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Article: The riddle of Stalin; REVIEW.
- Article from:
- The Mail on Sunday (London, England)
- Article date:
- October 31, 2004
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 Solo Syndication Limited. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: RICHARD OVERY
Stalin: A Biography by Robert Service Macmillan [pounds sterling]25 . [pounds sterling]20 (0870 165 0870)****
Stalin is all too easy to dismiss as a ruthless psychopath obsessed with power. Millions cried real tears of sorrow when he died in 1953. Although he was feared, even hated for the oppression he unleashed, he was none the less regarded as the man who saved Russia, first from economic backwardness, then from Hitler.
This is one of the many riddles of Stalin's 20-year domination of the Soviet Union explored in Robert Service's profound and readable reassessment of the Soviet dictator.
He is at pains to point out that he wants to ...