Customer Reviews

Inside the Kremlin's Cold War: From Stalin to Krushchev

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I found this book an interesting look at the key men who ran Soviet foreign policy between 1945-1964.

The book is arranged into biographical sketches about Stalin, Molotov, Malenkov, etc., and each chapter focuses on the foreign policy issue they were most involved with. I found this a little dissatisfying, since it was not strictly chronological, but I assume most readers would have a basic handle on Cold War chronology.

The chapters on Stalin, Molotov and Khushchev were the most interesting. I think this book would be most useful to college undergrads in Russian history or 20th Century diplomacy.

Inside the Kremlin's Cold War: From Stalin to Kruschev, opens a new dimension to those who are intrested in reading what had really happened during the Cold War. The sections about the atomic bomb preperations and effort of Stalin and three consequent letters of Khruschev to Kennedy during the Cuban Missile crisis -from which we understand caused a strategic policy change by the CPSU- are valuable pieces of information. A useful insight which could bu read as a thriller.

Well, it turns out that Reagan, Truman, and even McCarthy were right all along. The Soviets were evil and laughed themselves sick at the lame efforts by the likes of Averill Harriman, Dean Acheson, and Jimmy Carter to convince them of our good intentions. They had nothing but bad intentions and didn't particularly care what ours were. The Soviets spent 40 years just shaking their heads wondering how we couldn't see that. Zubok brings out tons of information from Soviet archives (which are now probably going to be closed again) that should rewrite the history of the late 20th Century.

Its really great to see some Russian points of view on this part of history. It's a complex time, and we need many points of view if we are to draw conclusions.

This book does well in highlighting the link between Stalin and the echos to Russias imperial past in his reign. It also does well in reminding us just how important security was in the minds of the Russians at that time. Often this is neglected by western historians, and indeed American leaders at that time.

I do sadly note though, that the "Stalin as monster" theme permiates the book. Yes, Stalin was brutal and respressive, but constantly reminding as in emotive language does little to further the material. It also ignores the fact that systems produce people, and he was a product of his culture and his time.

This book seems to me to let the US 'off the hook' for their part in the cold war. It seems to insinuate that they were making more rational decisions than the Soviets, when their policy was just as flawed when they got it wrong, and just as insightful when it was done well. Truman was not responsible for millions of deaths in his own country, but his foreign policy was a form of bullying economic imperialism. Had Truman been smart enough to lend money to the Soviets, the world would have been a very different place. This is a crucial part of Cold War history.

Despite some flaws, its a really interesting book, and I hope we get a lot more Russian books on the subject.

It is very interesting to learn how Russian historians view Cold War. It is well-written and easy to understand.

It seems to me, however, that the authors have some nostalgia for 19th century Russian imperialism. While ideology is described as delirium tremens, there is no criticism of Russian expansionism. Even Stalin's expansionism is justified by his concern for security. By denying Soviet Union's ambition and emphasizing economic loss which Russian people had to suffer, the authors are misleading readers to wrong direction.