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Zusatztext `A scholarly! well-written account ... avoids moral judgments and does enlighten readers regarding the hopes! mentalities! and actions of some central historical actors.' Choice Klappentext In this ground-breaking study Lynne Viola--the first Western scholar to gain access to the Soviet state archives on collectivization--brilliantly examines a lost chapter in the history of the Stalin revolution. Looking in detail at the backgrounds, motivations, and mentalities of the 25,000ers, Viola embarks on the first Western investigation of the everyday activities of Stalin's rank-and-file shock troops, the "leading cadres" of socialist construction. In the process, Viola sheds new light on how the state mobilized working-class support for collectivization and reveals that, contrary to popular belief, the 25,000ers went into the countryside as willing recruits. This unique social history uses an "on the scene" line of vision to offer a new understanding of the workings, times, and cadres of Stalin's revolution. Zusammenfassung In this ground- breaking study, Lynne Viola - the first Western scholar to gain access to the Soviet state archives on collectivization - brilliantly excavates a lost chapter in the history of the Stalin revolution. This book affords an intimate look at the campaign of the `25,000ers', the industrial workers who were sent into the Soviet countryside to implement collectivization during the 1930s.
