Revolution on My Mind: Writing a Diary Under Stalin Book

This is a fascinating approach to what is often called Alltagsgeschichte or the history of everyday life. By using personal diaries, written during a period of totalitarian encroachment, Mr. Hellbeck is able to give a portrait of the inner lives of those who lived through it, be they victims or perpetrators of class-based violence (they were frequently both). Broken into four "case studies," the reader comes to know the identities of its subjects quite intimately, and to see how the diaries themselves are part of the project of building identity for each one. The conclusion may surprise Western minds, for Hellbeck finds that no matter their status or position, each one internalized the regime's ideology and strove to be the "best" Stalinist they could, even at the expense of their own personal interests and individuality. Each accepted that socialism was moving towards a society defined by a "new man" and held that model before him-or-herself as something to be achieved. For some, it was beyond reach, though others used their diaries to perform its achievement. Probably my only regret, reading this book, is that the case studies are the only diaries discussed in any detail, although his source notes as well as the introduction and conclusion indicate that he had access to many more. Probably additional case studies would have led to an overlong book, but it would be nice if a few more could be quickly summarized in an additional chapter. It would be great if other historians pick this up and examine his claims that diaries from other totalitarian societies at the same time, such as Germany and Italy, would have differed in terms of their subject's self-perceptions and self-accusations.