Industry and the Soviet Army, 1928–1941

Abstract

From 1928 to 1941 the Red Army was simultaneously a victim, a ben eficiary, and an instigator of Joseph Stalin’s revolution-from-above, the violent and sudden transformation of the Soviet Union’s economy and society in the name of defending socialism and maximizing Stalin’s personal power. In a Faustian bargain, the Red Army became a modern, powerful, mechanized force, but tied itself irretrievably to Stalin. This choice would have fateful consequences for both the Red Army’s high command personally and for the Soviet people.