HIST 481 - Stalinism

FC SSCI CD WADV

4 credits
A political system, an economic project, a civilization, a crime: what was Stalinism? I.V. Stalin was the de facto leader of the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. His name is synonymous with the boldest triumphs and most grotesque tragedies of 20th-century socialism. This course investigates the intense debates surrounding the nature and legacy of Stalinism. It will analyze a series of crucial developments in modern Russian history–socialist realism, the Gulag, the show trials, collectivization, World War II–and explore how warring interpretations over Stalinism still shape the historical and political landscape of the present.