Deals with the period of takeover and of 'high Stalinism' in Eastern Europe (1945–1955). These years are considered to be fundamentally characterized by institutional and ideological transfers based upon the premise of radical transformism and of cultural revolution. Both a balance-sheet and a politico-historical synthesis that reflects the archival and thematic novelties which came about in the field of communism studies after 1989.

Stalinism Revisited brings together representatives of multiple generations to create a rich examination of the study and practice of Stalinism. While the articles are uniformly excellent, the book's signal contribution is to bring recent research from Eastern European scholars to an English-speaking audience. Thus the volume is not just a "state of the discipline" collection, in which articles are collected to reflect that current situation of scholarship in a given field; instead, this one includes cutting edge scholarship that will prompt more of the same from other scholars in other fields/subfields. I would recommend this book highly to anyone interested in understanding the technology of Stalinism in both thought and practice. Nick Miller Boise State University The Sovietization of post-1945 East-Central Europe---marked by the forceful imposition of the Soviet-type society in the region---was a process of massive socio-political and cultural transformation. Despite its paramount importance for understanding the nature of the communist regime and its legacy, the communist take-over in East Central European countries has remained largely under-researched. Two decades after the collapse of the communist system, Stalinism Revisited brings together a remarkable international team of established and younger scholars, engaging them in a critical re-evaluation of the institutionalization of communist regimes in East-Central Europe and of the period of "high Stalinism." Sovietization is approached not as a fully pre-determined, homogeneous, and monolithic transformation, but as a set of trans-national, multifaceted, and inter-related processes of large-scale institutional and ideological transfers, made up of multiple "takeovers" in various fields. Theoretically minded and empirically sound, the collection adds key elements to our comparative understanding of Stalinist regimes in their various historical permutations. The richness of the source material employed and its comparative scope recommend Stalinism Revisited as a major, synthetic contribution to the study of East-Central Europe's Sovietization. Constantin lordachi Central European University, Budapest

In this ground-breaking collection, a team of leading experts offer a detailed examination of under-researched aspects of Soviet political repression in the 1930s. Drawing on archival documents and materials that have received little attention in Western historiography, much of the information detailed here is in English for the first time.

Stalin’s death is considered a mayor caesura in Soviet history. In its aftermath, the state had to redefine itself in political, economic, social and cultural matters. This volume includes various contributions of new international research that critically engage with questions of change and continuities in the fields of politics, modernization and social communities. In addition to Stalinism, processes such as urbanization therefore move into the center of interpreting Soviet history. The history of the Soviet 1950s and 60s is not only crucial for understanding glasnost and perestroika but contemporary Russia as well.

This is a detailed examination of three under-researched aspects of Soviet political repression in the 1930s: case studies of regional and sectoral dimensions of the purges; "victim studies" of the Great Terror; and an assessment of the impact of political repression on Soviet economic development in the late 1930s. Much of the information detailed here is presented to the English language readership for the first time.

This is a study of the structure of the Soviet Communist Party in the 1930s. Based upon archival and published sources, the work describes the events in the Bolshevik Party leading up to the Great Purges of 1937-1938. Professor Getty concludes that the party bureaucracy was chaotic rather than totalitarian, and that local officials had relative autonomy within a considerably fragmented political system. The Moscow leadership, of which Stalin was the most authoritarian actor, reacted to social and political processes as much as instigating them. Because of disputes, confusion, and inefficiency, they often promoted contradictory policies. Avoiding the usual concentration on Stalin's personality, the author puts forward the controversial hypothesis that the Great Purges occurred not as the end product of a careful Stalin plan, but rather as the bloody but ad hoc result of Moscow's incremental attempts to centralise political power.

First Published in 1999. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.