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Marshal Georgi Konstantinovich Zhukov, hero of Leningrad, defender of Moscow and Stalingrad, commander of the victorious Red Army at Berlin, was the most decorated soldier in Soviet history
Yet for many years Zhukov was relegated to the status of unperson in his homeland. Now, following glasnost and the fall of the Soviet Union, Zhukov is being restored to his rightful place in history.In this completely updated version of his classic 1971 biography of Zhukov, Otto Preston Chaney provides the definitive account of the man and his achievements. Basing his account on Zhukov''s own recently expanded memoirs, as well as a large range of historical and military sources, Chaney offers new information about Stalin''s brutal purges, Soviet disasters in World War II, Zhukov''s role in the Beria episode, and the Russian hero''s shabby treatment at the hand of Khrushchev.One of the first Red Army leaders to recognize the importance of the tank in modern warfare, Zhukov played a vital role as commander of major battles from the encounters with the Japanese in Mongolia in 1938-1939 to the successful defense of Leningrad, Moscow, and Stalingrad and the conquest of Berlin in World War II. Chaney gives vivid descriptions of these battles, illustrating them with authenticated Russian battle maps and dramatic photographs.Chaney also examines Zhukov''s postwar role as revealed by the newly available materials. Ousted by Stalin in 1946 when the dictator became jealous of the marshal''s popularity and influence, Zhukov reemerged from obscurity after Stalin''s death in 1953. Later, Khrushchev, also fearing Zhukov''s influence, dismissed him from his post as defense minister. After Khrushchev''s fall in1964, Zhukov again reemerged but, tragically, was not completely rehabilitated until after his death in 1976.Zhukov''s career spanned most of the Soviet period, reflecting the turmoil of the civil war, the hardships endured by the Russian people in World War II, the brief postwar optimism evidenced by the friendship between Zhukov and Eisenhower, repression in Poland and Hungary, and the rise and fall of such political figures as Stalin, Beria, and Khrushchev. The story of Russia''s greatest soldier thus offers many insights into the history of the Soviet Union itself.
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