Stalin by Oleg V. Khlevniuk

Author:Oleg V. Khlevniuk [Khlevniuk, Oleg V.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: Biography & Autobiography, Presidents & Heads of State, History, Europe, Russia & the Former Soviet Union, Modern, 20th Century
ISBN: 9780300166941
Google: Dy7CCAAAQBAJ
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: 2015-05-18T16:00:00+00:00

Historians have made a rather thorough study of the reasons for Stalin’s about-face on religion. Of course the former seminary graduate with the unfinished theological education had no intention of returning to the bosom of the church or asking forgiveness for his sins. Needing to strengthen relations with his allies, he had to respond to the concerns of Western public opinion and influential church circles about the plight of believers in the USSR. Furthermore, the liberation of occupied Soviet territories raised the practical question of what to do about the many churches the Germans had built there. The usual Bolshevik approach of shutting them down was impossible. He needed a reconciliation with the church. Religion had to be put under tight control but not destroyed. Far from the bottom of the list of reasons for this change was Stalin’s awareness of the role religion played in uniting the country, in earning the emotional support of the masses, who had endured terrible trials. Soviet values, force-fed into the minds of millions, could not satisfy the spiritual needs of a huge and ancient people. The goal of achieving a universal vision of the path forward turned out to be unattainable. Stalin’s grasp of this reality brought him one step closer to victory.

 THE STAGES OF VICTORY: CRIMEA, BERLIN, POTSDAM, MANCHURIA

The entry of the huge Red Army into Germany was a long-awaited and joyous occasion for the Soviet people and the vozhd. The enemy would be finished off in its own den. The time for retribution had come. Such natural and inevitable feelings inspired heroism and self-sacrifice during the war’s final battles, when every Soviet soldier could taste victory and was eager for the final assault. Stalin had every reason to be proud of his army.

One of the Red Army’s most successful operations came in January and February 1945. Taking just three weeks to advance five hundred kilometers from the Vistula to the Oder, the Soviet forces shattered critical Nazi lines of defense. Bridgeheads were created for an offensive against Berlin itself, but several months of bloody battles still lay ahead. The German forces defending their country put up a stubborn resistance and even launched counteroffensives, forcing the Red Army to take heavy casualties. Knowing this, Stalin did not hurry to enter Berlin in February. It would take several weeks to eliminate the threat of German counterattacks against the exposed flanks of the advancing Soviet fronts and to bring in reinforcements. Hard-earned experience had taught him prudence.

The victories of early 1945 had put the Soviet side in a favorable position to negotiate with the Allies on the postwar future. Negotiations first became a practical necessity in late 1944, when the Red Army was advancing through the Balkans and the Western Allies entered France and Italy. In October 1944, Churchill again flew to Moscow to meet with Stalin. The British prime minister raised the question of spheres of influence in Europe, the Balkans in particular. Stalin is unlikely to have been put off by this political cynicism.

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