Stalin and the Historians

[Russia] has also gained a glorious history [Russia] has also gained a glorious history. Films and television programmes continually drive home the message that Russia is a great nation with a unique destiny. Some of Mr. Putin's ideological advisers believe Russians have spent far too much time being ashamed of their past. For example, a new manual for history teachers in Russian high schools now states that Joseph Stalin was "the most successful Soviet leader ever". As for the purges, which killed millions, they are dismissed as a necessary evil. Mr. Putin, himself, recently said they weren't as bad as atrocities perpetrated by other nations. BBC News, 25th February 2008

The Debate: How effective was Stalin? Method → Result Stalin was ruthless in pursuit of power and efficient in its use Stalin in full control of USSR Industrial infrastructure developed through planning Opposition cut down by purges Foreign policy, despite practical changes had an overall strategy.

The Debate: How effective was Stalin? Method → Result Because of these factors the USSR, despite the suffering, was able to defeat Nazi Germany. Mostly pre 1991 historians (e.g: Conquest): Stalin developed & controlled a system that worked. Issue for dispute: the ‘cost’ of the system

The Debate: How effective was Stalin? Flawed Totalitarianism Stalin sought to centralise a system which kept falling to local initiatives Foreign policy continually corrected – errors in judgment, as well as events War with Germany paralysed system and victory came from transcending Stalinism

The Debate: How effective was Stalin? Flawed Totalitarianism The system didn’t necessarily work, and Stalin wasn’t necessarily in control Mostly post 1991 historians (eg: Fitzpatrick): Issue for dispute: Destalinization vs. Stalinism revived

The Issues for historians Access to material: storage, access, glasnost Work of émigrés & defectors Westerners who visited USSR were often sympathetic to communism Trotsky’s prolific output and seemingly authorative work Cold War Literature, eg: Solzhenitsyn

Ian Grey Stalin: Man of History (1979) Most staunch Western defender of Stalin Believed historians have been overly influenced by Trotsky “Soviet Russia became stronger as a result of Stalin’s campaigns of industrialisation, collectivisation and social transformation.”

Martin McCauley Stalin & Stalinism (2003) Senior lecturer in politics of Eastern Europe at University of London Widely published: academic books as well as textbooks Stalin – brutal, appalling methods but achievement considerable Industrialisation in particular meant victory over the Nazis & that USSR became one of the two superpowers after 1945.

Martin McCauley Stalin & Stalinism (2003) “The Stalin revolution revitalised the country.” “[Stalin] launched a violent, phenomenally ambitious modernisation of the coutnry.” “[Stalinism] was phenomenally successful and eventually a crashing failure.”

E. H. Carr A History of the Soviet Union (14 volumes 1950-1978) A traditional Marxist perspective Cambridge University, assigned to Latvia while working for UK foreign office in 1920s Economical & political forces shaped Stalin, but Stalin still a strong figure. Stalin as an ‘agent of history’: produced by the circumstances after the Bolshevik Revolution If Stalin had not industrialised Russia, then someone else would have done so.

E. H. Carr A History of the Soviet Union (14 volumes 1950-1978) Stalin combined immense achievements with utter brutality: “an emancipator and a tyrant.” Stalin was “the great executor of revolutionary policy.”

Adam Ulam Stalin: The Man and his Era (1987) Professor of History and Political Science at Harvard USSR would have been better off without Stalin, any regime could have industrialised Russia. Stalin impeded Soviet victory in WWII, as the purges had liquidated Russian manpower and expertise.

The Great Terror (1991) and lots, lots more… Robert Conquest The Great Terror (1991) and lots, lots more… Worked for UK foreign office, freelance historian Former communist who became disillusioned after 1945 Widened understanding of the Purges Stalinism as a continuation of Leninism His strong views opened up a huge debate: see Neal Ascherson & Ludo Martens

Past Questions: May 2000 Assess the contributions of organisational and leadership qualities in maintaining in power two single-party rulers, each chosen from a different region. November 2002 To what extent was the USSR an orthodox Communist state under either Lenin or Stalin? May 2003 “In order to achieve and retain power a leader of a single-party state needed to be ruthless, blind to human suffering and yet charismatic.” To what extent do you agree with this assertion?