Stalin and the Soviet-Finnish War, 1939-1940 FROM THE PUBLISHER
"On 14-17 April 1940, a secret meeting was held in the Kremlin to examine and analyse the performance of the Red Army in the Soviet-Finnish Campaign, 1939-40. The participants included the leading army commanders who had taken part in the campaign, and some members of the Politburo, notably Stalin, Molotov and Voroshilov." "This is the first English translation of a unique record, held in the Russian State Socio-Political History Archives in Moscow. It is the sole verbatim report of a meeting that addressed the fundamental issues of military policy and the state of the armed forces, and discussed a programme for further military construction." The materials from this meeting are a valuable source of information for all those interested in the history and politics of the Soviet Union and international relations at the onset of the Second World War.
SYNOPSIS
To provide details of military goals and actions during the brief war, historians at the Russian Academy of Sciences present a verbatim record of the Meeting of Command Personnel at the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party for the Collection of Experiences in the Military Operations Against Finland. The meeting was called by Stalin after the war to analyze the Red Army's daily performance, and was held during four days in April 1940. Biographical sketches are provided for all participants. The US distribution is by ISBS. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)