Stalinism is a provocative addition to the current debates related to the history of the Stalinist period of the Soviet Union. Sheila Fitzpatrick has collected together the newest and the most exciting work by young Russian, American and European scholars, as well as some of the seminal articles that have influenced them, in an attempt to reassess this contentious subject in the light of new data and new theoretical approaches.
The articles are contextualized by a thorough introduction to the totalitarian/revisionist arguments and post-revisionist developments. Eschewing an exclusively high-political focus, the book draws together work on class, identity, consumption culture, and agency. Stalinist terror and nationalities policy are reappraised in the light of new archival findings. Stalinism offers a nuanced navigation of an emotive and misrepresented chapter of the Russian past.