An interesting account of the career of a Soviet engineer who helped develop the principles of partisan warfare, only to see his friends and the people he trained killed by the Soviet system and its 'political' purges conceived in the mind of that madman --- Joseph Stalin.
I.G. Starinov served his country in two World Wars, the Russian Civil War and the war in Spain. He survived the purges through pure luck and the help of some friends.
The most fascinating part of this book is the language used to described military and political organizations that help me understand why the Russian mindset is almost incomprehensible to Americans. Also, for the first time, I really understood the paranoia that led Stalin to brutally kill millions of his own people - the same people who trusted him, helped him achieve power and who paid for their devotion to him and their country with death.
I am not sure that I could have survived the madness that was Russian life.
I.G. Starinov served his country in two World Wars, the Russian Civil War and the war in Spain. He survived the purges through pure luck and the help of some friends.
The most fascinating part of this book is the language used to described military and political organizations that help me understand why the Russian mindset is almost incomprehensible to Americans. Also, for the first time, I really understood the paranoia that led Stalin to brutally kill millions of his own people - the same people who trusted him, helped him achieve power and who paid for their devotion to him and their country with death.
I am not sure that I could have survived the madness that was Russian life.
