Review by Choice Review
Based on numerous Soviet archival, documentary, and newspaper materials, this succinct, well-written monograph describes the nature and role of the Communist party in Moscow during the rise of Stalin and the first Five-Year Plan. The author describes the Communist party in Moscow as an institution, examines its membership, role, and effectiveness. She also depicts the lives of Moscow communists during an era of crucial change. This pioneering study probes relationships of the party elite with ordinary party members. Part 1 follows Moscow's political history, 1924-32: from Nikolai Uglanov's tenure as first secretary until consolidation of control by Lazar Kaganovich. Part 2 analyzes thematically various aspects of the party's work and organization in Moscow. Merridale makes useful comparisons between conditions in the party during the late 1920s and during the era of Stalinist transformation. She questions traditional Western views of a smoothly disseminated and blindly obeyed "party line." Increasingly strict internal party discipline, she argues, was fostered by rising official violence in the Stalin regime, especially by forced collectivization of agriculture. Valuable documenatry appendixes, extensive notes, and a complete bibliography. Highly recommended for specialists, upper-level undergraduates, and sophisticated general readers. -D. MacKenzie, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
