The Death of Stalin. Interview with Sheila Fitzpatrick

Top historian of USSR and Russia on her new book

The film, The Death of Stalin is brilliant, black comedy. But the real story of how Stalin’s death changed the USSR and the world is more intriguing. This week I interviewed distinguished historian Sheila Fitzpatrick about her new book The Death of Stalin, and how her histories help make sense of our new Cold War.

The interview is live on the Burning Archive Youtube Channel now. Watch, like and share with a friend.

“Professor Sheila Fitzpatrick is her generation’s leading English-language historian of the Soviet Union. Her work has transformed the study of Soviet history, in particular scholarship on the Russian revolution and the Stalin years.”

University of Melbourne Testimonial

On Sheila Fitzpatrick’s Career

• Founder of the field of Soviet social history

• Critically reviewed the concept of totalitarianism and highlighted the differences between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.

• Distinguished Achievement Award from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

• Award for Scholarly Distinction from The American Historical Association

• Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Australian Academy of the Humanities.

• Professor at the Australian Catholic University (Melbourne)

• Honorary professor at the University of Sydney

• Distinguished Service Professor Emerita at the University of Chicago.

Sheila Fitzpatrick’s Books

Sheila Fitzpatrick's brilliant new 100-page history, The Death of Stalin is available to buy here.

Summary of the book by Blackincbooks

The personal and the political collide in this masterful account of the death of a dictator. When Joseph Stalin died in 1953, he had been the unchallenged leader of the Soviet Union for over twenty years, having presided over the ruthless modernisation of the early 1930s, the Great Purges later in the decade, the near-catastrophe and ultimate victory of World War II, and the country's postwar emergence as a superpower. He was surrounded by a cult that made him seem godlike; no successors were in sight. His death was bound to be a deeply unsettling event, both in the Soviet Union and elsewhere.

Sheila Fitzpatrick draws on her unparalleled knowledge of Stalin's circle and Soviet society to tell a tale that blends black comedy with forensic analysis, exploring the problems and opportunities - often missed - created by the death of the dictator. Professor Sheila Fitzpatrick is her generation’s leading English-language historian of the Soviet Union. Her work has transformed the study of Soviet history, in particular scholarship on the Russian revolution and the Stalin years.

You can read more about Sheila Fitzpatrick at her publisher’s website.

The video shows brief clips from the official trailer of the film, The Death of Stalin, and from footage of Stalin’s funeral from the film State Funeral.

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Thanks for reading and watching

Jeff