E1 Entertainment Russia's War: Blood Upon The Snow - WWII Documentary DVD | Historical Military Films | Perfect for History Buffs & Classroom Education

This review is to address a few of the complaints by other reviewers.First, a few reviewers suggested that this series glorifies Marxism since it presents Stalin as a sadistic paranoid whose mental illness distorted "pure" Communism. At no time in this documentary was it stated or indicated that Stalin betrayed the true "intellectual" heroes of a Sovietized Russia. Yes, the documentary portrays Stalin as a ruthless manipulator whose ego, thirst for power and paranoia led to wholesale crimes against his own people. But that Stalin turned out to be a bloodthirsty tyrant is in no way an endorsement of the view that Stalin betrayed the "intellectual" purity of the Soviet system.Though prior to his death, Lenin had written a dispatch detailing his misgivings about Stalin's leadership abilities, this information was chosen to be buried by the ranking members of the Politburo. Stalin was simply the beneficiary (and master manipulator) of the duplicitous and brutal political system that was implemented during Lenin's Sovietization of Russia.The impression is clearly given in the documentary that Stalin's rise to power was a logical historical progression caused by the power vacuum that was created after Lenin's death. "Blood Upon The Snow" is in fact a chilling indictment of the political system that allowed such a socio-path as Stalin to gain unlimited dictatorial powers. Though Stalin's regime may have represented an extreme example of the brutish nature of the Soviet system, brutality and duplicity was indeed the proven path to power in the USSR. Stalin simply excelled at both.As episode two, disc 1, of "Blood Upon The Snow" clearly illustrates, a young Nikita Khrushchev was a dutiful enforcer of Stalin's brutal ethnic pogroms against the Russian peasantry in the Ukraine. Krushchev bragged in a cable sent to Stalin in 1937: "I have sent you 18,000 enemies of the people...Loving you Nikita." That Khrushchev later directed the "de-Stalinization" effort after Khrushchev's eventual rise as Soviet Premier is merely an example of the duplicity and political manipulation which was inherent to the Soviet system.As is documented by 1st person interviews in the video, many of the children orphaned by the great political and military purges of the 1930s became of age with no illusions about the brutality of Stalin's reign. Their hearts burned with hatred towards Stalin. Khrushchev's later "de-Stalinization" effort can therefore be seen as an act of political expediency, not the awakening of Khrushchev's political consciousness or any regret over his direct role in implementing Stalin's war upon the Russian people. Again, this is a searing indictment of the ruthless corruption of the Soviet Union itself, not merely an indictment of Stalinism.In no way does this documentary stand as an apologia for the Soviet system nor does it indicate that Stalin's crimes against humanity were an ahistorical occurrence in the Soviet system. Such reviews are a complete mischaracterization of the editorial point of view clearly presented in this documentary.Another complaint is that this documentary devotes too much time to WWII. Obviously a large part of the series is dedicated exclusively to WWII since the entirety of the war occurred during Stalin's reign. But the documentary also covers the rise of Stalin, Stalin's consolidation of power after Lenin's death, Stalin's use of forced famine as a political weapon, Stalin's unprecedented political and military purges of the 1930s, Stalin's political division of Eastern Europe in the post-War years, Stalin's brutal suppression of Ukrainian nationalists, Stalin's death and Stalin's ultimate political legacy.This is a chilling and excruciating documentary of one the 20th Century's most brutal mass murderers. Highly recommended.