Makers of the Twentieth Century: Joseph Stalin

Born a century or so ago, dead for over twenty-five years, Joseph Stalin should soon become an historical figure rather than a deep-dyed villain, as he is for most in the West, or an outstanding hero, as he still is for a few at least in the West and for many elsewhere. True, objective appraisal remains hampered by several persistent obstacles, ranging from absence of source and solid information to an over-abundance of prejudice and passion, but these have been overcome in other cases and may turn out to be surmountable in this one. Even if Soviet archives were to be thrown open to all comers, certain questions, including to what extent Stalin was personally responsible for the purges, would probably not be definitely answered. And many questions of the 1930s, including the level of economic performance, completeness of cultural revolution and aims of foreign policy, have recently been among the subjects of convincing analysis made almost exclusively on the basis of documents and memoirs already published. As for the hate and the fear that the name has aroused, time is at last healing the even these great wounds, while the reverence and adulation that still exist serve as reminders that our own scale of values is not universal and that there may have been some positive aspects to Stalin’s work even according to the Western outlook.