He ruled with an iron fist, treating his people like grist for the mill of power and threatening the world with his expansionist fantasies. One of the most influential and notorious leaders of the 20th century, he was likely also the greatest murderer of history, sending an estimated 20 million people to their deaths. STALIN: MAN OF STEEL is a multi-faceted portrait of the man who succeeded Lenin as the head of the Soviet Union. With a captivating blend of period documents, newly-released information, newsreel and archival footage and interviews with experts, the program examines his rise to power, deconstructs the cult of personality that helped him maintain an iron grip over his vast empire, and analyzes the policies he introduced, including the deadly expansion of the notorious gulags where he banished so many of his countrymen to certain death. http://www.socialist-federation.org

War of the Century: When Hitler Fought Stalin, by Laurence Rees (BBC) War of the Century: When Hitler Fought Stalin, is a BBC documentary film series that examines Adolf Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 and the "no holds barred" war on both sides. Not only it examines the war but also the terror inside the Soviet Union at the time due to the paranoia of Joseph Stalin, the revenge atrocities, the purge of the armed forces, the near-lunacy orders, and the paranoia of being upstaged by others, especially Marshal Zhukov. The historical adviser is Prof. Ian Kershaw. The whole four episode documentary film has been splitted in 20 parts. Episode 1 - HIGH HOPES Go inside Hitler's war room in the early months of the Russian campaign, when a swift Soviet defeat seemed likely. Episode 2 - SPIRAL OF TERROR In the Battle of Moscow, as many Soviets perished because of Stalin's brutality as at the hands of the Nazis. Episode 3 - LEARNING TO WIN When all seemed hopeless, the Soviets turned the tables on the invaders by devising a strategy of fighting on the retreat. Episode 4 - VENGEANCE In the summer of 1944, the seeds of the Soviet triumph were sown in Byelorussia. It was the bloodiest war in history, yet Hitler's brutal invasion of the Soviet Union and Stalin's subsequent fight back is surprisingly little known in the West. More than 30 million people died during Hitler and Stalin's terrible war in the East - more than in any other single war in history. But only since the fall of the Berlin Wall have Western journalists been allowed free access to those who took part in the conflict. At last the truth behind the war can be revealed with direct testimony from people who perpetrated atrocities and the victims who suffered on both sides. More than two years in the making and filmed in Germany, Hungary, Poland, Russia, the Ukraine and Byelorussia (Belarus), War of the Century reveals hitherto unpublished documentary evidence that challenges many of our assumptions about why Hitler decided to invade Russia and the Soviet response to German aggression. The series uses archive footage, documentary evidence and moving testimony to reveal the complexities of this most brutal of wars, bringing the unspeakable to the screen and allowing victims and aggressors to tell the truth as they see it.

War of the Century: When Hitler Fought Stalin, by Laurence Rees (BBC) War of the Century: When Hitler Fought Stalin, is a BBC documentary film series that examines Adolf Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 and the "no holds barred" war on both sides. Not only it examines the war but also the terror inside the Soviet Union at the time due to the paranoia of Joseph Stalin, the revenge atrocities, the purge of the armed forces, the near-lunacy orders, and the paranoia of being upstaged by others, especially Marshal Zhukov. The historical adviser is Prof. Ian Kershaw. The whole four episode documentary film has been splitted in 20 parts. Episode 1 - HIGH HOPES Go inside Hitler's war room in the early months of the Russian campaign, when a swift Soviet defeat seemed likely. Episode 2 - SPIRAL OF TERROR In the Battle of Moscow, as many Soviets perished because of Stalin's brutality as at the hands of the Nazis. Episode 3 - LEARNING TO WIN When all seemed hopeless, the Soviets turned the tables on the invaders by devising a strategy of fighting on the retreat. Episode 4 - VENGEANCE In the summer of 1944, the seeds of the Soviet triumph were sown in Byelorussia. It was the bloodiest war in history, yet Hitler's brutal invasion of the Soviet Union and Stalin's subsequent fight back is surprisingly little known in the West. More than 30 million people died during Hitler and Stalin's terrible war in the East - more than in any other single war in history. But only since the fall of the Berlin Wall have Western journalists been allowed free access to those who took part in the conflict. At last the truth behind the war can be revealed with direct testimony from people who perpetrated atrocities and the victims who suffered on both sides. More than two years in the making and filmed in Germany, Hungary, Poland, Russia, the Ukraine and Byelorussia (Belarus), War of the Century reveals hitherto unpublished documentary evidence that challenges many of our assumptions about why Hitler decided to invade Russia and the Soviet response to German aggression. The series uses archive footage, documentary evidence and moving testimony to reveal the complexities of this most brutal of wars, bringing the unspeakable to the screen and allowing victims and aggressors to tell the truth as they see it.

This is a lecture given by award winning historian, author and documentary filmmaker, Laurence Rees, in Coventry Cathedral. In this talk, Laurence Rees shares insights into some of the issues faced when making his latest series, 'WW2: Behind Closed Doors Stalin, the Nazis and the West', which is currently being broadcast on BBC 2. If you would like to watch more public lectures from Coventry University then please visit the Coventry University Youtube channel by clicking on the banner above. You can also download podcasts of a variety of lectures at http://www.coventry.ac.uk/podcasts/

Sorry, I have it just as mp3.. (and no, i dont like stalin -listen to the text!) Товарищ Сталин - Вы большой ученый, Языкознаний познавший толк, А я простой совейский заключенный И мой товарищ - серый Брянский волк. За что сижу, по совести, не знаю, Но прокуроры, видимо, правы. И так сижу я в Туруханском крае, Где при царе бывали в ссылке Вы. И вот сижу я в Туруханском крае, Где конвоиры строги и грубы, Я это все, конечно, понимаю, Как обостренье классовой борьбы. То дождь, то снег, то мошкара над нами, А мы в тайге с утра и до утра, Вы здесь из искры раздували пламя, Спасибо Вам, я греюсь у костра. Я вижу Вас, как Вы в партийной кепке И в кителе идете на парад, Мы рубим лес, и Сталинские щепки, Как раньше, во все стороны летят. Вчера мы хоронили двух марксистов, Мы их не накрывали кумачом. Один из них был правым уклонистом, Второй, как оказалось, ни при чем. Живите ж тыщу лет, товарищ Сталин, И как бы трудно не было бы мне Я знаю будет много чугуна и Сталин На душу населения в стране. Thanks a lot to toy2day for the lyrics!