Stalin

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

When Jonathan Brent and Vadim Staklo—then the editorial director and project manager for Yale University Press’s Annals of Communism series respectively—suggested that I write a biography of Stalin, I was more puzzled than glad. But now that the book has been completed, I am truly thankful to them.

Few know more about the Stalin era than my friends Yoram Gorlizki, Andrea Graziosi, Jan Plamper, and David Shearer, and I am grateful to them for reading the manuscript and making valuable comments. This work also greatly benefited from the skillful editing of William Frucht, the press’s executive editor, the keen eye and remarkable memory of the manuscript’s copy editor, Bojana Ristich, and the expertise of production editor Margaret Otzel. A critical role was played by the book’s translator, Nora Favorov, my most attentive and demanding reader.

This biography is the culmination of long years of studying Soviet history. These years brought collaboration and friendship with many knowledgeable colleagues. My interactions with all of them have helped prepare me to produce this work.

To start with those no longer living, I learned a great deal from Moshe Lewin, Viktor Petrovich Danilov, Victor Zaslavsky, and Derek Watson—all prominent historians and wonderful human beings.

Next, this book would not have been possible without decades of work alongside my friends and fellow archival researchers. At RGASPI, I have been fortunate to work with Andrei Sorokin, Lyudmila Kosheleva, Marina Astakhova, Galina Gorskaia, and Elena Kirillova. My work at GARF would have been impossible without the constant support of Sergei Mironenko, Larisa Rogovaya, Larisa Malashenko, Dina Nokhotovich, Sofia Somonova, Galina Kuznetsova, and Tatiana Zhukova. Together we compiled a number of collections of historical documents.

For twenty-five years now I have been a proud member of the Robert Davies team. His dedication to the study of history and his amazing productivity are an example for us all.

Collaboration, interaction, and friendship with a number of historians have greatly contributed to my work. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Golfo Alexopoulos, Jörg Baberowski, Alain Blum, Yves Cohen, Marta Craveri, Victor Dönninghaus, Michael David-Fox, Mark Elie, Benno Ennker, Klaus Gestwa, Mark Harrison, Jana Howlett, Melanie Ilic, Nicolaus Katzer, Vladimir Kozlov, Sergei Kudryashov, Hiroaki Kuromiya, Terry Martin, Silvio Pons, Valeri Pozner, Arfon Rees, Andrea Romano, Ingrid Schierle, Robert Service, Jeremy Smith, Takeshi Tomita, Aleksandr Vatlin, Lynne Viola, Amir Weiner, Nicolas Werth, Stephen Wheatcroft, and Elena Zubkova.

Paul Gregory, Ron Suny, Sheila Fitzpatrick, Piter Solomon, and Dietrich Beyrau have been attentive and patient conversation partners for many years.

I would also like to express gratitude to the German Historical Institute in Moscow, Fondation Maison des Sciences de l’Homme, and the Ukrainian Studies Fund for their support.

As always, I would not miss this opportunity to wish success to my daughter Dasha.

As fate would have it, when I began work on this project my wife Katya fell ill. By the time I completed the manuscript, she was no longer with us.

To her, I dedicate this book.