Stalin : a biography

The Resource Stalin : a biography
Label
Stalin : a biography
Title remainder
a biography
Statement of responsibility
Robert Service
Creator
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
"Overthrowing the conventional image of Stalin as an uneducated political administrator inexplicably transformed into a pathological killer, Robert Service reveals a more complex and fascinating story behind this notorious twentieth-century figure. Drawing on unexplored archives and personal testimonies gathered from across Russia and Georgia, this is the first full-scale biography of the Soviet dictator in twenty years." "Service describes in unprecedented detail the first half of Stalin's life - his childhood in Georgia as the son of a violent, drunkard father and a devoted mother; his education and religious training; and his political activity as a young revolutionary. No mere messenger for Lenin, Stalin was a prominent activist long before the Russian Revolution. Equally compelling is the depiction of Stalin as Soviet leader. Service recasts the image of Stalin as unimpeded despot; his control was not limitless. And his conviction that enemies surrounded him was not entirely unfounded." "Stalin was not just a vengeful dictator but also a man fascinated by ideas and a voracious reader of Marxist doctrine and Russian and Georgian literature as well as an internationalist committed to seeing Russia assume a powerful role on the world stage. In examining the multidimensional legacy of Stalin, Service helps explain why later would-be reformers - such as Khrushchev and Gorbachev - found the Stalinist legacy surprisingly hard to dislodge."--Jacket
Biography type
individual biography
Cataloging source
DLC
Dewey number
  • 947.084/1/092
  • B
Illustrations
  • illustrations
  • maps
  • plates
Index
index present
LC call number
DK268.S8
LC item number
S4237 2005
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography

Context

Context of Stalin : a biography

Work of

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