Jean Stubbs. Tobacco on the Periphery. A Case Study in Cuban Labour History, 1860–1958. New Expanded Edition. Amaurea Press, London 2023. xxxii, 344 pp. Ill. Maps. £39.95; €44.95; $49.95. (Paper: £24.95; €27.95; $29.95, E-book: £7.99/€8.99/$9.99.)
Year: 2024
Type: book-review
Abstract: contribution shows that an understanding of the influence of the 28 Bolsheviks group in the CCP is not sufficient to grasp the extent of the USSR's impact on the formation of modern China.In fact, the book may prompt a reevaluation of the importance of Mao Zedong in the formation of the CCP and a reassessment of the roles of several Chinese political leaders who were active participants in the history of Chinese students in Soviet Russia, such as Deng Xiaoping himself.In this vein, the book may be of interest not only to historians and sinologists, but also to students of Marxism and international relations.Reading it offers a detailed glimpse, at a granular social and political level, of the transformation of the USSR from the status of "Socialism in one country" to a major player in global politics.Understanding the attempts at political disciplining and purges within the Chinese student community at the time sheds light on the early stages of the political restructuring of the USSR necessary to establish zones of strategic influence.It could even be argued that Chinese students were among the first casualties on the path to the USSR becoming a world power, with the essence of the Stalinist Great Terror at its core, which, even though denounced by Khrushchev at the Twentieth Party Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), laid the foundation for the absolute political control of the CPSU in the years to come.In summary, The Kremlin's Chinese Advance Guard is a pioneering book, a valuable example of how to conduct research using primary sources, and a bold contribution that aims to demystify crucial preconceptions about Socialist brotherhood, cadre formation, and the strategic and historical alliance between China and Russia.Furthermore, it succeeds in reintroducing the human factor into historical and political analysis by including reports and narratives about sentiments, emotions, and even psychological distress during the Chinese students' stay in Soviet Russia.I can wholeheartedly recommend reading it attentively.
Author: Vicent Sanz
Institution: Universitat Jaume I
Language: English
Topic: Cuban History and Society
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4405728357