Stalinism and the Politics of Mobilization Ideas, Power, and Terror in Inter-war Russia

The relationship between ideas and politics in inter-war Russia has long been controversial, and historians have been sharply divided over the influence of Marxism on Stalinist politics. In this book David Priestland presents a reassessment of Bolshevik ideas, and of the ways in which they interacted with other political forces during the period. By analyzing the political discourse of the Bolshevik leadership, he shows how differing interpretations of Marxism-Leninism inspired and justified contrasting political and economic strategies. In particular, he traces the emergence of a strategy of mobilization, which was closely associated with leftist trends within Bolshevism. In exploring these ideas and strategies, the book sheds new light on inter-war Bolshevik politics, and on the origins of Stalin's 'Great Terror' of 1936-8. Book jacket.