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.

Autorentext

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

Zusammenfassung
How can we characterise Stalin's rule in the USSR? Was he an autocrat, a dictator or a despot? This book is the first attempt to systematically study the nature of the political leadership system under Stalin. It provides a series of studies from diverse viewpoints into this question by leading specialists in the field, who study the formal institutional structures of power, the informal networks of decision-making, Stalin's interrelationship with his immediate colleagues and the wider ruling elite, together with detailed case studies of how he exercised his rule in economic policy and foreign affairs. It draws on a wealth of new archival material, and hitherto unavailable accounts by those most closely connected to these various power centres. The work will be of interest to scholars and students studying the history of the USSR and of Communist systems in general and those interested in the nature of twentieth century authoritarian, totalitarian and despotic regimes.

Inhalt

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