Spain Betrayed: The Soviet Union in the Spanish Civil War

Annals of Communism

by Ronald Radosh (Editor), Mary Habeck (Editor), Grigory Sevostianov (Editor)

The Spanish Civil War has long been the stuff of legend. Thousands of brave young men from all over the Western world, most of them organized by their local Communist parties, rushed to Spain to support the democratic Republic against right-wing forces led by rebellious generals in the Spanish officer corps. Although the Republic was eventually defeated, some observers believed that the effort to defend it was a selfless undertaking of the international Communist movement and the Soviet Union -- a noble crusade against Hitler, Mussolini, and their Spanish puppet Franco.This book presents a very different view of the role of the Soviet Union in this war. Based on previously unavailable Moscow archives, it provides the first full documentation of that country's duplicitous and self-serving activities. Documents in the book reveal that the Soviet Union not only swindled the Spanish Republic out of millions of dollars through arms deals but also sought to take over and run the Spanish economy, government, and armed forces in order to make Spain a Soviet possession, thereby effectively destroying the foundations of authentic Spanish antifascism. The documents also shed light on many other disputed episodes of the war: the timing of the Republican request for assistance from the Soviet Union; the rise and fall of the International Brigades; the internal workings of the Comintern and its influence on Spain; and much more.

Authoritative and startling in the new information it offers, the book is essential reading for anyone interested in Soviet foreign policy or the Spanish Civil War.

Genres: History, Spain, Russia, Spanish Civil War, Politics

537 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2001

Reviews

[Vic Lauterbach · Rating 4 out of 5]

The editors of this excellent volume do all students of twentieth-century European history a great service by revealing the real intentions and actions of the Soviet Union during the Spanish Civil War. By examining documents from the Soviet archives, the editors refute the argument, long held by Socialists in the Western Democracies, that the USSR merely tried to save the Spanish Republic from defeat by Franco's Falangists. Instead, we see that the Soviet goal was domination of the Spanish military and police in order to create a Stalinist state. In the end, their efforts failed due to a combination of factors: the Stalinists' focus on liquidating their Leftist rivals and anyone who opposed them demoralized the Republican forces; their looting of the Spanish treasury bankrupted the Republic and crippled its efforts to finance the war; and Republican persecution of the Catholic clergy, directed by NKVD and GRU advisers, infuriated a broad swath of the traditional, conservative population and played into the hands of the Falange. These documents make fascinating, if often depressing, reading, and the alphabet soap of party name abbreviations gets confusing, but anyone who seeks to understand this crucial "early phase of the Second World War" will be rewarded.

[Erik · Rating 4 out of 5]

I find the re-analysis of history fascinating once new material, documents, and data become available through declassification, changes in government policy, and time. This book certainly shines a fiercely bright light on the real role that the Soviet Union played in the Spanish Civil War, and illustrated the importance of having all the facts before rushing to judgment.

I'm not going to get into the ideological debate or pick sides.... neither make me warm and fuzzy to be honest. That said, it was made rather clear in this book that there was a great deal more illusion involved on the Republican side than many wanted to acknowledge. Perhaps there were no good guys in this fight, and the losers were the entire population of Spain.

I was not shocked to learn of the details provided, as they essentially align with history afterwards on how the communist world dealt with spreading its ideals and convictions. I think I was surprised at how many people really knew about the true state of the Soviet "assistance" and yet failed to act or admit error. The International Brigades were probably duped the most, and sadly suffered greatly for their mistake.

I think Radosh did a fine job presenting the new material and delivered a very powerful indictment of the Soviet supporters of the Republican government. It was well written, and the references will be most helpful for future research.

Overall, I think this was a high quality book and worthy of a solid 4 Stars.

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

The perfidy of the USSR in Republican Spain is on display as shown by documents from the Soviet archives in this book. The storied International Brigades received shabby treatment by the Soviet "advisors" in receiving obsolete small arms, being wasted (murdered) as shock troops and finally being sent to re-education camps where up to 20% were liquidated. This is a good follow on to George Orwell's Homage to Catalonia. Orwell described his rifle as an 1896 Mauser-the Spanish rifle of the Spanish-American War. This would have been a 5 star ratings but the Stalin speak of the documents gets tedious.

[M Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a compilation of Soviet documents revealed in the brief Russian perestroika era. Once again, the Russians/Communists are revealed to be wholly duplicitous and the traditional narrative of the Spanish Civil War implanted from 1936-2000 is revealed to be entirely one-sided and simplistic.

This should not be anyone's first book on the complicated conflict, but it should be the 4th or 5th.

[JerryDeanHalleck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Documents included are from the Soviet archives and detail the USSR involvement in the Spainish Civil war. Shows the so-called "Republican leaders" aided and abetted the soviet subversion of the elected Spainish Government. By the summer of 1937, the secret police and the Loyalist Army were so riddled with Soviet advisors and their Sympathizers as to be totally in the hands of the Communist Party.

The Soviet objective never changed, the ultimate goal was a Stalin friendly Government. However, the Communists were smart enough to understand they had to beat Franco first. So, "winning the war" became the first priority. As a result, you had struggle between the communists and the Anarchists (and POUM) which wanted to fight a war AND revolutionize Spainish society. That pretty much ended in May 1937, with the street battles in Barcelona and ensuing liquidation of the "Trotskyites" as the Soviets called them.

This is academic "dry" book, full of contemporary Documents from the Soviet archives. The Soviet documents make it clear which Spainish Pols were their friends and which ones weren't. It also sheds light on the fate of Andreu Nin. The extent of the Soviet military aid is also discussed as is the operations of the "Lincoln Brigade".