Bibliography of Stalinism and the Soviet Union

This is a select bibliography of post-World War II English-language books (including translations) and journal articles about Stalinism and the Stalinist era of Soviet history. Book entries have references to journal reviews about them when helpful and available. Additional bibliographies can be found in many of the book-length works listed below.

Stephen Kotkin's biography of Stalin has an extensive bibliography; Stalin: Paradoxes of Power, 1878–1928[1][2] contains a 52-page bibliography and Stalin: Waiting for Hitler, 1929–1941[3][4] contains a 50-page bibliography covering both the life of Stalin and Stalinism in the Soviet Union.[a] See Further reading for several additional book and chapter length bibliographies.

Inclusion criteria

The period covered is 1924–1953, beginning approximately with the death of Lenin and ending approximately with the death of Stalin. This bibliography does not include the de-Stalinisation period.[b]

Topics include the post-Lenin period of Stalin's consolidation of power from 1924 to 1926 and closely related topics; for works on the Soviet involvement in World War II, see Bibliography of the Soviet Union during World War II. Biographies of prominent individuals associated with the Stalinist era and the expansion of Stalinism during the immediate post World War II era. This bibliography does not include fiction, newspaper articles (expect in references), photo collections, or films created during or about Stalinism or the Stalinist Era.

Works included are referenced in the notes or bibliographies of scholarly secondary sources or journals. Included works should either be published by an academic or widely distributed publisher, be authored by a notable subject matter expert as shown by scholarly reviews and have significant scholarly journal reviews about the work. To keep the bibliography length manageable, only items that clearly meet the criteria should be included.

Citation style

This bibliography uses APA style citations. Entries do not use templates. References to reviews and notes for entries do use citation templates. Where books which are only partially related to Russian history are listed, the titles for chapters or sections should be indicated if possible, meaningful, and not excessive.

If a work has been translated into English, the translator should be included and a footnote with appropriate bibliographic information for the original language version should be included.

When listing works with titles or names published with alternative English spellings, the form used in the latest published version should be used and the version and relevant bibliographic information noted if it previously was published or reviewed under a different title.

  1. ^ Schmemann, Serge (January 8, 2015). "From Czarist Rubble, a Russian Autocrat Rises". The New York Times Book Review. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  2. ^ Fitzpatrick, Sheila (October 22, 2014). "Stalin: Paradoxes of Power, 1878–1928 by Stephen Kotkin review – personality proves decisive". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  3. ^ Gessen, Keith (October 30, 2017). "How Stalin Became Stalinist". The New Yorker Book Review. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  4. ^ Lawrence, Mark Atwood (October 19, 2017). "A Portrait of Stalin in All His Murderous Contradictions". The New York Times Book Review. Retrieved 1 February 2020.


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