Not another book on Stalin and the Soviet Union, you might reasonably object. After all, since the political and economic breakdown of the Soviet Union and its subsequent disintegration, all the world’s leading experts on Soviet studies have descended on Moscow, demanding their slice of access time to the Soviet archives. As a result, we have witnessed an avalanche of revolutionary studies, Soviet studies, and post‐Soviet studies, an array almost as formidable as the sight of the Red Army advancing to the Elbe. So, what sort of chance has this new work of endearing itself? Not a bad one, actually. These biographical companions are described by ABC‐Clio as encyclopedic guides to the lives of men and women who made a significant impact on the social, political and cultural development of the western world. You certainly cannot fault Stalin on these grounds. Even more encouragingly, Rappaport recognises how crowded the field of Stalinist studies has become, describing it as “a vast range of academic study that is at times compelling, at times utterly indigestible”. Many of the books cited in her selective bibliography “have been written by highly‐respected academics who have devoted a lifetime to ground‐breaking Stalinist historical research”. This is only half the story. “Latterly, the field … has been further complicated by a new and radical revisionist approach … contained in complex and exhausting arguments over facts, figures and statistics.” Then comes the clincher, justifying this latest publication: “while so much serious research is stimulating public awareness about Stalin’s rule and constantly throwing up new evidence, it does not necessarily always make for easy or entertaining reading”.
To convert the research into everyday language ordinary readers can understand is the task Rappaport sets herself. The intention is “to provide a description of some of the most fundamental aspects of Stalin and of the political system he instituted in a form that is accessible … to the lay reader who probably does not speak the language and knows and understands little about the life and times of Joseph Stalin”.
To accomplish this, the encyclopedia’s entries “move away from … the complex political aspect of Stalin’s rule … towards an accent on the personal and an interpretation of some of the ways in which the lives of Russian people ‐ both the population at large as well as some of Stalin’s more famous victims ‐ were shaped and affected by 35 years of Stalinist rule”. Furthermore, the reading lists following the entries all consist of English‐language sources “that should be reasonably easily available through most good public and university libraries”.
That last bit may be a touch optimistic. Of the 161 entries, 74 relate to individuals including five Dzhugashvilis, and nine to various aspects of Stalin’s life. There is even an entry for Ivan the Terrible! Now, Joe Stalin can be blamed for an awful lot but, at first sight, it is hard to see why he should be responsible for Ivan the Terrible (1530‐1584).
But Rappaport knows what she is doing and she makes some telling comparisons between the two. Curiously, Cheka, and the NKVD, are awarded separate entries, but not OGPU, MVD, or KGB, although there are numerous index entries for these three bloodchilling organisations. However, the biographical entries, the seven‐page chronology, the five‐page glossary, the nine‐page thematically arranged bibliography, and the analytical index, entitle this volume to be added to stock in most general libraries up to and including undergraduate level.
