Book Review over: Ivan`s War: Life and Death in the Red Army by Catherine Merridale

Question 3

The book “Ivan’s War” by Catherine Merridale uncovers the life of the Red Army during World War II. The author feels compassionate and sympathetic to soldiers of the Red Army. In spite of the fact that little true facts are known about the Red Army and its soldiers, the author still attempts to reveal the truth and the more she learns about the Red Army and soldiers, their hardships and conditions in which they had to live not only during the war but also in the post-war time make the author very sympathetic to the extent that she feels nostalgic, even though she has never served or witnessed the life of soldiers of the Red Army with her own eyes.

At the same time, the author attempts to maintain the objective point of view on the Red Army as she researches the life of soldiers of the Red Army. However, she steadily slips toward a relatively subjective, personal view on the Red Army. Moreover, the author views soldiers and the Red Army at large as victims of the Stalinist regime in a way because she regularly reminds about great expectations of soldiers concerning possible changes after the end of the war. It seems as if the author shares their disappointment when all their expectations failed and, instead of the improvement of their life, they faced the Stalinist crackdown. Thus, her view of the Red Army is rather sympathetic and compassionate view of a person who understands sufferings of soldiers than an objective analysis of the life of soldiers in the Red Army.

Question 4

The life of soldiers of the Red Army always remained unknown to the wide public and the revelation of the truth about the life of soldiers of the Red Army is extremely important. In this respect, the revelation of the most terrifying episodes of the life of the Red Army’s soldiers is a particularly interesting part of the book. To put it more precisely, the author depicts the total unpreparedness of the Red Army to the war, at the beginning of the German invasion. The author shows that soldiers of the Red Army were poorly equipped and trained and they could not confront the well-trained and perfectly equipped German army.

Furthermore, the author depicts in details the life of soldiers of the Red Army on the daily basis. She reveals the hardships of soldiers and their sufferings. These are particularly noteworthy because they are unknown to the large public. For instance, the author reveals the fact that soldiers suffered from the shortage of clothes and boots, and they had to take clothes and boots from the dead. At the same time, the author shows how soldiers missed and distrusted their wives that gives insight into the morale of the Red Army.

On the other hand, the book definitely lacks the depiction of battlefields and such descriptions are quite few and scarce. These are probably the most uninteresting parts of the book because they are quite superficial. In addition, the book slips to too formal presentation, especially when the author deals with the commandment of the Red Army and state policies during and after the wartime in relation to soldiers, such as the censorship and ideological pressure on soldiers during and after the war.

Question 5

In general, the book is worth reading because the author attempts to view the Red Army from within, from the standpoint of an ordinary soldier. Hence, her compassion and sympathy to soldiers of the Red Army are so significant. At the same time, the author focuses on the personal recollections of former soldiers of the Red Army and she refers to the correspondence between soldiers and their families as well as diaries of soldiers. In such a way, she reveals the truth about the war and the life of soldiers of the Red Army. In fact, she suggests an alternative view on the Red Army and its soldiers which differs consistently from idealized image of Russian soldiers who struggled for some idea. Moreover, the book helps readers to perceive the Red Army on the personal level. What is meant here is the fact that the author depicts the Red Army not as a mass of faceless soldiers but, instead, she shows the Red Army as the army where each soldier is a personality, who lives through his own tragedy. This is why this book is worth reading to uncover the true about not the Red Army but rather about its soldiers.

References:

Merridale, C. 2007. Ivan's War: Life and Death in the Red Army. New York: Picador.