The friendship that made Shostakovich
The Gates of Kyiv explores the friendship between the composer and the pianist Maria Yudina – and the horrors of…
ByJoseph Stalin
Why Vladimir Putin is beholden to Stalin’s legacy
The Russian president has embraced the Soviet cult of fear and control. His invasion of Ukraine is a colossal gamble…
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Vladimir Putin has failed to learn Stalin’s lessons
The Russian president wants his country to be feared and respected, but the failures of his military are increasingly clear.
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Will Vladimir Putin declare war on 9 May?
Fears are rising that the Russian president will use the annual Victory Day holiday to escalate his offensive in Ukraine,…
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“It gets people killed”: Osip Mandelstam and the perils of writing poetry under Stalin
The cat-and-mouse game between the poet Osip Mandelstam and the Soviet dictator could only end in death.
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From the 1917 Revolution archive: A Petrograd Diary
Julius West's reports for the New Statesman offer a first hand account of the uneasy beginnings of Bolshevik rule.
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What are “Trots” and “Tankies”?
Unpicking the political name-calling on the British left.
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