Stalin’s War Cabinet: ‘Normalisation’ and Political Dynamics of the Dictatorship

Oleg Khlevniuk

Europe-Asia Studies, 2018, vol. 70, issue 7, 1019-1035

Abstract: Amid the extensive literature on the Stalinist dictatorship during the 1930s and the postwar period, the gap in scholarship on the Soviet leadership during the war years is particularly noticeable. This article fills that gap. Stalin’s war cabinet is characterised according to several criteria: first, the formal status of members of the leadership; second, the system of delegating authority; third, the functioning and competency of the structure of collective leadership; and fourth, Stalin’s loyalty to his top associates and the degree of their political immunity. The article demonstrates that the war years saw a relative ‘normalisation’ of the dictatorship. These important changes influenced the subsequent development of the Stalinist system of power and the evolution of Soviet authoritarianism after the dictator’s death.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1080/09668136.2018.1489045

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