Joseph Stalin's 25-year dictatorship is without doubt one of the most controversial periods in the history of the Soviet Union. "Stalin and Stalinism" examines Stalin's ambiguous personal and political legacy, his achievements, and his crimes - all now the subject of major reappraisal both in the West and in the former Soviet Union.

Joseph Stalin's 25-year dictatorship is without doubt one of the most controversial periods in the history of the Soviet Union. This text examines Stalin's ambiguous personal and political legacy, his achievements and his crimes - all now the subject of major reappraisal both in the West and in the former Soviet Union. The second edition of this pamphlet is fully updated to take in historical debates and historiographical controversies which have emerged since the collapse of the Soviet Union, and reflects on the ways in which Stalin's legacy still affects attitudes in and towards post-Soviet Russia.