1/8: (Mutiny like Progozhin and Surovikin was what Stalin feared) : 1/8: Stalin's Library: A Dictator and his Books –by Geoffrey Roberts
The John Batchelor Show
John Batchelor
4.5 • 2.8K Ratings
🗓️ 16 July 2023
⏱️ 12 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
@Batchelorshow
1915 Kornilov
1/8: (Mutiny like Progozhin and Surovikin was what Stalin feared) : 1/8: Stalin's Library: A Dictator and his Books –by Geoffrey Roberts
https://www.amazon.com/Stalins-Library-Dictator-his-Books/dp/0300179049/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
In this engaging life of the twentieth century’s most self-consciously learned dictator, Geoffrey Roberts explores the books Stalin read, how he read them, and what they taught him. Stalin firmly believed in the transformative potential of words and his voracious appetite for reading guided him throughout his years. A biography as well as an intellectual portrait, this book explores all aspects of Stalin’s tumultuous life and politics.
Stalin, an avid reader from an early age, amassed a surprisingly diverse personal collection of thousands of books, many of which he marked and annotated revealing his intimate thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. Based on his wide-ranging research in Russian archives, Roberts tells the story of the creation, fragmentation, and resurrection of Stalin’s personal library. As a true believer in communist ideology, Stalin was a fanatical idealist who hated his enemies—the bourgeoisie, kulaks, capitalists, imperialists, reactionaries, counter-revolutionaries, traitors—but detested their ideas even more.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This is CBS Eye on the World. |
| 0:08.4 | Here's John Bachelor. |
| 0:11.0 | Joseph Stalin, a welcome professor Jeffrey Roberts, University of College Corp. |
| 0:18.8 | He is an emeritus professor of history and a member of the Royal Irish Academy, but |
| 0:23.4 | importantly he's the author of a new book, Stalin's Library, a dictator and his books. |
| 0:29.9 | Professor, a very good evening to you. |
| 0:31.9 | Congratulations and I go immediately to a fascination. |
| 0:35.8 | It is a dacha outside of Moscow, a named Bliszenaya, meaning no nearby. |
| 0:43.4 | And the dictator, the general secretary, Stalin, has a library. |
| 0:48.9 | You describe it as 30 meters square. |
| 0:51.4 | We're standing in the middle of it. |
| 0:53.1 | What do I see around me, Jeff? |
| 0:54.7 | Good evening to you. |
| 0:55.7 | Good evening, John. |
| 0:56.7 | Thanks very much for the invitation. |
| 0:59.5 | Yeah, so in the mid 1930s, Stalin had a new dacha or country mansion, especially constructed for him. |
| 1:08.6 | And the centerpiece of this is quite grand house was this massive library room, which had four |
| 1:16.9 | huge bookcases, white bookcases. |
| 1:22.1 | So room actually containing, you know, what if you were standing in the middle of what you would look around |
| 1:26.5 | in these bookcases and you would see on the shelves thousands of books. |
| 1:31.7 | And in fact, Stalin spent a lot of time in this particular room indeed. |
| 1:36.4 | You know, when he dies in March 93, that's the room and he has his fronking, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from John Batchelor, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of John Batchelor and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.