The Rise of Stalin

Teenage peasant, visionary commander, convicted heretic, national saint - Joan of Arc's life reads like a legend. Today, Dan digs past that legend to understand who Joan really was, and why her story still provokes devotion, debate and reinvention 6 centuries later.Produced by Ma ...  Show more

In May 1943, the RAF launched one of the Second World War’s most audacious missions: the Dambusters Raid. Today, we follow the raid as it unfolded, hearing about the remarkable people involved and examining its lasting impact.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Pa ...  Show more

Josef Stalin is a titan of modern history – and one of its most infamous leaders, responsible for the deaths of millions. Danny Bird spoke to Robert Service to chart the Soviet tyrant's life, from his childhood in Georgia to his rise to become the dictator of the Soviet Union and ...  Show more

The are few 20th century figures as perplexing as Josef Stalin. Historians widely agree that Stalin was responsible for the deaths of some 20 million human beings. Despite that his legacy has remained the topic of serious debate. This is because the history of his regime was acti ...  Show more

Robert is joined by Cody Johnston to discuss the childhood of Stalin.

FOOTNOTES:

The great revolutionary's body lay in a red coffin as it wound its way through the streets of Moscow toward the House of Trade Unions. Six men carried it, surrounded by a phalanx of guards, through the gathered throng of mourners—some genuine, others paid. Each hoped to succee ...