Tuesday 11 November 2014, 6.30 - 8.00pm, Wolfson Theatre, NAB
Speaker: Professor Sheila Fitzpatrick; Chair: Professor Vladislav Zubok
We know a lot about Stalin but less about the team – Molotov, Kaganovich, Mikoyan and the rest of a group whose membership was roughly but never quite equivalent to the Politburo – that surrounded him for 25 years. They went with him through collectivization, the Great Purges, the Second World War, and the travails of the postwar period, coming through the purges relatively intact but, in the case of Molotov and Mikoyan, barely surviving Stalin’s attempt to oust them in his last years. There can be no doubt that Stalin was the team’s boss, but what was the function of the rest of the team? Were they just yes men? If so, how do we explain their success, as the new “collective leadership,” in achieving a practically blood-free political transition, complete with a consensus reform programme, when he died?
This event is free and open to all with no ticket or pre-registration required. Entry is on a first come, first served basis. For more information please email us here.
Audio
Speaker
Professor Sheila Fitzpatrick is Distinguished Service Professor Emerita of the University of Chicago and Professor of History at the University of Sydney, where she now lives.
Chair
Professor Vladislav Zubok is Professor of International History at LSE.
Location
Wolfson Theatre, New Academic Building, LSE. Map.