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The Maisky Diaries

Red Ambassador to the Court of St James's, 1932-1943

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The Maisky Diaries

Written by: Gabriel Gorodetsky
Narrated by: John Lee
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About this listen

The terror and purges of Stalin's Russia in the 1930s discouraged Soviet officials from leaving documentary records, let alone keeping personal diaries. A remarkable exception is the unique diary assiduously kept by Ivan Maisky, the Soviet ambassador to London between 1932 and 1943. This selection from Maisky's diary grippingly documents Britain's drift to war during the 1930s, appeasement in the Munich era, negotiations leading to the signature of the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact, Churchill's rise to power, the German invasion of Russia, and the intense debate over the opening of the second front. Maisky was distinguished by his great sociability and access to the key players in British public life. Among his range of regular contacts were politicians, press barons, ambassadors, intellectuals, writers, and indeed royalty. His diary further reveals the role personal rivalries within the Kremlin played in the formulation of Soviet policy at the time. Scrupulously edited and checked against a vast range of Russian and Western archival evidence, this extraordinary narrative diary offers a fascinating revision of the events surrounding the Second World War.

©2015 Gabriel Gorodetsky (P)2015 Tantor 20th Century Europe Great Britain International Relations Memoirs, Diaries & Correspondence Modern Political Science Politicians Politics & Activism Politics & Government Russia

Critic Reviews

"An extraordinary document left by an extraordinary man." ( The Independent)
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While the book provides a very different view to what is written on the events that occurred in the Anglo world which i liked - sometimes in book it becomes difficult to differentiate the point of view of Maisky himself from the author’s via the context he provides. Nonetheless it is makes an excellent read to build a multi faceted view on WW2.

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