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Stalin #2
Stalin in Power: The Revolution from Above, 1928-1941
"To my mind, the most significant single scholarly contribution made to date, anywhere, to the history of Soviet power."―George F. Kennan This book forms the second volume of Tucker's biography of Stalin, the first volume of which was "Stalin as Revolutionary". The author shows that Stalin was a Bolshevik of the radical right whose revolution cast the country deep into its imperial, autocratic past. In 1929 Stalin plunged Soviet Russia into a coercive "revolution from above", a decade-long effort to amass military-industrial power for a new war. He forced 25 million peasant families into state-run collectives and transformed the Communist Party into a servile instrument. In 1939, he concluded the pact with Hitler that enabled him to grasp at Eastern Europe while Hitler made war in the West. Tucker brings a fresh analysis to these events and to the Terror of the 1930s, revealing the motives and methods of what he calls the greatest murder mystery of this century.
707 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
454 people are currently reading
521 people want to read
About the author
Robert C. Tucker
36 books24 followersA scholar of Marxism and the Soviet Union, Robert Tucker studied at Harvard University. While working on a doctorate in philosophy, he spent two years as a translator for the United States Embassy in Moscow, where he met his wife Evgeniya Pestretsova. His inability to gain an exit visa for her when he returned to the United States in 1946, which proved a key experience in stimulating his studies.
After completing his dissertation, Tucker worked for the RAND Corporation and taught at Indiana University. He wrote a number of books about Marxism and Stalinism, most notably a two-volume biography of Josef Stalin which adopted a psychological interpretation to explain how Stalin gained and used power.
After completing his dissertation, Tucker worked for the RAND Corporation and taught at Indiana University. He wrote a number of books about Marxism and Stalinism, most notably a two-volume biography of Josef Stalin which adopted a psychological interpretation to explain how Stalin gained and used power.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
January 11, 2018
A very detailed history of Stalin's ascent to absolute power and his consolidation of an autocratic National-Bolshevik regime.
Generally well researched, authoritative in its scholarship and treatment of available primary sources, this book provides a gripping narrative of how the Lenin-inspired Soviet regime of the October Revolution was radically transformed by Stalin, in a deep and ruthless "revolution from above" involving an almost complete destruction of the Old-Bolshevik political leading class, into an ultra-nationalist, Russia-centric, police state guided by a Stalin personality cult and driven to ruthless, rapid industrialization primarily focused on the heavy industry and delivered at breakneck pace.
It is a gripping (and disturbing) read, providing a very detailed account of this radical transformation of Soviet society: all aspects (cultural, social, political, economic) of such transfiguration are comprehensively analyzed with competence and attention to detail.
The only issues I found in this otherwise excellent book are:
- some inaccuracies, or at least questionable perspectives, in the treatment of Stalin's negotiating skills with the Germans as part of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact (and subsequent deals) prior to the start of Operation Barbarossa: contrarily to what implicitly suggested by the author, Stalin was no simpleton in foreign policy (or "bungler", using the author's term): in fact, he demonstrated tough negotiating skills, managing to extract significant concessions from the Germans (like in Lithuania) that in some cases were almost humiliating to Hitler. His total shock and surprise at the start of Barbarossa is undeniably true, though
- the author occasionally gets lost into some irrelevant minutiae (for example, when providing long detailed lists of individuals of lesser political importance who fell under the hammer of the Great Purge)
- the author has an uncompromisingly negative view of the whole period and a completely negative perspective of Stalin's management of Soviet Russia. While it is true that Stalin was an example of absolute, despotic tyrant who made Hitler appear almost moderate by comparison, and that his forced collectivization of the countryside created the terrible famines of the mid-thirties and untold suffering, it must also be recognized that Russia achieved impressive rates of growth during this period, and managed to achieve a significant level of industrialization within the time span of just a few years, starting from an extremely low base; an objectively remarkable feat by all measures (even if admittedly supported by very harsh policies and by the slave labor of political prisoners).
Overall it is an interesting, informative and well-researched book of generally excellent scholarship, which would be recommended to anybody interested in a scholarly treatment of this pivotal and terrible period of modern Russian's history. 4 stars.
Generally well researched, authoritative in its scholarship and treatment of available primary sources, this book provides a gripping narrative of how the Lenin-inspired Soviet regime of the October Revolution was radically transformed by Stalin, in a deep and ruthless "revolution from above" involving an almost complete destruction of the Old-Bolshevik political leading class, into an ultra-nationalist, Russia-centric, police state guided by a Stalin personality cult and driven to ruthless, rapid industrialization primarily focused on the heavy industry and delivered at breakneck pace.
It is a gripping (and disturbing) read, providing a very detailed account of this radical transformation of Soviet society: all aspects (cultural, social, political, economic) of such transfiguration are comprehensively analyzed with competence and attention to detail.
The only issues I found in this otherwise excellent book are:
- some inaccuracies, or at least questionable perspectives, in the treatment of Stalin's negotiating skills with the Germans as part of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact (and subsequent deals) prior to the start of Operation Barbarossa: contrarily to what implicitly suggested by the author, Stalin was no simpleton in foreign policy (or "bungler", using the author's term): in fact, he demonstrated tough negotiating skills, managing to extract significant concessions from the Germans (like in Lithuania) that in some cases were almost humiliating to Hitler. His total shock and surprise at the start of Barbarossa is undeniably true, though
- the author occasionally gets lost into some irrelevant minutiae (for example, when providing long detailed lists of individuals of lesser political importance who fell under the hammer of the Great Purge)
- the author has an uncompromisingly negative view of the whole period and a completely negative perspective of Stalin's management of Soviet Russia. While it is true that Stalin was an example of absolute, despotic tyrant who made Hitler appear almost moderate by comparison, and that his forced collectivization of the countryside created the terrible famines of the mid-thirties and untold suffering, it must also be recognized that Russia achieved impressive rates of growth during this period, and managed to achieve a significant level of industrialization within the time span of just a few years, starting from an extremely low base; an objectively remarkable feat by all measures (even if admittedly supported by very harsh policies and by the slave labor of political prisoners).
Overall it is an interesting, informative and well-researched book of generally excellent scholarship, which would be recommended to anybody interested in a scholarly treatment of this pivotal and terrible period of modern Russian's history. 4 stars.
Want to read
January 12, 2014Tucker's book is a wonderful example to superlative scholarship. My only comment is that I would have preferred that he limit the repetition of his psychoanalysis of Stalin to once per 100 pages rather than once per 10 pages. That bit get tedious, after its first 50 to 60 appearances.
I have had trouble finishing the book, not because of Tucker's writing, but it becomes harder and harder to tolerate Stalin - especially after having read five or six or seven biographies already. But I will finish.
I have had trouble finishing the book, not because of Tucker's writing, but it becomes harder and harder to tolerate Stalin - especially after having read five or six or seven biographies already. But I will finish.
September 20, 2020
If you want to see Tucker speak to get a feel for him:
Robert Tucker - Russia Since the Communist Revolution - 1984 Interview [29 min]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85gY7...
July 23, 2019
Everyone over 40 years old has probably heard of ol' Joe Stalin, but do you really know him? Do you really know what kind of a man he was? For many years after WWII, no one outside of the U.S.S.R. really knew the true Stalin. And sadly, the majority within the U.S.S.R. didn't know him either, really.
This book and its predecessor will lead you down the rabbit hole and into the surreal labyrinth of Stalin's mind. It will show you how this man thought of himself and what motivated him to be one of history's greatest monsters; rivaling, if not surpassing Hitler in his vile and vengeful narcissistic exploits.
We all know "Uncle Joe" was not the mellow, pipe-smoking benevolent Socialist leader that photographs often show. He was a psychopath of the 1st Order. Robt. C. Tucker will enlighten you with regards to Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili. You will see a true monster come to life in these pages.
Some of Stalin's "accomplishments":
- He managed to totally upend Lenin's interpretation of Engels' and Marx' philosophy regarding Socialism and usurp it to his own ends as perceived by his twisted mind.
- In the process, he, through fear and intimidation (not directly, but through his minions) managed to gain total autocratic power in the U.S.S.R by the 1930s.
- Having attained unquestioned supremacy, he then went about seeking vengeance against any and all who had ever in any way offended his sterling heroic sense of self.
- In The Great Purge (AKA Stalin's Reign of Terror) of the 1930s (peaking in '39), Stalin managed to eliminate millions of Soviet citizens; mostly old Bolshevik cohorts, top government officials, top military officials, and countless friends, family members, co-workers, and acquaintances of the aforementioned.
- While the purging went on, Stalin even managed to remain blameless. The lower classes (peasants, laborers, etc.) still thought of him as Lenin's disciple and the man who brought Russia and the other Soviets together in one harmonious socialist dream world.
- In later years, Stalin made sure, often by writing/editing them himself, that all the histories and his biographies of the Revolution, Russia, and Stalin were exactly as he saw them in his own mind. He influenced education, literature, dramatic arts, movie making, and general culture of the U.S.S.R. to reflect his vision... his dream... his twisted version of history and his part in it.
It's truly difficult to understand how Stalin managed to do this. Fear is a very, very serious motivator. I'm not talking fear of a spider or fear of catching the flu. I'm talking about absolute dread; the ultimate fear for your life and the lives of all those you love. This is what motivated many, many prisoners in Stalin's NKVD headquarters to confess to outrageous crimes against the State. This is what motivated these same prisoners to denounce friends and coworkers by the millions as being conspirators in these crimes. It's truly mind blowing how this all occurred.
If you have any interest in history and understand George Santayana's oft-quoted warning, you should read these books by Tucker. I assure you that you will learn a thing or two and scratch your head quite often in wonder. You might even see parallels in our current world.
This book and its predecessor will lead you down the rabbit hole and into the surreal labyrinth of Stalin's mind. It will show you how this man thought of himself and what motivated him to be one of history's greatest monsters; rivaling, if not surpassing Hitler in his vile and vengeful narcissistic exploits.
We all know "Uncle Joe" was not the mellow, pipe-smoking benevolent Socialist leader that photographs often show. He was a psychopath of the 1st Order. Robt. C. Tucker will enlighten you with regards to Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili. You will see a true monster come to life in these pages.
Some of Stalin's "accomplishments":
- He managed to totally upend Lenin's interpretation of Engels' and Marx' philosophy regarding Socialism and usurp it to his own ends as perceived by his twisted mind.
- In the process, he, through fear and intimidation (not directly, but through his minions) managed to gain total autocratic power in the U.S.S.R by the 1930s.
- Having attained unquestioned supremacy, he then went about seeking vengeance against any and all who had ever in any way offended his sterling heroic sense of self.
- In The Great Purge (AKA Stalin's Reign of Terror) of the 1930s (peaking in '39), Stalin managed to eliminate millions of Soviet citizens; mostly old Bolshevik cohorts, top government officials, top military officials, and countless friends, family members, co-workers, and acquaintances of the aforementioned.
- While the purging went on, Stalin even managed to remain blameless. The lower classes (peasants, laborers, etc.) still thought of him as Lenin's disciple and the man who brought Russia and the other Soviets together in one harmonious socialist dream world.
- In later years, Stalin made sure, often by writing/editing them himself, that all the histories and his biographies of the Revolution, Russia, and Stalin were exactly as he saw them in his own mind. He influenced education, literature, dramatic arts, movie making, and general culture of the U.S.S.R. to reflect his vision... his dream... his twisted version of history and his part in it.
It's truly difficult to understand how Stalin managed to do this. Fear is a very, very serious motivator. I'm not talking fear of a spider or fear of catching the flu. I'm talking about absolute dread; the ultimate fear for your life and the lives of all those you love. This is what motivated many, many prisoners in Stalin's NKVD headquarters to confess to outrageous crimes against the State. This is what motivated these same prisoners to denounce friends and coworkers by the millions as being conspirators in these crimes. It's truly mind blowing how this all occurred.
If you have any interest in history and understand George Santayana's oft-quoted warning, you should read these books by Tucker. I assure you that you will learn a thing or two and scratch your head quite often in wonder. You might even see parallels in our current world.
February 6, 2014
Complex, fascinating, well written and most important, brilliantly documented. Robert C. Tucker did a marvelous work in dissecting one of the deepest horrors in history, the tragedy which struck not only the Russian people, but the entire eastern Europe, as well as the rest of the world. The complexity of the story is matched by the complexity of its main character, I. V. Stalin, and of its historical and social context. The psychological key of the study is explaining partly the tragic enormity, as some basic questions still remain unanswered, making the book even more attractive, and the Soviet history even more fascinating. Stalin is a historical paradox and an absolute, modern tyrant, therefore probably most efficient murderer in history, building his party early membership credentials as the "realist", practical, low profile and understated old bolshevik. Later, after Lenin's death, succeeding to reach the absolute power, he demonstrated his most significant historical dimension, which was equaled only by that of a butcher pushing forward his nation in a revolution from above: a true enemy of the people, the top wrecker, uber-sabboteur of his nation. The fundamental unanswered question remains: how was all this possible? Tucker's study succeeds in explaining how complex and difficult the answer is, and this is why his book is so seductive.
February 14, 2018
Непоганий аналіз становлення та зміцнення авторитарної влади Й.Сталіна в Союзі. Показано цинічне та жорстоке усунення політичних конкурентів.
August 20, 2021
Tucker continues his political and psychological study of Stalin, focusing on how and why he built his near-absolute rule. Tucker emphasizes Stalin's ongoing need to reconcile his internal self-image with the realities of the world around him but bending the latter to match the former.
August 28, 2019
This book took me all summer off and on. There were many takeaways that I'd like to go into but I don't have the time here.
1.) Stalin is remarkably similar to President Trump. They suffer from the same inabilities to admit weakness or have mistakes exposed. They refuse to allow criticism. Stalin sought to monopolize all aspects of state power and only enlisted sychophants who would agree with his policies. Even more when things went extremely poorly and the proof on mistakes were glaringly obvious Stalin and his yes men decided to double down and refuse to believe that things weren't spectacular. Anyone who helped highlight the fact that things weren't well ended up executed.
Some notable mass killings were tens of thousands of scientists who were accused of "wrecking" for following lines of inquiry in science that were disapproved of by Stalin. This put scientific discovery back generations in SU. Essentially the entire officer corp of the armed forces were eliminated and/or shipped to Siberia. This would have huge ramifications when Germany invaded. When the SU finally accepted Finland's surrender and received back their 30,000 prisoners of war, Stalin had them all executed or sent to Siberia as slaves so the failings of the SU army would not be made public.
Stalin from say 1925 onwards did NOT build Socialism and barely even flirted with the ideas handed to him by Lenin and the other revolutionaries. He had no interest in spreading socialism abroad and instead of lessening the role of the state and giving power to the masses through local Soviets, he monopolized power for himself and a super powerful federal government. He was also responsible for far more Soviet deaths than Hitler ever could've been.
Very much like Hitler he utilized Russian mythology and foundation stories to extend his power. He promoted the history and behavior of the Czars as guiding persons and principals for ruling Russians to uphold. All of these behaviors were the opposite of what Russian socialism presented to the Soviet people.
Show trials, the murder of Kirov and the blaming of Bukharin, Zinoviev and Kamenev who were Stalin's main opposition and were later executed after signing fake confessions under torture to save loved ones, the anti-semitism of his government. Jews were killed and imprisoned at far higher percentages-sometimes to ingratiate himself with Hitler's regime to gain negotiation points. He also of course allied himself with the principal enemy of Socialism-Nazi Germany while at the same abandoning Socialist movements in Spain, France, Italy all while sending expats from those countries back to persecution.
1.) Stalin is remarkably similar to President Trump. They suffer from the same inabilities to admit weakness or have mistakes exposed. They refuse to allow criticism. Stalin sought to monopolize all aspects of state power and only enlisted sychophants who would agree with his policies. Even more when things went extremely poorly and the proof on mistakes were glaringly obvious Stalin and his yes men decided to double down and refuse to believe that things weren't spectacular. Anyone who helped highlight the fact that things weren't well ended up executed.
Some notable mass killings were tens of thousands of scientists who were accused of "wrecking" for following lines of inquiry in science that were disapproved of by Stalin. This put scientific discovery back generations in SU. Essentially the entire officer corp of the armed forces were eliminated and/or shipped to Siberia. This would have huge ramifications when Germany invaded. When the SU finally accepted Finland's surrender and received back their 30,000 prisoners of war, Stalin had them all executed or sent to Siberia as slaves so the failings of the SU army would not be made public.
Stalin from say 1925 onwards did NOT build Socialism and barely even flirted with the ideas handed to him by Lenin and the other revolutionaries. He had no interest in spreading socialism abroad and instead of lessening the role of the state and giving power to the masses through local Soviets, he monopolized power for himself and a super powerful federal government. He was also responsible for far more Soviet deaths than Hitler ever could've been.
Very much like Hitler he utilized Russian mythology and foundation stories to extend his power. He promoted the history and behavior of the Czars as guiding persons and principals for ruling Russians to uphold. All of these behaviors were the opposite of what Russian socialism presented to the Soviet people.
Show trials, the murder of Kirov and the blaming of Bukharin, Zinoviev and Kamenev who were Stalin's main opposition and were later executed after signing fake confessions under torture to save loved ones, the anti-semitism of his government. Jews were killed and imprisoned at far higher percentages-sometimes to ingratiate himself with Hitler's regime to gain negotiation points. He also of course allied himself with the principal enemy of Socialism-Nazi Germany while at the same abandoning Socialist movements in Spain, France, Italy all while sending expats from those countries back to persecution.
December 30, 2019
The Soviet Union's Ivan the Terrible
This book shows evidence of exhaustive research on Tucker's part, which leads me to my two chief criticisms of this book. The first one is that this book is far too long; I felt it could easily have been compressed to 300 pages, instead of the 900 pages that Tucker ended up writing. Because of its length, this book contains a myriad of minutiae, including many details about Stalin's various political machinations, which made the book plodding at times.
The second criticism I have is that Tucker relies heavily on psychological explanations for Stalin's behavior. While it is important to look for explanations of why people act the way they do, I think that it is better to focus on people's actions and words to help us understand them. Psychoanalysis can often lead to speculation that might not lead to accurate answers or valid understandings of human behavior.
However, I did learn a number of very interesting things about Joseph Stalin and his policies, especially with regard to his foreign policy. For example, I learned that he played a very long game in his foreign policy, seeking to promote war among non-Communist nations with the aim of having them fight each other, and then having the Soviet Union enter the war at an opportune moment to make territorial gains to advance international Communism. Toward this end, Stalin helped Hitler gain power in Germany, and engaged in an intricate game of diplomacy during the 1930s. While Tucker criticizes this policy, history shows us that despite the fact that Stalin's plan did not go exactly according to his design (the German invasion of the Soviet Union was perhaps the single greatest setback to this plan) in the end, Stalin did succeed in spreading Communism throughout Eastern Europe as a result of Russia's involvement in World War II.
There is one other problem with Tucker's book, and that is the lack of footnotes. Footnotes or endnotes would help readers to better evaluate the reliability of Tucker's. assertions, including his psychological analysis of Joseph Stalin, and Stalin's diplomacy.
This book shows evidence of exhaustive research on Tucker's part, which leads me to my two chief criticisms of this book. The first one is that this book is far too long; I felt it could easily have been compressed to 300 pages, instead of the 900 pages that Tucker ended up writing. Because of its length, this book contains a myriad of minutiae, including many details about Stalin's various political machinations, which made the book plodding at times.
The second criticism I have is that Tucker relies heavily on psychological explanations for Stalin's behavior. While it is important to look for explanations of why people act the way they do, I think that it is better to focus on people's actions and words to help us understand them. Psychoanalysis can often lead to speculation that might not lead to accurate answers or valid understandings of human behavior.
However, I did learn a number of very interesting things about Joseph Stalin and his policies, especially with regard to his foreign policy. For example, I learned that he played a very long game in his foreign policy, seeking to promote war among non-Communist nations with the aim of having them fight each other, and then having the Soviet Union enter the war at an opportune moment to make territorial gains to advance international Communism. Toward this end, Stalin helped Hitler gain power in Germany, and engaged in an intricate game of diplomacy during the 1930s. While Tucker criticizes this policy, history shows us that despite the fact that Stalin's plan did not go exactly according to his design (the German invasion of the Soviet Union was perhaps the single greatest setback to this plan) in the end, Stalin did succeed in spreading Communism throughout Eastern Europe as a result of Russia's involvement in World War II.
There is one other problem with Tucker's book, and that is the lack of footnotes. Footnotes or endnotes would help readers to better evaluate the reliability of Tucker's. assertions, including his psychological analysis of Joseph Stalin, and Stalin's diplomacy.
February 10, 2020
This is for me the best book on Stalin so far. An excellent book that explains the thinking and reasoning behind Stalin's manipulations. It reveals among others that Stalin was identifying himself with Ivan Grozny whom he considered as hero of Russian history. It seems that the Grozny tsar was on his mind as a role model in Terror. It was also the Grozny practice, when he turned against boyar whom he perceived as an enemy, to destroy along him his whole extended family and retinue. The author's observation that no major nation has ever suffered state terrorism of such ferocity as Russia did under Stalin, has to be confirmed. Stalin never traveled anywhere in the provinces, he knew the country and agriculture only from films.
An excerpt from the book:
Sixty-five-year-old peasant woman from a collective farm near Moscow was somehow denounced as a trotskistka (Trotskyist), a term she was so far from understanding that she confused it with traktoristka (tractor driver), and said to cellmates in prison, “They don’t put old women like me on tractors.” Having received a ten-year sentence for Trotskyist terrorism, she asked one cellmate, who happened to be Eugenia Ginzburg, “Are you one of those traktoristki too, dearie?”
An excerpt from the book:
Sixty-five-year-old peasant woman from a collective farm near Moscow was somehow denounced as a trotskistka (Trotskyist), a term she was so far from understanding that she confused it with traktoristka (tractor driver), and said to cellmates in prison, “They don’t put old women like me on tractors.” Having received a ten-year sentence for Trotskyist terrorism, she asked one cellmate, who happened to be Eugenia Ginzburg, “Are you one of those traktoristki too, dearie?”
January 15, 2020
Meticulous character study
psychodynamic dissection of Stalin, his pathological fusion of personal self worth and ability as a leader magnified the ruinous impact of ideological zealots,
The author represents Marxist Lenin communism as humanistic, drawing a distinction between idealised communist theory and real world application. This denies both history and the predatory drive power which is a universal in human societies.
Wordy and repetitious at times, needs editing
All the same, as an adjunct study of applied communism as it commingled with Russian cultural memories, this reader was fascinated (but not convinced) by the author’s POV .
China as a statist communist autocracy comes to mind as contrast & comparative study.
psychodynamic dissection of Stalin, his pathological fusion of personal self worth and ability as a leader magnified the ruinous impact of ideological zealots,
The author represents Marxist Lenin communism as humanistic, drawing a distinction between idealised communist theory and real world application. This denies both history and the predatory drive power which is a universal in human societies.
Wordy and repetitious at times, needs editing
All the same, as an adjunct study of applied communism as it commingled with Russian cultural memories, this reader was fascinated (but not convinced) by the author’s POV .
China as a statist communist autocracy comes to mind as contrast & comparative study.
December 24, 2018
It's a little bit outdated book which tries to explain the Soviet Union in the 1920s-30s relying on Stalin's personality as the main driving force of all transformations. For example, Tucker looks at the purges as thoroughly planned affair by Stalin, although later studies by the revisionist school show their chaotic character. The absence of access to the Soviet sources may explain the facts that Tucker presents, but not his approach. Nevertheless, the book is rich with various episodes about Stalin's life that not necessarily can be interpreted in support of the author's interpretation. It's probably the only redeeming side of this book.
March 22, 2020
Stalin in Power by Robert C. Tucker is a most illuminating narrative of Josef Stalin, who was second only to Adolf Hitler in the imprisonment, torture and murder of innocent people. The different being that Stalin did this to his Bolshevik Contemporaries in order to seize ultimate control of the USSR and to rewrite the history of the Communist Revolution showing him to be a major force besides Lenin. The author did psychological analysis to try to explain why he did what he did. The book ends with the Invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany which Stalin refused to take defensive measures against, although there were multiple signs of the Hitler’s intentions.
Read
December 8, 2020"This book reveals Stalin’s genius in new and surprising ways. For example, after Lenin’s failures at transforming Russia, Stalin realized that one cannot get people to do big things through an appeal to ideals like equality (and terror). He turned to nationalist pride. Stalin drew on Russian history, especially Peter the Great, to convince everyday Russians to go along on his unfathomably costly but tremendously successful program of industrialization. I’ve read dozens of books on Soviet history, and this was one of the very best."
—M. Todd Henderson, Michael J. Marks Professor of Law
—M. Todd Henderson, Michael J. Marks Professor of Law
January 10, 2018
A little too textbooky and not very well written (he's terrible for unclear pronouns), but very informative and, mostly, fascinating. I'm almost sorry I now know so much about Stalin, what a horrible, miserable human being.
March 14, 2018
A vey difficult book to read,I suppose because it dealt with characters, concepts and places that are alien to myself. That aside it was interesting.
September 6, 2020
After reading volume One , started reading this book during the lock-down as a melancholic, cathartic salve. I put the book down for awhile after reading about the Holodomor. watched 'Mr. Jones", the 2019 movie about journalist Gareth Jones, who broke the news to the rest of the world about the Holodomor.
As the questioning & resistance to the official Covid-19 narrative increased in the USA, and lock-down enforcement intensified around the world , coincidentally in US allied countries. I was getting into reading about The Great Purge , and the Show Trials. At the time, I got sidetracked into reading about the ongoing show-trial of Julian Assange. The demonstrations and riots around the county beginning in June also distracted my attention away from the book.
Then the anniversary of Trotsky's assassination came and I put the book down again, to read up on that, episode; reading another book about it, plus an excellent 5 part essay, "Trotsky's Last Year" by David North. . https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020...
Tucker's book only gave one paragraph to the event.
The cool/eerie part about reading history and anniversary dates, is when you just finished reading about or read about something on the same date it happened. The Molotov-Ribbentrop meeting is one such example.
Another benefit of self-research is the knowledge and ability to recognize and question BS (hyperbolic rhetoric) when you see it , hear it and read it . i.e. Russia, China. BLM, Antifa.
We're living in, watching , unprecedented, historic events/times.
Keep Reading, Constant Readers!
As the questioning & resistance to the official Covid-19 narrative increased in the USA, and lock-down enforcement intensified around the world , coincidentally in US allied countries. I was getting into reading about The Great Purge , and the Show Trials. At the time, I got sidetracked into reading about the ongoing show-trial of Julian Assange. The demonstrations and riots around the county beginning in June also distracted my attention away from the book.
Then the anniversary of Trotsky's assassination came and I put the book down again, to read up on that, episode; reading another book about it, plus an excellent 5 part essay, "Trotsky's Last Year" by David North. . https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020...
Tucker's book only gave one paragraph to the event.
The cool/eerie part about reading history and anniversary dates, is when you just finished reading about or read about something on the same date it happened. The Molotov-Ribbentrop meeting is one such example.
Another benefit of self-research is the knowledge and ability to recognize and question BS (hyperbolic rhetoric) when you see it , hear it and read it . i.e. Russia, China. BLM, Antifa.
We're living in, watching , unprecedented, historic events/times.
Keep Reading, Constant Readers!
October 30, 2024
Robert C. Tucker really was the greatest Sovietologist to not himself be, as far as I'm aware, a Marxist. Before becoming a Sovietologist, Tucker was a philosophy PhD whose thesis was on the permanent deposit left by German idealism in even Marx's mature philosophy, and the philosophical and Marxological acumen he brought to bare on his studies of the USSR simply put him in a class of his own. He's able to reflect and comment intelligently on the philosophical debates had among the Bolsheviks and their relationship to authentic Marxism in a way almost no other non-Marxist scholar was able to. He similarly successfully combines an appropriate level of sympathy for the self-activity of the masses undergirding the Soviet experiment with an appropriate level of hatred for those who betrayed it from above. And, lastly, this book was published in 1992, meaning Tucker wrote it during the brief window of time where the Soviet archives were available to Western scholars, giving him access to evidence that scholars don't have even today! Idk, this book rocks.
November 11, 2023
This is a book so thoroughly flawed that it should be passed over in preference of many Stalin biographers.
The only conspiracies that took place in the Soviet Union were those concocted by Stalin. Stalin concocted these plots because (although he was the supreme autocratic dictator) he needed to eliminate those who disagreed with his ‘inner image’ of himself as a wise, authoritative leader. He also needed to eliminate any rivals who disagreed with his policy of alliance with his best friend and ideological compatriot AH (Austrian mustache man), whose ideology inspired Stalin’s National Bolshevism.
The only conspiracies that took place in the Soviet Union were those concocted by Stalin. Stalin concocted these plots because (although he was the supreme autocratic dictator) he needed to eliminate those who disagreed with his ‘inner image’ of himself as a wise, authoritative leader. He also needed to eliminate any rivals who disagreed with his policy of alliance with his best friend and ideological compatriot AH (Austrian mustache man), whose ideology inspired Stalin’s National Bolshevism.
October 18, 2020
Josef Stalin's Road to Power
This book details Josef Stalin's creation of a socialist state between1928 until 1941 when World War II started with the German attack on Russia. While it seems that the book was well researched, the lack of footnotes in my kindle version of the book led to doubts about the research conducted. A hard book to read and it took me quite a while to get through the book.
This book details Josef Stalin's creation of a socialist state between1928 until 1941 when World War II started with the German attack on Russia. While it seems that the book was well researched, the lack of footnotes in my kindle version of the book led to doubts about the research conducted. A hard book to read and it took me quite a while to get through the book.
July 28, 2020
I agree with many of the other reviews, the book is too long. Having said that the distinctions made in Communism, Socialism, Fascism, and capitalism are well done and I found that much more insightful than knowing how Stalin thought and created his power hierarchy over so many years.
April 4, 2018
A bit to much psychoanalysis of Stalin and new information available since the fall of the USSR seems to contradict some of the account of Stalin's preparation for WWII. But very good.
Want to read
November 1, 2019Bought for $1 Boobub w/ $1 discount so free on my kindle Nov 1,
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 15, 2020
Lengthy Analysis
A drawn out resume of Stalin and his ego. The evidence was triple fortified with redundant background. Sorry for all the affected Russians.
A drawn out resume of Stalin and his ego. The evidence was triple fortified with redundant background. Sorry for all the affected Russians.
August 7, 2021
Terrific biography of second most evil person in history(evil: how many people have died during their rule?).
September 22, 2023
Great Book
The detail of this book is incredible! No one will doubt Stalin was an evil man. Putin follows in his footsteps to some degree.
The detail of this book is incredible! No one will doubt Stalin was an evil man. Putin follows in his footsteps to some degree.
November 4, 2024
So thorough and informative. I I love that it’s broken up in chunks for short spurts and Tucker went into detail about why Stalin was the way he was
October 20, 2007
This is a solid examination of Stalin's seizure of power, including the 5-yr plans and the Terror up until the 2nd WW. It discusses events, so it is not necessary to already know the history, but it also delves into the potential mindset of Stalin. A great deal is shadowed in the past with Stalin and there is the persistent question of whether he was a man trying to create his view of Marxism for a better world or if he was just a power-hungry tyrant using Marxism to control the people.
November 27, 2012
A fascinating exploration of Stalin's warped psychology and his methods of imposing it on a whole nation.
Writing is clear and well-organized despite the large cast of characters.
Writing is clear and well-organized despite the large cast of characters.
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