Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster
by Svetlana Alexievich
from Picador
The Reconstruction of Nations: Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, 1569-1999
by Timothy Snyder
from Yale University Press
“A work of profound scholarship and considerable importance.”—Timothy Garton Ash, St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford
“Timothy Snyder’s style is a welcome reminder that history writing can be—indeed, ought to be—a literary pursuit.”—Charles King, Times Literary Supplement
“A brilliant and fascinating analysis of the subtleties, complexities, and paradoxes of the evolution of nations in Eastern Europe. It has major implications for all of us who want to understand the processes of state collapse and nation-building in the world.”—Samuel P. Huntington, Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies
“Snyder’s ultimate query in this fresh and stimulating look at the path to nationhood is how the bitter experiences along the way, including the bitterest—ethnic cleansing—are to be overcome.”—Robert Legvold, Foreign Affairs
The Bielski Brothers: The True Story of Three Men Who Defied the Nazis, Saved 1,200 Jews and Built a Village in the Forest
by Peter Duffy
from HarperCollins
It is one of the most remarkable dramas of World War II -- untold until now.
In 1941, three young men -- brothers, sons of a miller -- witnessed their parents and two other siblings being led away to their eventual murders. It was a grim scene that would, of course, be repeated endlessly throughout the war. What makes this particular story of interest is how the survivors responded. Instead of running or capitulating or giving in to despair, these brothers -- Tuvia, Zus, and Asael Bielski -- did something else entirely. They fought back, waging a guerrilla war of wits and cunning against both the Nazis and the pro-Nazi sympathizers. Along the way they saved well over a thousand Jewish lives.
Using their intimate knowledge of the dense forests surrounding the Belorussian towns of Novogrudek and Lida, the Bielskis evaded the Nazis and established a hidden base camp, then set about convincing other Jews to join their ranks. When the Nazis began systematically eliminating the local Jewish populations -- more than ten thousand were killed in the first year of the Nazi occupation alone -- the Bielskis intensified their efforts, often sending fighting men into the ghettos to escort Jews to safety. As more and more Jews arrived each day, a robust community began to emerge, a "Jerusalem in the woods." They slept in camouflaged dugouts built into the ground. Lovers met, were married, and conceived children. The community boasted a synagogue, a bathhouse, a theater, and cobblers so skilled that Russian officers would wait in line to have their boots reshod.
But as its notoriety grew, so too did the Nazi efforts to capture the rugged brothers; and on several occasions they came so near to succeeding that the Bielskis had to abandon the camp and lead their massive entourage to newer, safer locations. And while some argued in favor of a smaller, more mobile unit, focused strictly on waging battle against the Germans, Tuvia Bielski was firm in his commitment to all Jews. "I'd rather save one old Jewish woman," he said, "than kill ten Nazis."
In July 1944, after two and a half years in the woods, the Bielskis learned that the Germans, overrun by the Red Army, were retreating back toward Berlin. More than one thousand Bielski Jews emerged -- alive -- on that final, triumphant exit from the woods.
The Bielski Brothers is a dramatic and heartfelt retelling of a story of the truest heroism, a historic testament to courage in the face of unspeakable adversity.
The Last Soviet Republic: Alexander Lukashenko's Belarus
by Stewart Parker
from Trafford Publishing
Alexander Lukashenko was elected President of Belarus in 1994 with a landslide victory. He was a rank outsider, and stood as an independent candidate, with no political party or institution behind him.
Since election he has created policies based on the principle of improving the quality of life for the broadest number of Belarusian citizens, 'the state for the people'.
However this approach has led to huge criticism from abroad culminating in 2004 with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice declaring Belarus to be an 'Outpost of Tyranny'.
This book examines the history of Belarus from the days as part of the Russian Empire through to the present day. The Pale of Settlement, the 1917 Revolution, the Stalin era and the Second World War are all covered from the Belarusian perspective. The impact and influence of this history, and particularly of the Soviet Union on Belarus has been a huge factor in deciding the direction and priorities of Belarusians.
Lukashenko has been called the 'last dictator in Europe' and this book explores the reality of Belarusian social policy, human rights, and the colossal level of external interference in the democratic process in Belarus.
Compiled from a wide range of sources and crucially from open-ended interviews with Belarusian people themselves this book is essential for a genuine understanding of the subject, and the social model that independent Human Rights groups have suggested ought not to be criticised but instead adopted elsewhere.
Understanding Belarus and How Western Foreign Policy Misses the Mark
by Grigory Ioffe
from Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
In this fascinating study of unfinished nation-building in Belarus, Grigory Ioffe draws on his two dozen research trips to the country to trace Belarus's history, geography, political situation, society, and economy. The ambivalent relationship between Russia and Belarus results in an identity crisis that is not understood by the West, which leads to Western policies toward Belarus that are based on a fallacy of geopolitical thinking. This book will lead readers to a deeper understanding of Belarus, its relationship with Russia, and its still-forming national identity.
Revolution from Abroad: The Soviet Conquest of Poland's Western Ukraine and Western Belorussia
by Jan T. Gross
from Princeton University Press
Jan Gross describes the terrors of the Soviet occupation of the lands that made up eastern Poland between the two world wars: the Western Ukraine and Western Belorussia. His lucid analysis of the revolution that came to Poland from abroad is based on hundreds of first-hand accounts of the hardship, suffering, and social chaos that accompanied the Sovietization of this poorest section of a poverty-stricken country. Woven into the author's exploration of events from the Soviet's German-supported aggression against Poland in September of 1939 to Germany's attack on the Soviet Union in June 1941, these testimonies not only illuminate his conclusions about the nature of totalitarianism but also make a powerful statement of their own. Those who endured the imposition of Soviet rule and mass deportations to forced resettlement, labor camps, and prisons of the Soviet Union are here allowed to speak for themselves, and they do so with grim effectiveness.
Democratic Changes and Authoritarian Reactions in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova (Democratization and Authoritarianism in Post-Communist Societies)
from Cambridge University Press
This volume contains chapters on Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine, plus three chapters on Russia's regional politics, its political parties, and the overall process of democratization. The book provides an in-depth analysis of the uneven pattern of political change in these four countries.
This book brings together distinguished specialists on the former communist countries of Russia and the Western Newly Independent States. Chapters on Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine, plus three chapters on Russia's regional politics, its political parties, and the overall process of democratization, provide an in-depth analysis of the uneven pattern of political change in these four countries. Karen Dawisha and Bruce Parrott provide theoretical and comparative chapters on post-communist political development across the region.
Belarus: At A Crossroads In History (Westview Series on the Post-Soviet Republics)
by Jan Zaprudnik
from Westview Press
Historical Dictionary of Belarus
Over four hundred dictionary entries provide quick and easy access to basic facts and personalities from Belarus, including important historical figures as well as contemporary political players.
Belorussia 1944: The Soviet General Staff Study (Soviet (Russian) Study of War)
by Colonel Glantz
from Frank Cass
This book is an edited translation of the Soviet Staff study of the Red Army's Belorussian operation in the summer of 1944, which was unprecedented in terms of its scale, scope and strategic consequences. The Soviet Stavka had planned a campaign consisting of a series of massive operations spanning the entire Soviet-German front. Four powerful fronts (army groups) operated under close Stavka (high command) control. Over 1.8 million troops accomplished a feat unique in the history of the Red Army: the defeat and dismemberment of an entire German army group.
This book is a translation of the Soviet General Staff Study No 18, a work originally classified as secret and intended to educate Soviet commanders and staff officers. The operation is presented from the Soviet perspective, in the words of the individuals who planned and orchestrated the plans. A map supplement, including terrain maps, is provided to illustrate the flow of the operation in greater detail.
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