Middle-Class Stalin

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Clarissa

November 7, 2014

Nobody is as incapable of preventing their ideology from seeping into their research output as historians. I knew who Kotkin, the author of the new biography of Stalin, votes for by page 2.

This isn’t a big problem in itself. I’m not looking for books written by robots. But it does get funny when the author of a scholarly book on Stalin begins to massage Stalin’s life into the narrative of the American dream. “And so little Stalin read a lot, excelled at school, tried to better himself, believed in God, and as a result of his hard work and religiosity, achieved great social mobility.”

It is also very funny how dedicated Kotkin is to proving that Stalin doesn’t come from a dirt – poor family in a tiny backwater town. In Kotkin’s world, it just isn’t possible to gain the importance Stalin did without growing up middle – class. Kotkin’s efforts to make Stalin’s family middle class are so intense that they smack of desperation.
I’m loving the book.

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17 responses to “Middle-Class Stalin”

el

November 7, 2014

\\ I knew who Kotkin, the author of the new biography of Stalin, votes for by page 2.

Republicans?

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1. Clarissa
  
  November 7, 2014
  
  And you knew from 2 posts of mine about his book. 🙂 It’s just wrong for an author to be that transparent.
  
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el

November 7, 2014

Now thought that if the author wanted to write about middle class, he should have chosen Lenin or Trotsky from a family of “well-to-do Jewish farmers.” [wiki]

I am enjoying those posts and would love to hear more about Judt’s book as well. May be, after you end reading them, you’ll mention whether they are recommended? From what I understand, Judt’s book is, but unsure yet about Kotkin.

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1. Clarissa
  
  November 7, 2014
  
  There is a curious conflict taking place in Kotkin’s mind. 🙂 On the one hand, it us impossible to spend this much time studying somebody and not to get to like him on some level. On the other hand, Stalin’s ideology is obviously profoundly alien to Kotkin. So he seems to be trying to turn Stalin into “one of us” in a way.
  
  But the research behind the book – based on what I’ve read so far – is flawless. I haven’t noticed a single blooper. And this is a subject where I’m very confident about my knowledge (unlike, for instance, Judt’s book).
  
  I will also eventually provide a comparison between thus biography of Stalin and other major biographies of him. Stalin’s biography is a hobby of mine. 🙂
  
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el

November 7, 2014

\\ I will also eventually provide a comparison between thus biography of Stalin and other major biographies of him.

Great. I read the previous biography (in Russian) you recommended and wondered how it compares to Kotkin’s myself.

Also wondered whether Stephen Kotkin has Russian roots since “Kotkin” sounds Russian, or doesn’t it? Wiki says “Kotkin graduated from the University of Rochester in 1981.” May be, he is a child of Russian immigrants?

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1. Clarissa
  
  November 7, 2014
  
  I have a feeling he is Jewish. Maybe he is from an immigrant Soviet family. Obviously speaks Russian but that isn’t a sign of anything as we obviously know. 🙂
  
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  1. J. Otto Pohl
    
    November 7, 2014
    
    I think you are right. A lot Jews have the name Kotkin in the US.
    
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2. Clarissa
  
  November 7, 2014
  
  Did you enjoy Radzinsky’s book?
  
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  1. el
    
    November 7, 2014
    
    \\ Did you enjoy Radzinsky’s book?
    
    Yes. Thank you.
    
    Btw, here is Uri’s new column:
    http://www.avnery-news.co.il/english/
    
    I liked it less than many others, but you view ISIS as important for Israel too, so may be you’ll like it better.
    
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    1. Clarissa
      
      November 7, 2014
      
      “HISTORY HAS seen many strange relationships between nations. But I dare say none stranger than that existing between Israel and the US.”
      
      – Hard to argue with this. 🙂
      
      “Two countries against the entire world? No, not entirely. Micronesia, Palau and the Marshal Islands abstained. (These three mighty island nations generally support Israel, too, though few Israelis could place them on the map.)”
      
      – Good writing.
      
      “Throughout the years, in hundreds of UN votes, Israel has stood loyally with the US, and vice versa. An unshakable alliance, so it seemed. And now they call our valiant Prime Minister chickenshit?”
      
      – Really good writing. 🙂
      
      “The first accusation is unfounded, since Netanyahu never seriously considered an attack on Iran. Some of my readers may remember that from the first day I assured them that such an attack would not happen, without even leaving myself a loophole in case I might be wrong. I knew that such an attack was quite out of the question.”
      
      – GOOD TO HEAR.
      
      “Netanyahu did not chicken out of making peace. This would presuppose that he wanted peace in the first place. If the Americans really believe so, they should read a few good articles (especially mine).”
      
      – I now know why I like his writing. That’s because it’s so similar to mine.
      
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      1. Clarissa
        
        November 7, 2014
        
        “Every word Binyamin Netanyahu has ever uttered in favor of peace and the Two-State solution was a blatant lie. For him to advocate a Palestinian state is like the Chief Rabbi advocating eating pork on Yom Kippur.”
        
        – Gosh, what a good writer. I’m very grateful that you introduced me to his journalism.
        
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el

November 7, 2014

I meant “Is ISIS Coming?” column :
http://www.avnery-news.co.il/english/

I liked his “Muhammad, Where Are You?” but didn’t link because of one place where he shows his ignorance about Ukraine in an off-hand remark:
http://www.avnery-news.co.il/english/

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1. Clarissa
  
  November 7, 2014
  
  For some reason, all of your links to his articles go to the Chickenshit article.
  
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2. Clarissa
  
  November 7, 2014
  
  “One has only to think about the Kurds in Syria, the Russian-speakers in Ukraine or the Tamils in Sri Lanka to get some sense of proportion.”
  
  – Yes, he did just slaughter the whole article with this. Take me, for instance. There is a reason why I never write about the Kurds in Syria. And the reason is that I’m not well-informed to offer opinions. I would never mention them in any context until I researched the subject at some length. Obviously, nobody expects an encyclopedic knowledge of the issue, but some general familiarity would be good.
  
  “The family of Hanin Zuabi has been in Lower Galilee for centuries, perhaps millennia. After the foundation of Israel, Saif-al-Din Zuabi has been a member of the Zionist Labor Party and a deputy speaker of the Knesset. Another relative, Abd-al-Rahman Zuabi, has been a Supreme Court judge. Abd-al-Aziz Zuabi, a Knesset member of the Zionist Mapam party (now Meretz) was a deputy minister.”
  
  – I also don’t like this part. Where her ancestors have or haven’t been for millennia bears no relationship to whether it’s OK to insult her. If we start getting into where anybody’s ancestors were 1,000 years ago, we will lose any chance at a rational discussion.
  
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  1. Clarissa
    
    November 7, 2014
    
    “IN GENERAL, the situation of the Arab citizens is far from what we (and they, of course) desire. We must fight for total equality. This fight should be continuous, and should be fought by Jewish and Arab human rights activists hand in hand.
    However, the sad fact is that this cooperation, which once was close and almost intimate, has become distant and rare.”
    
    – This, however, seems very valuable. I’m kind of shocked you liked the piece.
    
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el

November 7, 2014

// – This, however, seems very valuable. I’m kind of shocked you liked the piece.

In that column I was interested in his reporting the news, mainly. It gives quite a lot of interesting info, especially for not Israelis. To let you feel / understand how we live here, the atmosphere.

\\ If we start getting into where anybody’s ancestors were 1,000 years ago, we will lose any chance at a rational discussion.

You can not escape that aspect. Israel was founded based on where our ancestors were 2,000 years ago. You often hear “Arabs moved here only after Jews came and developed the region” or “They moved from Lebanon / etc not long before Israel’s foundation, they should return to their country.” I heard Abbas once talking “our skin is the color of this land,” stressing Palestinian belonging and deep roots, and opposing that to my skin color, I guess.

\\ We must fight for total equality.
[..]
– This, however, seems very valuable.

I think East Jerusalem may well go to the future Palestinian state one day. How can you attempt to separate the populations, while striving for full equality?

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1. Clarissa
  
  November 7, 2014
  
  Yes, I know we cannot escape the irrational. We can try, though.
  
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