The Soviet Colossus

by Michael Kort

"The Soviet Colossus: A History of the USSR" is an introduction to twentieth-century Soviet history within the context of Russian history as a whole. Kort begins by showing how and why the Tsar developed powerful centralized institutions that undermined the political, civil, and economic freedoms of the Russian people. He then goes on to explain how the Bolsheviks' attempt to build socialism in a backward country produced the strong centralized bureaucracy characteristic of the Soviet Union today. The second edition, thoroughly revised and updated, offers new insights into the Andropov and Chernenko regimes as well as a complete discussion of Gorbachev's place in the continuum of Russian and Soviet history.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

Reviews

[Brett]

There appear to be several editions of this book, but the one I read was the original, published in 1985, a curious year to be trying to formulate a history of the Soviet Union from. If this book had been published just a few years later, I think Kort would have selected a different title.

It's a book written for a popular audience. It covers the time span beginning way back in the pre-history of the Russian state and ends with Chernenko, prior to Gorbachev's time as leader. However, the bulk of the text is devoted to the Lenin/Stalin period, as you might expect. The post-Stalin era is treated as a sort of afterthought in the last few chapters of the book.

Kort seems to give a generally evenhanded history of events, though he does tend to moralize from time to time, reminding the reader it is bad when millions of people die from starvation or purges. Though the scale of the mass deaths is truly hard to comprehend and Kort certainly brings it home.

In the end, again writing from just before the break-up of the Soviet Union, he suggests that the Soviet system is likely to continue into the future; that it has demonstrated durability and major, sudden changes are unlikely. It does go to show that the past does not always predict the future, and the course of human society is often not obvious.

[Guðmundur Arnlaugsson]

Ég las aðra útgáfu þessarar bókar, sem kom út 1990. Kaflinn um Gorbachov var þ.a.l. mjög áhugaverður, en líka nokkuð góður. Eins og þessi bók heilt á litið. Helsti gallinn var of mikil áhersla á utanríkisstefnu Sovétríkjanna á Brezhnev tímanum, á kostnað innanríkisathugunna. En Andropov og Chernenko kaflinn, aftur á móti, var virkilega fín samantekt um allt það sem amaði að Sovétinu á undan Gorba. Mæli með, ef þið komist í þessa einhvers staðar.