BOOKS REQUIRED
- Robert Service, Stalin: A Biography. Cambridge,
Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2005. ISBN: 0-674-01697-1. This is a new,
authoritative biography of Stalin that challenges many long-held beliefs about
the Soviet dictator. Designed for general readers, it none the less provides
a serious scholarly discussion of the forces that shaped Stalin as a man and
ruler and of the roles played by Stalin in Soviet and world history.
- Robert Service, A History of Twentieth Century Russia.
Cambridge: Harvard Univ Press, 1999. ISBN0674403487. This is a detailed, authoritative
description and analysis of all periods, topics, events, and individuals related
to this course. It is to be used in assignments II & III, and can also
be used as a reference for events not sufficiently explained or left out of
the other two books.
- Adam Hochschild, The Unquiet Ghost. New York:
Viking Penguin, 1995. ISBN: 0-14-01-5795-6. This widely-acclaimed book examines
how Russians today are reacting to new revelations about Stalin and Stalinism.
The author interviews scores of Russians from all walks of life.
COURSE ORGANIZATION
During the first third of the course you will read part of a current biography
of Stalin in order to take the measure of his character. During the second third,
you will follow Stalin’s leadership of the Soviet Union from the 1930s
through the Cold War. In the final third, you will examine and assess Stalin’s
legacy in today’s Russia.
