Stalin a Biography by Robert Service - 5 Star Review

Stalin: A Biography by Robert Service

Good Biography

Overthrowing the conventional image of Stalin as an uneducated political administrator inexplicably transformed into a pathological killer, Robert Service reveals a more complex and fascinating story behind this notorious twentieth-century figure. Drawing on unexplored archives and personal testimonies gathered from across Russia and Georgia, this is the first fullscale biography of the Soviet dictator in twenty years. Service describes in unprecedented detail the first half of Stalins life--his childhood in Georgia as the son of a violent, drunkard father and a devoted mother; his education and religious training; and his political activity as a young revolutionary. No mere messenger for Lenin, Stalin was a prominent activist long before the Russian Revolution. Equally compelling is the depiction of Stalin as Soviet leader. Service recasts the image of Stalin as unimpeded despot; his control was not limitless. And his conviction that enemies surrounded him was not entirely unfounded.

Stalin was not just a vengeful dictator but also a man fascinated by ideas and a voracious reader of Marxist doctrine and Russian and Georgian literature as well as an internationalist committed to seeing Russia assume a powerful role on the world stage. In examining the multidimensional legacy of Stalin, Service helps explain why later would-be reformers--such as Khrushchev and Gorbachev--found the Stalinist legacy surprisingly hard to dislodge. Rather than diminishing the horrors of Stalinism, this is an account all the more disturbing for presenting a believable human portrait. Services lifetime engagement with Soviet Russia has resulted in the most comprehensive and compelling portrayal of Stalin to date. (20050221)

Personal Review: Stalin: A Biography by Robert Service When you hear the name Joseph Stalin, you can't help but shudder at the very utterance of his name. What most of us would imagine is a murderous dictator whose only aim was to gain and keep the power he inherited from his predecessor, the first head of the USSR, Vladimir Lenin. We see him as heartless, cruel and calculating. This picture has mainly been placed in our minds by the Western media during the Cold War. But who is Jos eph Stalin, was he really as evil and sinister as we all believe him to be and just what lead him to become the murderous villain we all believe him to be? This book by Robert Service gives us the answers to the questions we have all asked. He does it in a completely objectionable manner through presenting facts that have recently been made known thanks to the release of unpublished material from the Moscow archives. Not once in this entire book does Service draw upon facts and make his own conclusions; he also does not choose to ignore some facts whilst choosing the more interesting ones. Throughout history, it can happen that a story of a particular event can be told from many different perspectives and told very differently. Robert realises this in the writing of his book so what he does is brings up the numerous different accounts and allows you to think for yourself which perspective may be the most plausible. An example of this would be in the chapter on the death of Stalin's second wife, Nadya. They are at a party together and Nadya leaves the party early and alone leading her to commit suicide. There are numerous accounts as to why Nadya left. One was that Stalin was flirting with the wife of a man who served with him in the SovietPolish war, Alexander Yegorov, another story was that he shouted her across the room using the word "you" which she took exception to and another that he flicked a lit cigarette at her. Service presents what he thinks may have been the most likely from what we come to know of Stalin's personality, but ultimately the reader makes the final decision.

Now is the time for admission from my part. I was much like those described in the first paragraph; entirely ignorant to whom Stalin the man really was. I literally know almost nothing about the USSR and the Russian Revolution as a whole, so it was quite silly of me to pick up this book in the hopes of learning a lot more about the Russian Revolution and communism as a whole. Robert Service is a well accomplished academic and this Biography isn't exactly a beginner's guide. However, this book as a whole was very much worth it as I learned a lot about Stalin the man and as a result learned a bit about the USSR, the way in which it ran as a government and also Stalin's main adversaries throughout his life. So what have I learned about Stalin the man? I have learned a lot and thanks to Service's Biography of Stalin, I actually see a more human and psychological reason behind Stalin's downfall and almost emotionless personality. Although I am not condoning his actions of the past, I can't help but in a lot of respects pity the man. He was a very insecure and paranoid individual. He felt that everyone was against him, even his closest allies. His upbringing in his home country of Georgi a was undoubtedly the biggest spark that was to ignite the murderous explosion of Stalin's wrath. This chronicles in detail Stalin from Birth up to death. It talks in detail about his political problems and his family life, those he loved and treated like dirt. Service is a truly talented Biographer and when I know more about the Soviet Union and the Russian Revolution, I will come back to this and hopefully understand it better.

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