Government And Stalin example essay topic

Edvard Radzinsky is a lucky, lucky man. Following the success of his first book, The Last Tsar, he was granted special access to libraries and record halls that had been closed since the October Revolution. His thorough analysis of the facts surrounding the life and times of Joseph Stalin are astounding in their concise basis. The truths revealed in STALIN are incredible, and shed light on one of the most enigmatic characters from history. Radzinsky writes from personal experience. His father embraced the October revolution as 'his' revolution, and defined happiness as "Having the right to out onto the main square in town and to shout at the top of your voice, 'Lord, what a bad government we have!' " Radzinsky's father was obviously betrayed by the party he once embraced.

Only through close friends and favors was Radsinsky's father not killed by Stalin. His plays were highly controversial and his views were extreme. His father appreciated freedom, and he tried his hardest to instill this appreciation into his son. Radzinsky states on many occasions that his father challenged him to write to this subject, and this book comes from that challenge.

Due to his status as a file clerk in the Russian government, the author was granted access to one of the most secretive libraries in the world, the Presidents' Archive. The secrets within the walls of this secretive institution are only rivaled by that of the Vatican. The secrets held here made a large contribution to Radzinsky's book, as the facts that he got from the archive had never seen the light of day prior to his research. This book is very important in terms of understanding Stalin.

A brief Winston Churchill anecdote is told towards the beginning. At Yalta, Churchill promised himself that he would not stand at attention when Stalin entered the room. While he tried to hold fast to his self-promise, he failed. Stalin had such a commanding presence that individuals in his presence were powerless against his charm and disposition. It is figures like Stalin, with this kind of charisma, who are frightening.

While they have tremendous power over crowds, they use it for evil as opposed to good. This threat will always exist, and this book offers plenty of examples reminding us of why we should be skeptical of such magnetic leaders. While this book serves as an impressive body of work, the fact remains that this book is heavily biased. Truthfully and undeniably, Stalin was a horrible man, one of the most evil in history. Considering the author's proximity to this evil, would there have been any effective way for him to separate his own emotions from his desire to tell the story purely factually?

This question is not addressed in the preface, but the sense of anger that you feel from the author's writing raises many questions. Even though Radzinsky is a well respected historian, the fact remains that his personal ties to this story are evident. Even in his interviews, you see a strong sense of personal duplicity felt towards the government and Stalin himself. While these strong feelings may call the historical validity of this work into question, I personally prefer the intimacy that this outlook offers. It is important to keep in mind that during Stalin's swindling, purging and backstabbing, real people were there bearing witness to these atrocities.

This book drives this point home by nature of being a personal account. Without books like this, we would lose the humanity and depth that we must keep in mind when we read accounts of suffering in our history books. Radzinsky, although open for some degree of criticism, has done the world a huge service by writing this book. Through his own connections and hard work, Stalin's life has finally been made accessible. Although a slightly flawed account, this book is a concrete success, and reminds us what good writing can be.