Stalin

Passage to Revolution

By: Ronald Grigor Suny

Narrated by: Robbie Stevens

This audiobook narrated by Robbie Stevens tells the spellbinding story of Stalin in his formative years

This is the definitive biography of Joseph Stalin from his birth to the October Revolution of 1917, a panoramic and often chilling account of how an impoverished, idealistic youth from the provinces of tsarist Russia was transformed into a cunning and fearsome outlaw who would one day become one of the 20th century's most ruthless dictators.

In this monumental book, Ronald Grigor Suny sheds light on the least understood years of Stalin's career, bringing to life the turbulent world in which he lived and the extraordinary historical events that shaped him. Suny draws on a wealth of new archival evidence from Stalin's early years in the Caucasus to chart the psychological metamorphosis of the young Stalin, taking listeners from his boyhood as a Georgian nationalist and romantic poet, through his harsh years of schooling, to his commitment to violent engagement in the underground movement to topple the tsarist autocracy. Stalin emerges as an ambitious climber within the Bolshevik ranks, a resourceful leader of a small terrorist band, and a writer and thinker who was deeply engaged with some of the most incendiary debates of his time.

A landmark achievement, Stalin paints an unforgettable portrait of a driven young man who abandoned his religious faith to become a skilled political operative and a single-minded and ruthless rebel.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2020 Ronald Grigor Suny (P)2020 Princeton University Press

Critic reviews

"A wonderful, pathbreaking book. More than anyone else, Suny has examined all the key sources, investigated all the key episodes involving Stalin directly or indirectly, and traced young Stalin's trajectory in all aspects of his life." (William Taubman, author of Khrushchev: The Man and His Era and Gorbachev: His Life and Times)

"A tremendous achievement. Suny provides the most comprehensive analysis of Stalin's early years in the Caucasus, a period crucial to his development as a revolutionary, and examines the multiple layers of experience that eventually made him into the man he was." (Stephen Jones, author of Georgia: A Political History since Independence)

"The most informed, detailed, and analytically elegant account of how Stalin was tempered." (Yuri Slezkine, author of The House of Government: A Saga of the Russian Revolution)

a little too broad and detailed

Im sure this is a wonderful research but i was expecting a book on Stalin, rather found a book that can be titled Entire History of Communism, Bolsheviks, Mensheviks and its leaders and Stalin.

great research, but not great prose

This book almost feels like the polar opposite of Simon Sebag Montefiore's "Young Stalin." Montefiore's book spent more words on Stalin's almost gangsterish past as bank robber and criminal. For the party of course. Suny focuses much more on the political growth of Stalin, barely acknowledging Stalin's sometime brutal acts of youth. Instead Stalin (under his nicknames Sosa, Koba, etc.) comes across as a likeable human. Both Suny and Montefiore have strong points, but I enjoyed Montefiore's book more as his prose struck me as fresher and less stilted. Personally my memory functions better when reading a text, and in this case, Suny's exhaustive research brings out a laundry list of names, particularly Georgian names. Without being able to skim through previously read pages, many of the names went in one ear and out the other. Printed text would have worked better for me, but sometimes it does feel like Suny is impressing the reader with his research rather than with his prose.
But Suny's book was worth the listen, and, unlike almost Audible books, there was a PDF with photos and two maps that allowed to connect names with faces and places. A most welcome change in my Audible experience.

An outstanding biography

This is an outstanding biography, analyzing the early years of one of the most sanguine leaders of the XXth century. It's based on solid research and great knowledge. lt's a must read for anyone who wants to understand how the communist party turned into the murderous apparatus that engulfed the lives of dozens of millions of people.

Great

A fantastic book and a fantastic reading of it. I would recommend to anyone and everyone.

Extensive history

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Comprehensive, well organized and enjoyable. A much needed addition