Stalin has been vilified and adored. It is difficult to think of many other historical figures who have attracted such an extreme polarity of opinion. In part of course this is because he became a potent symbol in the 20th-century's major ideological struggle - between "capitalism" and "socialism". It is unsurprising that it has been difficult for most observers, including most historians, to be neutral. Only now, in the wake of the collapse of the Stalinist system and the end of the Cold War, is it possible to begin dispassionate evaluation. This study sees Stalin, in fact, as something of a cipher: infinitely more potent as an "idea" than he ever was as an individual. The result is a cultural and intellectual history, which examines how Stalin was "created", mythologized and demonized.
- ISBN10 0340719702
- ISBN13 9780340719701
- Publish Date 28 May 2004
- Publish Status Transferred
- Out of Print 11 September 2004
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Hodder Arnold
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 224
- Language English