Ivan IV, the sixteenth-century Russian tsar notorious for his reign of terror, became an unlikely national hero in the Soviet Union during the 1940s. This book traces the development of Ivan's positive image, placing it in the context of Stalin's campaign for patriotism. In addition to historians' images of Ivan, the author examines literary and artistic representations, including Sergei Eisenstein's famous film, banned for its depiction of the tsar which was interpreted as an allegorical criticism of Stalin.

'This intriguing interdisciplinary study of the Stalin years deserves to be read widely.' - The Russian Review

'In all, then, this lively and intelligent study adds to the growing literature that documents the interactions between leadership and creative intelligentsia in the shaping of Stalinist dictatorship. It will prove useful to anyone interested in Stalinism, history-writing, or the arts and literature of the Soviet era.' - Catherine Merridale, Department of Historical Studies, University of Bristol, Seer

Autorentext
MAUREEN PERRIE is Professor of Russian History at the Centre for Russian and East European Studies, University of Birmingham. Her previous books include The Agrarian Policy of the Russian Socialist-Revolutionary Party, The Image of Ivan the Terrible in Russian Folklore and Pretenders and Popular Monarchism in Early Modern Russia.

Inhalt
Acknowledgements Chronology of Events in Pre-Revolutionary Russian History List of Abbreviations, Acronyms and Russian Terms Notes on Translation and Personal Names Introduction PROLOGUE Pre-Stalinization: Images of Ivan IV Before 1934 PART I: THE STALINIZATION OF RUSSIAN HISTORY History in the Service of Patriotism, 1934-45: From Hitler's Accession to the Nazi-Soviet Pact, 1934-39 Three Case-studies in Historical Analogy PART II: THE STALINIZATION OF IVAN THE TERRIBLE The First Steps, 1934-9 Wartime and Postwar Historiography, 1940-53 PART III: THREE ARTISTIC REPRESENTATIONS OF IVAN V.I. Kostylev's Novel A.N. Tolstoi's Play S.M. Eisenstein's Film EPILOGUE De-Stalinization: Images of Ivan IV Since 1953 Conclusion Bibliography Index