solved’ mysteries decades old (for example, the death of Stalin’s second wife). I felt at times his descriptions of Stalin made him almost cartoonish - he makes assumptions about how Stalin would have reacted to something; “he would have laughed”. And finally, for all of those fantastic, detailed references... he has not referenced them in the text, so we don’t know where he is getting his material from. I usually like to read some supporting text if I can, and especially in the case of this book where there is such a biased approach it would be used full to know where some of these quotes came from, but here it’s all so muddled I wouldn’t know where to start.If you want a book that reads more like a story, then great. But if you have a genuine interest in the history of communism you may find this a frustrating read at times.

This counts as one of the best biographies, I have ever read. Radzinsky is able to relay the story from two perspectives. First, Radzinsky is a Russian. His family lived through the Stalin years. He is able to relay information, from a personal viewpoint. Secondly, Radzinsky spent a great deal of time, researching the Russian archives. Most of the documents relating to Stalin, have only recently became available to the public. Many of the recently released files, contained shocking information. Radzinsky breaks down Stalin`s life story, into three segments. He starts with his childhood, then his youthful revolutionary period, and lastly Stalin`s time as the all powerful leader of the Soviet Union. Somewhere along the line, the reader suddenly realizes; this book is a lot more then just a biography. The transition period from Tsarist Russia over to the Bolshevik rule, is extremely violent. A civil war breaks out, which eventually leads to a Bolshevik victory. Stalin places himself, right in the middle of these events. He works his way through the party, and ends up as Lenin`s right hand man. This of course, will later lead to Stalin becoming the party leader. The details on the Russian Revolution, and the Bolshevik rise to power, is very interesting. I believe a lot of Western readers, will find the Russian historical data, as appealing as the biographical information. The reader will also go through all of Stalin`s gory details. The man was a complete psychopath. Stalin not only had zero sympathy for his victims, he would often laugh at their plight. Friends, family, enemies, co-workers, peasants, soldiers, officers, you name it, he killed them all.At the same time, Stalin is a very cunning political animal. He seldom makes mistakes, and he does not suffer fools. Yes he was evil in the extreme, but he was also a political mastermind. I highly recommend this biography.

Radzinski's work is powerful. Through Stalin, we get to discover that Lenin was a brutal monster too. How in the world such individuals were permitted to destroy so many lifes and families is beyond imagination. When it comes to annihilation, mayhem and human destruction, Adolf Hilter is a mere amateur next to Stalin.Some passages of the book are so strong that one has to close it, digest what he just read, in order to go on.I came to the conclusion that Joseph Stalin is the worst human being ever born in history.

A Well Researched Book ..... The Whole Inhuman Cruelty & Stone-Heartedness of Stalin has been brought out in all it's Ferociousness & Barbarity ..... Further, the Timidity, Treachery & Cowardliness of Human Beings in the Face of Raw Terror has also been Revealed Vividly ......One Man Destroyed Crores of Lives....... But it would not have been accomplished without the Co-operation of other Human Beings, Who sold their Conscience for a few Pieces of Silver, Comfort & Power ....... But these Accomplishes also were Murdered, Still, they refused to Rebel ....... The Novel is a Gripping Piece of Black Human Drama ....... It's a Must Read for ALL ..... For Everybody must know about this Dark Period of History, So that it may not be ever Repeated Again ......