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The Maisky Diaries

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

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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 Diaries & Journals Europe Great Britain Memoirs, Diaries & Correspondence Modern Political Science Politicians Politics & Activism Politics & Government Russia England War Royalty Soviet Union Winston Churchill Imperialism Self-Determination Interwar Period Socialism Stalin Military Middle Ages United Kingdom Imperial Japan Holocaust Middle East Latin American

Critic reviews

"An extraordinary document left by an extraordinary man." ( The Independent)
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This is an incredible diary of Ivan Maisky, Russian Ambassador in London, covering the appeasement era and most of WW2. Amazing detail and observation.

Inside story of appeasement and WW2

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This slightly abridged version of the Maisky Diaries contains a number of illuminating things which you won't find in any general history of the subject and is a most rewarding experience. My only gripe (and by no means insignificant) is the extraordinarily hapless reader, who manages to avoid the slightest risk of injecting any inflection at all throughout the whole book. In addition to his leaden delivery, we are forced to suffer some really weird pronunciation, more particularly the often used term "ambassador", which he insists in pronouncing as "ambassa door." Stalin had people shot for a lot less!

Fascinating details

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Maisky was the Soviet ambassador to the United Kingdom for eleven years between 1932 and 1943. In this abridged recording, Maisky details his impressions of and his conversations with both political leaders and opinion formers in the UK during this turbulent period in world affairs.

During his time as Soviet ambassador, Maisky developed a keen understanding of the British and the Society in which they lived.

Maisky was constantly battling between the needs of his host government and his Soviet masters, particularly given Stalin's paranoia and purges that were occurring at the time.

John Lee who narrates this work does an excellent job. Maisky's diaries offer an intriguing, unusually blunt assessment of the gel-political situation at the time. This book would appeal to anyone who is interested in Soviet history and it's relations with the West.

Maisky Walked a Tight Rope

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Fascinating, detailed and beautifully written. A fresh perspective which made me rethink my ingrained view of Britain's role in WW2. Reading this you experience something of how the war felt in real time, before it settled into history. Would make a brilliant accompaniment to William Manchester's biography of Churchill - also on audible.

A fascinating new perspective

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This book is a stunning revelation from an ambassador in the centre of world events prior to WW2 and is a must for students of Russian history.

Brilliant as close to Tine travel as we can get!

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