Synopses & Reviews
In this ground-breaking study Lynne Viola--the first Western scholar to gain access to the Soviet state archives on collectivization--brilliantly examines a lost chapter in the history of the Stalin revolution. Looking in detail at the backgrounds, motivations, and mentalities of the 25,000ers, Viola embarks on the first Western investigation of the everyday activities of Stalin's rank-and-file shock troops, the "leading cadres" of socialist construction. In the process, Viola sheds new light on how the state mobilized working-class support for collectivization and reveals that, contrary to popular belief, the 25,000ers went into the countryside as willing recruits. This unique social history uses an "on the scene" line of vision to offer a new understanding of the workings, times, and cadres of Stalin's revolution.
Review
"This excellent monograph tells the story so well because the author...was able to gain access to Soviet governmental archives containing a wealth of first-hand material."--Foreign Affairs
"A superb, remarkably mature first effort....Using hitherto unavailable archival sources, she develops a fascinating, complex, and variegated picture of collectivization....A bravura performance."--Annals of the American Academy
"What Viola has given us is a significantly richer picture of collectivization and a valuable indication of what can be accomplished through imagination and careful research of the materials of the Stalin era."--Russian Review
"Viola has gathered much new information from Soviet archives, even more from a wide variety of contemporary Soviet periodicals, and from Soviet secondary sources."--The Historian
"Viola's work represents a welcomed addition to the sparse literature."--The Journal of Modern History
Review
"This excellent monograph tells the story so well because the author...was able to gain access to Soviet governmental archives containing a wealth of first-hand material."--Foreign Affairs
"A superb, remarkably mature first effort....Using hitherto unavailable archival sources, she develops a fascinating, complex, and variegated picture of collectivization....A bravura performance."--Annals of the American Academy
"What Viola has given us is a significantly richer picture of collectivization and a valuable indication of what can be accomplished through imagination and careful research of the materials of the Stalin era."--Russian Review
"Viola has gathered much new information from Soviet archives, even more from a wide variety of contemporary Soviet periodicals, and from Soviet secondary sources."--The Historian
"Viola's work represents a welcomed addition to the sparse literature."--The Journal of Modern History