In the Mind of Stalin
James Greensmith
On 1 October 1939, Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty and soon to be the UK’s wartime leader, described Russia as ‘a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma’. The same can certainly be said of Stalin. How can this paradox of a man, who on the one hand had once exhibited great tenderness and kindness to his daughter Svetlana, and on the other sent millions – including members of his own family - to their deaths, be explained?
It is impossible to quantify the total number of deaths attributable to the policies of Stalin, but the ‘Excess Mortality’ (i.e., deaths over and above what would normally have been expected during the period in question) gives an approximate figure in excess of 40 million.
However, this is only part of the story of the amount of misery inflicted by the Stalin regime through torture, deliberate starvation, neglect, separation from loved ones, cold and hypothermia (e.g. in the prisons of Siberia), which is unquantifiable and unimaginable.
Svetlana confessed that she ‘would never undertake to “explain” what motivated all my father’s actions, simply because I do not possess the psychological genius of [Russian novelist] Dostoevsky, who knew how to “penetrate” into another man’s soul and “examine it from within”’.
Duration - 7h 49m.
Author - James Greensmith.
Narrator - John Applemore.
Published Date - Thursday, 18 January 2024.
Copyright - © 2023 Pen and Sword ©.
Location:
United States
Description:
On 1 October 1939, Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty and soon to be the UK’s wartime leader, described Russia as ‘a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma’. The same can certainly be said of Stalin. How can this paradox of a man, who on the one hand had once exhibited great tenderness and kindness to his daughter Svetlana, and on the other sent millions – including members of his own family - to their deaths, be explained? It is impossible to quantify the total number of deaths attributable to the policies of Stalin, but the ‘Excess Mortality’ (i.e., deaths over and above what would normally have been expected during the period in question) gives an approximate figure in excess of 40 million. However, this is only part of the story of the amount of misery inflicted by the Stalin regime through torture, deliberate starvation, neglect, separation from loved ones, cold and hypothermia (e.g. in the prisons of Siberia), which is unquantifiable and unimaginable. Svetlana confessed that she ‘would never undertake to “explain” what motivated all my father’s actions, simply because I do not possess the psychological genius of [Russian novelist] Dostoevsky, who knew how to “penetrate” into another man’s soul and “examine it from within”’. Duration - 7h 49m. Author - James Greensmith. Narrator - John Applemore. Published Date - Thursday, 18 January 2024. Copyright - © 2023 Pen and Sword ©.
Language:
English
Opening Credits
Duration:00:00:08
Authors Note
Duration:00:01:41
Introduction
Duration:00:04:18
Chapter 1
Duration:00:12:02
Chapter 2
Duration:00:11:25
Chapter 3
Duration:00:04:13
Chapter 4
Duration:00:03:45
Chapter 5
Duration:00:12:24
Chapter 6
Duration:00:17:44
Chapter 7
Duration:00:03:06
Chapter 8
Duration:00:01:03
Chapter 9
Duration:00:07:42
Chapter 10
Duration:00:25:03
Chapter 11
Duration:00:06:51
Chapter 12
Duration:00:06:17
Chapter 13
Duration:00:11:06
Chapter 14
Duration:00:07:11
Chapter 15
Duration:00:07:47
Chapter 16
Duration:00:04:46
Chapter 17
Duration:00:01:51
Chapter 18
Duration:00:01:13
Chapter 19
Duration:00:02:06
Chapter 20
Duration:00:05:32
Chapter 21
Duration:00:08:01
Chapter 22
Duration:00:18:33
Chapter 23
Duration:00:07:07
Chapter 24
Duration:00:13:27
Chapter 25
Duration:00:04:17
Chapter 26
Duration:00:10:12
Chapter 27
Duration:00:09:49
Chapter 28
Duration:00:05:58
Chapter 29
Duration:00:04:49
Chapter 30
Duration:00:06:13
Chapter 31
Duration:00:06:04
Chapter 32
Duration:00:02:37
Chapter 33
Duration:00:02:37
Chapter 34
Duration:00:10:08
Chapter 35
Duration:00:05:54
Chapter 36
Duration:00:16:34
Chapter 37
Duration:00:14:10
Chapter 38
Duration:00:02:59
Chapter 39
Duration:00:08:10
Chapter 40
Duration:00:03:01
Chapter 41
Duration:00:06:21
Chapter 42
Duration:00:15:38
Chapter 43
Duration:00:08:20
Chapter 44
Duration:00:01:34
Chapter 45
Duration:00:04:28
Chapter 46
Duration:00:10:15
Chapter 47
Duration:00:22:55
Chapter 48
Duration:00:01:26
Chapter 49
Duration:00:00:34
Chapter 50
Duration:00:02:05
Chapter 51
Duration:00:08:54
Chapter 52
Duration:00:09:34
Chapter 53
Duration:00:03:06
Chapter 54
Duration:00:08:31
Chapter 55
Duration:00:02:33
Chapter 56
Duration:00:11:22
Chapter 57
Duration:00:12:08
Chapter 58
Duration:00:13:06
Chapter 59
Duration:00:02:58
Vladimir Putin Preview
Duration:00:02:20
Closing Credits
Duration:00:01:36