Russian Revolution

The Ten Shadiest and Most Devious Politicians/Statesmen/Revolutionists — From ancient times to the early 20th century

This list is admittedly a compilation of sundry and disparate political historic characters, ranging from do-gooder reformers with possibly good intentions to militant revolutionists who desired to overthrow the existing order of government, ostensibly to create a better world. Deviousness and demagoguery are salient features in this list, which has come to include what I …

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Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn — Towering figure of the 20th century and his enduring legacy of freedom!

A book review of The Other Solzhenitsyn: Telling the Truth about a Misunderstood Writer and Thinker by Daniel J. Mahoney (2014) I agree with the tenets of this important book on the life and philosophy of Alexandr Solzhenitsyn, an insightful intellectual profile as recounted by the author Daniel J. Mahoney, a political scientist at Assumption …

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Young Stalin — from Georgia Bandit to Red Tsar!

Young Stalin by Simon Montefiore is a well-researched, well-written, absorbing, and authoritative biography of Joseph Stalin’s early years. Following the usual formalities, the book begins with a tantalizing “Prologue,” the audacious robbery and bloody bombing at the festive Yerevan Square in the center of the town of Tiflis (now Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia). The …

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Stalin, Communists, and Fatal Statistics

“One death is a tragedy; a million is a statistic,” said Joseph Stalin (1879-1953). It is estimated that between 20 to 40 million people, mostly Russians, were killed by Stalin during his dictatorship (1924-1953). Stalin, the Soviet dictator, not only exterminated purported “enemies of the peoples” but also liquidated almost the entire slate of communist …

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Stalin’s Loyal Executioner: People’s Commissar Nikolai Ezhov, 1895-1940 by Marc Jansen and Nikita Petrov

Stalin’s Loyal Executioner: People’s Commissar Nikolai Ezhov, 1895-1940 by Marc Jansen and Nikita Petrov is a great addition to the story of Soviet communism, a story that is still unfolding, but has not completely been told. This book will remain the authoritative source of the life and times of Nikolai Yezhov, until the Russian archives …

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