The Nature of Stalin's Dictatorship: The Politburo 1928-1953

by E. A. Rees

Overview

This is the first attempt to systematically study the nature of the political leadership system under Stalin. It focuses both on the formal institutions of power, such as the Politburo, and on the informal networks of decision-making that were a central feature of his system of rule. It draws on a wealth of new archival material to highlight Stalin's relations with his co-leaders and wider elite groups, and offers different perspectives on the nature and degree of Stalin's system of personal power.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781403904010
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan UK
Publication date:	11/25/2003
Series:	Studies in Russian and East European History and Society
Edition description:	2004
Pages:	267
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.03(d)

About the Author

R. W. DAVIES Emeritus Professor MELANIE ILIC Senior Lecturer in History and Women's Studies, Cheltenham and Gloucester College of Higher Education, Research Fellow at the Centre for Russian and East European Studies, University of Birmingham OLEG KHLEVNYUK State Archives of the Russian Federation EVAN MAWDSLEY Professor of Modern History, University of Glasgow VALERY VASILIEV Researcher, Ukrainian Academy of Science DEREK WATSON Honorary Research Fellow, Centre for Russian and East European Studies, University of Birmingham STEPHEN WHEATCROFT Professor of History, University of Melbourne, Australia

Table of Contents

List of Tables Preface Notes on Contributors Glossary of Terms and Acronyms Introduction Stalin as Leader, 1924-1937: From Oligarch to Dictator; E.A.Rees An Elite within an Elite: Politburo/Presidium Membership Under Stalin, 1927-1953; E.Mawdsley From Team-Stalin to Degenerate Tyranny; S.G.Wheatcroft The Politburo and the Economic Policy-Making; R.W.Davies, M. Ilic & O.Khlevnyuk The Politburo and Foreign Policy in the 1930s; D.Watson The Ukrainian Politburo, 1934-1937; V.Vasiliev Stalin as Leader, 1937-1953: From Dictator to Despot; E.A.Rees Appendix 1: Changes in the Membership of the Politburo/Presidium 1927-1957 Appendix 2: The Fate of Members and Candidate Members of the Politburo, June 1924 - October 1952 Bibliography Name Index Subject Index

Editorial Reviews

"[H]ighly recommended for the serious student of Soviet and Russian history." - Journal of Slavic Military Studies

From the Publisher