The child of a small coup rather than an extension of popular will, the Soviet State was intrinsically insecure, its leaders ever fearful of internal and external threats. They did not feel that their regime would be safe until the revolution triumphed abroad, convinced that the outside world was implacably hostile. None felt this more strongly than Stalin. Indeed, as eminent historian of the Soviet Union Vojtech Mastny argues, it was Stalin's insatiable craving for security, more than anything else, that was the root cause of East-West tensions and the Cold War. In The Cold War and Soviet Insecurity, the long-awaited sequel to his acclaimed work, Russia's Road to the Cold War, Mastny offers a masterful history of the birth of the Cold War, drawing on extensive research in newly opened Soviet archives. Here Stalin takes center stage during the critical years 1947 to 1953, stamping East-West tensions with his personal blend of paranoia, ideology, ruthlessness, and wishful thinking. Indeed, given Stalin's personality and his unquenchable thirst for security, Mastny argues, the Cold War arose as an "unexpected but predetermined" event--far from planned, yet scarcely avoidable. As Mastny unfolds the history of this climactic era, he offers a new understanding of important aspects of the developing conflict--throwing sharp light, for example, on the Kremlin's relationship with foreign Communist parties (in both Eastern and Western Europe) and its very different responses to Tito and Mao. Indeed, the break with Tito demonstrates the depths of Stalin's paranoia: the Yugoslav leader actually thought he was doing Stalin's will, when all along his very similarity to Stalin alienated the Soviets--a case of "incompatible affinities," as Mastny writes. Here too is a fresh view of the outbreak of the Korean War: Stalin not only approved the attack, he actively armed and prepared the North's Communist army. And yet, he strangely left the most crucial war decisions to the North Koreans. Mastny brilliantly analyzes these events, showing the impact of the fighting in Korea on European relations--especially the question of divided Germany. And throughout the volume, Mastny offers many thought-provoking observations--he shows, for instance, that U.S. covert operations (especially the attempted infiltration of armed agents into Eastern Europe) may have had greater historical impact, by reinforcing Stalin's paranoia, than the better-known Soviet espionage efforts in the West; and that the West's failure to exploit instability--especially in East Germany--after Stalin's death, may have allowed a shaky Soviet regime to regain its footing and survive for another forty years. Russia's Road to the Cold War provided the definitive portrait of Stalin's foreign policy during World War II. Now, in The Cold War and Soviet Insecurity, Mastny provides an equally superb account of Stalin's foreign policy during his last years. Combining important new research with the fascinating insight of one of the leading authorities on Soviet affairs, this authoritative volume illuminates a crucial period in recent world history.

The Cold War and Soviet Insecurity: The Stalin Years

History

Mastny, Vojtech

Russia

Oxford University Press

In this long-awaited sequel to his acclaimed Russia's Road to the Cold War (1979), Vojtech Mastny offers a thorough history of the early years of the Cold War, drawing upon his extensive research in newly opened Soviet archives. Just as the earlier volume offered the definitive portrait of Joseph Stalin's foreign policy during World War II, The Cold War and Soviet Insecurity affords readers an equally superb account of Stalin's foreign policy during his last years. Combining important new data with the fascinating insights of one of our leading authorities on Soviet affairs, this book illuminates a crucial period in recent world history.

Americas

A study of the response of the Czechoslovakian people to the Nazi invasion and why the resistance failed

Czechs Under Nazi Rule: The Failure of National Resistance, 1939-42

Columbia Univ. Pr.

Studies the events and policies which led the Soviet Union into the Cold War detailing the way in which Stalin conceived and executed the decisions resulting in the partitioning of Europe

Russia's Road to the Cold War: Diplomacy, Warfare, and the Politics of Communism, 1941-1945

Politics & Social Sciences

Social Sciences

Russia's Road to the Cold War

Soviet-east European Survey, 1986-1987: Selected Research And Analysis From Radio Free Europe/radio Liberty

Routledge

As a rising regional power in the critical borderland between Europe and Asia, Turkey has been more challenged than its neighbors by the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the break-up of Yugoslavia. A secular Muslim nation with a history of involvement in European affairs and some with Western international structures, Turkey is positioned to

Turkey Between East And West: New Challenges For A Rising Regional Power

Nation, R. Craig

Reference

War Plans and Alliances in the Cold War: Threat Perceptions in the East and West (CSS Studies in Security and International Relations)

This book reviews the threat perceptions, military doctrines, and war plans of both NATO and the Warsaw Pact during the Cold War.

Westview Press

Fifty analytical reports by the research staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Munich and an interpretive overview by the editor. Focus is on the main events and trends in the Soviet bloc during Gorbachev's third year in office. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

Soviet/east European Survey, 1987-1988: Selected Research And Analysis From Radio Free Europe/radio Liberty

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Mastny, Vojtech. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Mastny, Vojtech

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Mastny, Vojtech. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Cold War and Soviet Insecurity: The Stalin Years

The Cold War and Soviet Insecurity: The Stalin Years

Czechs Under Nazi Rule: The Failure of National Resistance, 1939-42

Russia's Road to the Cold War: Diplomacy, Warfare, and the Politics of Communism, 1941-1945

Russia's Road to the Cold War

Soviet-east European Survey, 1986-1987: Selected Research And Analysis From Radio Free Europe/radio Liberty

Turkey Between East And West: New Challenges For A Rising Regional Power

War Plans and Alliances in the Cold War: Threat Perceptions in the East and West (CSS Studies in Security and International Relations)

Soviet-east European Survey, 1986-1987: Selected Research And Analysis From Radio Free Europe/radio Liberty

Soviet/east European Survey, 1987-1988: Selected Research And Analysis From Radio Free Europe/radio Liberty