Stalinism as a Way of Life: A Narrative in Documents

Annals of Communism

by Lewis H. Siegelbaum (Editor), Thomas Hoisington (Translator), Steven Shabad (Translator)

In this unique book, we hear the poignant voices of those who experienced firsthand the 1930s in the Soviet Union. The book's 157 documents, selected from newly opened Soviet archives, include primarily letters from ordinary citizens to authorities but also various official reports and correspondence. The documents illuminate in new ways the complex social roots of Stalinism and the texture of daily life during a highly traumatic decade."Maybe some people are shy about writing, but I will write the real truth. . . . Is it really possible that people at the newspaper haven't heard this. . . that we don't want to be on the kolkhoz [collective farm], we work and work, and there's nothing to eat. Really, how can we live?"-A farmer's letter, 1936, from Stalinism as a Way of Life. Annals of Communism series

Genres: History, Russia, Nonfiction, Soviet History, Russian History

480 pages, Hardcover

First published October 11, 2000

About the author

Lewis H. Siegelbaum is Professor of History at Michigan State University.

Reviews

[Octavia Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mostly useful for the provision of documents, the narrative is loose. I have a feeling the specific choices were more for shock-value sometimes. Very "ooo look at how bad it was"

[Leonard Pierce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well-researched and compelling oral/documentary history of everyday life under the Stalinist regime. Quite fascinating, but really, really depressing.