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Let History Judge Paperback – May 15, 1989

by Roy A. Medvedev (Author), George Shriver (Translator)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 18 ratings
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The most comprehensive and revealing investigation of Stalinism and political developments in the Soviet Union from 1922-1953, this edition is an extensively revised and expanded version of a classic work. The internationally known historian Roy Medvedev has included more than one-hundred new interviews, unpublished memoirs, and archives from survivors of Stalin's death camps. This updated version of a classic work was written during a time of great change in the Soviet Union. With the advent of perestroika and glasnost, more progressive leadership has sought to demolish the Stalinist system which had finally crippled the Soviet Union and incited public discontent.

Let History Judge contains new material on purges in 1929-1931 and terror against the peasantry; the Kirov assasination and show trials; the "great terror" from 1936-1938, which caused irreparable damage to the Soviet Union and left it vulnerable for Hilter's attack in 1941; the trial of Bukharin; Trotsky's revolutionary activity and Stalin's involvement with his murder in Mexico; Stalin's miscalculations and errors during the war, which cost the Soviet Union nearly 25 million in casualties; new purges from 1946-1953; and the actual vote of the Seventeenth Congress, which decided Stalin's candidacy.

Since the first edition was finished by the author in 1969 and published in 1971, dozens of new informants have come forward to give their evidence to Roy Medvedev. Distinguished Soviet literary, cultural, and political figures like the late Alexander Twardovsky, Ilja Ehrenburg, Konstantin Simonov, Yuri Trifono, Mikhail Romm and many others have accumulated documentary records of Stalinism in anticipation of an expanded version.
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  1. Print length
    891 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Columbia University Press
  4. Publication date
    May 15, 1989
  5. Dimensions
    5.99 x 1.73 x 9.16 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0231063512
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0231063517
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This weighty--physically and emotionally--book speaks volumes about the play of individual and group memory in a totalitarian society. It grew from notebooks and files secretly kept by the Russian historian Roy Medvedev on the history of his times, from the emergence of Josef Stalin as a leader in the 1917 Revolution to the dictator's death in 1953. Some of the documents Medvedev gathered, including memoranda on secret agreements with Nazi Germany, shocked Russian readers when these notebooks first began to appear in 1988, and his book became one of the primary documents of glasnost.

Review

A milestone in the understanding of nearly fifty years of Russian history. -- Harrison Salisbury ― The New York Times Book Review

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Columbia University Press; Revised and Expanded ed. edition (May 15, 1989)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 891 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0231063512
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0231063517
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.65 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.99 x 1.73 x 9.16 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 18 ratings

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
18 global ratings
Looks like a used book.
2 out of 5 stars
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It looks like I received a used book. The jacket is rough around the edges and there are dark smudges on the edges of the pages when the book is closed. I don't mind purchasing used books, but I paid full price for this.
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Top reviews from the United States

walter g. mcmillan
5.0 out of 5 stars The HAMMER of Stalin tthe Sociopath
Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2015
Verified Purchase
A great read on how corrupt, devious, insane, and all the other negative personality traits of Joseph Stalin.
I ended up with the impression that Lenin, Trotsky, and Bukharin had no idea about Stalin's ambition. If only
Stalin would would have disappeared (a tool used by Stalin), the history of Russia/Soviet Union would have been certainly different.
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Outdoorsy
5.0 out of 5 stars Intrigue, Intrigue, Intrigue...
Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2020
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Lots of layered information and vast politically criminal underworld of early 20th century Russia.
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Oakster
5.0 out of 5 stars A detailed history of Stalin by a Russian.
Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2019
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Real a lot of Russian history and this one is by an author who lived there.
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Sarah N.
2.0 out of 5 stars Looks like a used book.
Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2023
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It looks like I received a used book. The jacket is rough around the edges and there are dark smudges on the edges of the pages when the book is closed. I don't mind purchasing used books, but I paid full price for this.
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Sarah N.
2.0 out of 5 stars Looks like a used book.
Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2023
It looks like I received a used book. The jacket is rough around the edges and there are dark smudges on the edges of the pages when the book is closed. I don't mind purchasing used books, but I paid full price for this.
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KPCB
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2016
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So well researched. Its a beast of a book, but there is no filler.
One person found this helpful
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David Roe
5.0 out of 5 stars Stalin had a mini breakdown when the Germans invaded
Reviewed in the United States on December 18, 2021
I have had my copy of 'Let History Judge' since 1989, "when the revised and expanded" edition was published. I am currently reading 'Russia at War' by Werth, and falling back upon Let History Judge as reference. In particular; as Medvedev writes, when the Germans attacked the Soviet Union in 1941 it shook Stalin so much personally, he withdrew into his private quarters. No one saw or spoke to him for several days! Eventually Molotov and the other members of the upper Soviet government had no choice but to risk his wrath and force their way into his quarters, and relay to him the facts; the fear he instilled in the military via the 1937-8 purges of the military created a leadership where no generals dared move their army without his personal orders. THIS IS WHY ENTIRE SOVIET ARMIES WERE SURROUNDED AND CAPTURED. Some Soviet generals moved without orders, those were exceptional. Medvedev pronounced Stalin criminally negligent in his duties as Commander in Chief. This is an incomparable work on the Soviet period. (For a novelization of this period read 'Children of the Arbat' which is in 3 parts)
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Yuli Martov
5.0 out of 5 stars As definitive as a person could possibly desire.
Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2001
The late 1990's saw the publication of numerous scatterbrained, and ill-intentioned, attempts to descredit Vladimir Lenin, Nikolai Bukharin, Leon Trotsky, and Karl Marx, by associating their actions, and ideas, with those of Joseph Stalin. One must ask, "were these attempts in any way successful?" Luckily, the answer is an emphatic, no. The individuals who bought into the "Marx and Lenin created Stalinism" theory, alluded to in works such as 'The Black Book of Communism', by Mister Courtois (or Miss), 'The Passing of an Illusion', by Mister Furet, and 'The Soviet Tragedy', by Mister Malia, already harbored such fantastic illusions. Most of the population has no interest in Sovietology, so attempts at descrediting Lenin, Marx, Bukharin, and Trotsky, were, and are, virtually fruitless (I took a Public Speaking course at a local community college, and most of the students hadn't even heard of Lenin, Marx, or Trotsky!.)
To find true objectivity, on the subject of Sovietology, one must reach back into the distant past, and read Roy Medvedev's incredible, 'Let History Judge'. One could refer to Medvedev's writings, as "Solzhenitsyn, without the racism and bitterness"(a spew of biographies show that Solzhenitsyn is without question anti-semitic; however, this fact doesn't mean he's no longer one of the elite writers of the twentieth century). 'Let History Judge', is not so much a history of Stalin, but a history of Russia from 1917-1953. Described, with minute detail, is Lenin's seizure of power, Lenin's benevolent feelings toward Stalin (which ended effectively after the Eleventh All-Congress of the Bolsheviks), Trotsky's role as leader of the Red Army, Trotsky's complete ineptness in regard to the left-opposition, and Stalin's remarkable, almost super-human, political abilites. In addition, one will never discover a finer description of collectivization anywhere (although I must admit Conquest's 'Harvest of Sorrow', is pretty excellent). Russia's grain production in 1930-1933, were almost certainly below pre-WWI levels, apparently, but Stalin wanted Russia to appear forceful, so he sold grain internationally, as if it were "business as usual", which resulted in the death of millions of non-guilty peasants (however, one can not deny George Carlin's classic quote, "there are no innocent people, once you're born, you're guilty as charged").The description of the horrible Gulag system is not quite as great as Solzhenitsyn's, but it's pretty darn close. Unlike Solzhenitsyn, Medvedev doesn't slander the dead, or embark on anti-semitic diatribes (thankfully, for the population at large, Medvedev critiques much of what Solzhenitsyn wrote in the 'Gulag Archipelago' with absolute clarity).
The price is pretty high, but at 800+ pages, the person isn't really buying just one book, they are buying a multitude of books, which cover a variety of subjects. In addition to, 'Let History Judge', I would also strongly recommend you read Edvard Radzinsky's 'Stalin', Volkogonov's 'Autopsy of an Empire' (being a Yeltsin staffer, Volkogonov is biased, but there is some interesting anecdotes!), and Robert Tucker's magnificent two-volume biograpy of Stalin. Unlike other works on the subject of the Russian Revolution, these works actually take a "scholarly" approach!
23 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

S P Mead
5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing book - outlining the horrors of the Stalinist regime
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 29, 2016
Verified Purchase
This is comprehensive analysis of the Stalinist regime. It demonstrates - with great clarity - the failures, limitations and evil aspects of the social order maintained under Stalin's rule. It's a big book, and covers a range of topics and issues relating to the history of the USSR from the mid-1920's to the mid-1950's. I've not read a better book on the subject.

What's unusual is that the author succeeds (where many others fail) in distinguishing Stalinism from socialism. It is shown that Stalin deviated from what socialism really means. As such, the horrors of Stalinism cannot be conflated or confused with what socialism is about.

An excellent read for the serious reader.
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