Written by Rodric Braithwaite
Read by Simon Vance
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps

In 1941, Moscow was ruled by Stalin and besieged by Hitler's armies,
so it teemed with disagreeable characters, tragic events and a great
deal of unrewarded heroism. Although the siege was a miserable experience
for Muscovites, readers will enjoy reading about it. Braithwaite (Russia
in Europe) was British ambassador from 1988 to 1992, so he clearly knows
Russia. Early 1941 was a modestly hopeful time: a short-llived decrease
in arrests after the massive purges of the '30s coincided with an increase
in food in the stores. The official press had lavished praise on the
1939 Nazi-Soviet Friendship Pact, but by spring 1941 many Soviet leaders
had seen enough evidence to convince them of an imminent German invasion.
But the paranoid Stalin suspected an Allied plot to take the pressure
off Britain, so Hitler's June 22 attack devastated Russia's unprepared
troops. By autumn, Wermacht armies were threatening the capital, leading
to the greatest battle in history, with more than 900,000 Russian deaths—more
than all WWII British and American casualties combined. Most accounts
emphasize the fighting, but Braithwaite mixes interviews, diaries, memoirs
and letters to portray the reactions of dozens of individuals to that
catastrophic year. This is an absorbing contribution to what he considers
WWII's turning point.