Investor Presentaiton

ideologically driven to write a memoir inconsistent with his beliefs, and thus this source, in its biases, stands as a testament to his ideological fervor, perhaps the most prominent aspect of his entire character. Underlying the memoir is the continuous theme of Kaganovich's desire to be readmitted to the Party. The second primary source I rely on also carries this theme. Thus Spoke Kaganovich, written by Felix Chuev, is a compilation of meetings and conversations between Chuev and Kaganovich that occurred over a period of roughly five years in the mid-1980s. 14 This book is much shorter than Kaganovich's memoir but nevertheless contains fascinating and vital insights into his life and thoughts. Like the memoir, Thus Spoke Kaganovich begins with a declaration of ideological purity and a call for the victory of Communism over the post-Stalinist era relaxations of Party control and ideological fervor. Additionally, the content of this work is in many ways more open and relaxed than the memoir. Finally, the third main primary source I use is the collection of letters between Stalin and Kaganovich from 1931-1936. Beginning in 1931, these letters were written when Stalin was not in Moscow and Kaganovich was left in charge of the Politburo in his absence. The 177 letters included in the volume range in topic from shorter, more personal communications to longer pieces about the major issues plaguing the country and potential solutions. These letters are very insightful into the pressing issues that occurred between 1931-1936, primarily agriculture production issues and overseeing collectivization. The letters also portray Stalin and Kaganovich as leaders and individuals and highlight some of their opinions on other figures within the Party. The combination of these three primary sources, with Kaganovich's memoir playing the 14 Feliks, Chuev, Tak govoril Kaganovich: ispoved' stalinskogo apostola, (Moskva: "Otechestvo;" [S.1.]: Distributed by East View Publications, 1992). 7

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