this post was submitted on 14 Jan 2024
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I'd recommend "Stalin: History and Critique of a Black Legend" by Domenico Losurdo.
In it, Losudro brings up the 'thornier' parts of Stalin's history and contextualizes those moments in history. To me, he does a convincing job of explaining all of the 'Great Man' myths we hear about Stalin, and that so much of these unexamined anecdotes just lived on as myths/legends about the man.
I believe he has a few chapters about work camps and explains and contextualizes them in a nuanced way. Really enlightening book and I think it would answer some of the questions you might have about Stalin.
Stalin: History and Critique of a Black Legend gained an official English translation in 2023. This is the link to the publisher of the translation who provides a free pdf version of the book.
Cool, thanks for the link!
Thanks! I've started reading it!