The Sorcerer as Apprentice: Stalin as Commissar of Nationalities, 1917-1924

by Stephen J. Blank

The current struggles over nationality policy in Russia and in neighboring states are rooted in the history of the Narkomnats and in policies that Stalin established as Commissar. This history, based in large part on primary research, describes the Commissariat of Nationalities from 1917 to 1924, Stalin's role as its chief, and the policies that were the origins of the current ethnic dilemmas throughout the now collapsed Soviet Empire. This rich history is intended for scholars, students, and policymakers in European history and Slavic studies, and for general readers interested in the background of political and social conflicts in the former Soviet republics today.

312 pages, Hardcover

First published October 30, 1994

About the author

Dr. Stephen J. Blank has served as the Strategic Studies Institute’s expert on the Soviet bloc and the post-Soviet world since 1989. Prior to that he was Associate Professor of Soviet Studies at the Center for Aerospace Doctrine, Research, and Education, Maxwell Air Force Base, AL; and taught at the University of Texas, San Antonio; and at the University of California, Riverside.

Reviews

[Dimitrii Ivanov · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very much in a totalitarian framework, with psychological interpretation of Stalin's behaviour, Bolsheviks concealing their intentions to establish an oppressive regime, the lot. The only post-Soviet piece cited is by the author himself (although later works are cited in a bibliographical essay), all post-Perestroika literature is in English. So this politruk work was outdated before it was even published.