Stalin

Putin is Carrying on Stalin's War on Self-Determination

by Uriel Abulof

Before Woodrow Wilson, Lenin advanced the ideal of national self-determination as part of communist revolution. Stalin made the term a cynical tool of Russian imperialism, a move Putin's approach to Ukraine emulates. 

The Winter War Ghost Haunts Putin's War Today

by David P. Barash

Stalin's ill-conceived invasion of Finland gave Russia a small part of Finnish territory as a ransom for a face-saving end to stalemate and gave the world the term "Molotov Cocktail" – a sarcastic rebuke to the USSR's claims to be dropping food relief instead of bombs.

A Tale of Two Dictators: Putin's Relationship to Stalin's Legacy

by Simon Sebag Montefiore

Despite their ideological incompatibility, Putin's nationalism depends on the cult of fear and repressive apparatus of the Stalinist era, which was never comprehensively demolished after the fall of Communism. 

‘State Funeral’ Review: Saying Goodbye to Stalin

Ukrainian director Sergei Loznitsa’s documentary shows the aftermath of Josef Stalin's death, using footage shot at the time across the Soviet Union. 

We’re Still Living in Stalin’s World

by Diana Preston

At the Yalta Conference 75 years ago, the Soviet leader got everything he wanted — and shaped global politics for decades.

Trump’s Wall and the Aggrandizement of Despots

by Walter G. Moss

Egotistical rulers like Trump often have grandiose architectural plans. Hitler had his “Germania," Mao had his “10 Great Buildings," and Stalin had his never-built Palace of Soviets. 

The Price of Self-Delusion

by Ronald Radosh

Paul Robeson, the towering figure of American arts, athletics, and civil rights activism, was also an unapologetic Stalinist. Failing to acknowledge this checkered legacy ultimately does a disservice to the goals he fought for.

Devil's Bargain: The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact 80 Years Later

by David Carlin

Eighty years ago, two dictators agreed to divide up Eastern Europe. Their agreement would change the lives of millions.

A Monster to History, Stalin Is a Tourist Magnet in His Hometown

Stalin inspires deep emotions in the country where he spent his earliest years, and one of them is reverence.

Stalin’s Soaring Moscow Towers Sorely Need Body Work

Most of the city’s so-called “Stalin high-rises” — both residential and government buildings — desperately need renovating. They are stuck in limbo, however, over who will foot the substantial bill.

Historian Of Stalin-Era Crimes In Court For Sexual Assault, His Second Trial This Year

The trial of Yury Dmitriyev, a Russian historian charged with sexually assaulting his adopted daughter, has started in the northwestern region of Karelia.

The Frightening Echo of Stalin’s Antisemtic Campaign Is Impossible to Ignore

by Tarik Cyril Amar

Then, it was “rootless cosmopolitans” who were targeted. Now it’s globalists.

6 Disturbing Parallels Between Stalin and Trump

by Walter G. Moss

Trump is not the monster Stalin was, but the evil he has already unleashed and his potential for causing greater future evil should not be underestimated.

Russian historians use Nazi photo to locate Stalin-era mass graves

Soviet secret police covered up its executions by planting trees over killing fields in Moscow’s forested Kommunarka area.

Russia arrests second historian of Stalin’s Terror

A second Karelian historian, Sergei Koltyrin has been arrested and is facing charges almost identical to those now brought against political prisoner, Yuri Dmitriev.

When Truman met Stalin

"He is honest — but smart as hell.”

In Volgograd, It’s Stalin Who Lurks on the Sideline

The World Cup will depart Volgograd on Thursday after a final first-round game in this city along the Volga River. What will remain are all the echoes of the past.

Being a historian is an increasingly dangerous profession in Russia, rights group says

Study: The Russian authorities have increased their efforts to impose a single conception of Russian history in almost all its periods but especially during World War 2.

My Secret Summer With Stalin’s Daughter

by Grace Kennan Warnecke

In 1967, I was in the middle of one of the world’s buzziest stories.

Who Killed More: Hitler, Stalin, or Mao?

by Ian Johnson

7 years ago historian Timothy Snyder asked the provocative question: Who killed more, Hitler or Stalin? Maybe he should have included Mao, too.