Stalin's guerrillas : Soviet partisans in World War II /

Considering the magic surrounding the word "partisan" in both Russian/Soviet popular memories of WW II and Western scholarship on the war, it is startling that it has taken this long for an academic monograph to appear. Slepyan (Transylvania Univ.) introduces his narrative effectively by placing the Soviet partisan movement in the context of the other European resistance movements of WW II, as well as the broader history of popular resistance movements in Russia. His main theme is how the Soviet authorities negotiated the often-conflicting tasks of channeling popular wrath against the Nazi invaders into an effective military organization while stifling the emergence of alternative political centers. After the war, the partisans were shunted aside in favor of an official narrative that jealously asserted party leadership over the war effort. To compensate for this, Slepyan copiously cites newly available military archives to articulate partisan experiences, frustrations, and self-regard. This welter of detail constitutes the book's main strength and weakness. Of value to specialists, but also accessible to general readers, particularly military history buffs. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. All levels/libraries. P. E. Heineman University of Maryland University College