{"product_id":"the-secret-history-of-soviet-russias-police-state-cruelty-co-operation-and-compromise-1917-91-paperback","title":"The Secret History of Soviet Russia's Police State: Cruelty, Co-Operation and Compromise, 1917-91 - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eMartyn Whittock\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'[R]eadable and thoughtful . . . does an excellent job of exploring how the murderous political police in all its incarnations defined the Soviet Union, and left a poisonous legacy still with us today'\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eProfessor Mark Galeotti, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Vory\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eA Short History of Russia\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRepression, control, manipulation and elimination of enemies assisted in the establishment of the Soviet state, and helped maintain it in power, but could not, in the end, prevent its collapse.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eCitizens of the West have, for the most part, been told a very simplified story of the repressive 'totalitarian' state that was the USSR. In fact, it was sustained by more than just policing and force. No amount of revisionist history can erase the reality of millions controlled, imprisoned and killed, but there was much more to the USSR's one-party state than this. Whittock tells a more complex story of the combination of cruelty, co-operation and compromise required to build and run a one-party state. Much of this \u003ci\u003eis\u003c\/i\u003e the story of the role played by the secret police in creating and sustaining such a form of government, but it is much more than simply a 'history of the secret police'. This is because the 'police state' which emerged (in which dissent, both real and imaginary, was undoubtedly policed, threatened and ruthlessly eliminated) was more than just the product of the arrests, interrogations, executions and imprisonments carried out by the secret police. The USSR was also made possible by a battle for hearts and minds which led millions of people to feel that they really had benefited from the system and had a stake in the new society.\u003ch3\u003eBack Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe story that has been told in the West of the repressive 'totalitarian' state that was the USSR, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, is an oversimplification. The Soviet state was not sustained by policing and force alone.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRepression, control, manipulation and elimination of enemies may have assisted in the establishment of the USSR, and helped maintain its power, but these did not, in the end, prevent its collapse in 1991. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eNo amount of revisionist history can erase the reality of millions controlled, imprisoned and killed, but there was much more to the USSR's one-party state than this. Whittock provides a more complex and compelling account, from 1917 onwards, of the combination of cruelty, co-operation and compromise required to build and run a one-party state. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eMuch of this, of course, \u003ci\u003eis\u003c\/i\u003e the story of the role played by the secret police in creating and sustaining such a form of government, but the Soviet state was also made possible by an appeal to hearts and minds which led millions of people to feel that they really had benefited from the system and had a stake in the new society. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003ePraise for Martyn Whittock's work: \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e'A terrific, detailed introduction of these wonderful stories and the pantheon of characters in them . . . their writing is vivid and lively . . . a great addition to any library'\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eSan Francisco Book Review, on Norse Myths \u0026amp; Legends \u003c\/i\u003e(written with Hannah Whittock) \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003e'\u003c\/i\u003eWhittock displays a fine eye for detail'\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e, on \u003ci\u003eMayflower Lives\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eMartyn Whittock graduated in Politics from Bristol University in 1980, where his degree special study was in the Development of the Soviet State. He taught history at secondary level for thirty-five years, teaching Soviet History at A-Level and writing an A-Level text book entitled \u003ci\u003eStalin's Russia\u003c\/i\u003e and a GCSE textbook on \u003ci\u003eRussia and the Soviet Union 1917-1941\u003c\/i\u003e. He has acted as an historical consultant to the National Trust, the BBC and English Heritage and is the author or co-author of forty-eight books, including \u003ci\u003eA Brief History of Life in the Middle Ages\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eA Brief History of the Third Reich\u003c\/i\u003e and\u003ci\u003e Norse Myths and Legends\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 336\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1 x 7.7 x 4.9 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e May 31, 2022\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50333488611565,"sku":"9781472142405","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0020\/8918\/9441\/files\/hviQT-J6zy9781472142405.webp?v=1784987897","url":"https:\/\/www.webster.direct\/products\/the-secret-history-of-soviet-russias-police-state-cruelty-co-operation-and-compromise-1917-91-paperback","provider":"Webster.Direct","version":"1.0","type":"link"}