Stalin

English summary: Stalin is more relevant than ever. He symbolises the Soviet Unions rise to a global superpower, a position that the current government in Moscow wishes to restore. This is demonstrated by the violent conflicts in the northern Caucasus which have some roots in the period of Stalin. This is additionally illustrated by the renaissance of the late Russian dictator, who is being stylised as moderniser without referring to the brutality and victims of his great...
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English summary: Stalin is more relevant than ever. He symbolises the Soviet Unions rise to a global superpower, a position that the current government in Moscow wishes to restore. This is demonstrated by the violent conflicts in the northern Caucasus which have some roots in the period of Stalin. This is additionally illustrated by the renaissance of the late Russian dictator, who is being stylised as moderniser without referring to the brutality and victims of his great industrialisation project. In this book based on current research the author offers a biographical perspective on Stalin's life. In contrast to many other biographical works the soviet dictator is equally presented as domestic as well as foreign politician and the history and ideology of Stalinism is laid out. German description: Stalin ist aktueller denn je. Er symbolisiert den Aufstieg der UdSSR zur Weltmacht, den die heutige politische Fuhrung in Moskau wieder zuruckerlangen mochte. Davon zeugen die anhaltenden gewaltsamen Konflikte in der Unruheregion Nordkaukasus, deren Wurzeln u.a. auch in der Zeit des Stalinismus liegen. Und davon zeugt die bemerkenswerte Renaissance, die der ehemalige sowjetische Diktator im heutigen Staate Medvedevs und Putins erfahrt. Er wird zum bedeutenden Modernisierer stilisiert, ohne dabei die Brutalitat und die immensen Opfer zu nennen, die sein grosses Industrialisierungsprojekt in den 1930er Jahren mit sich brachte.