Introduction by Vladimir Tismaneanu 

Part One : Stalinism Revisited and the Takeover Model

Stalinist Revolutionary Breakthroughs in Eastern Europe (Kenneth Jowitt)

Diabolical Pedagogy and the (Il)logic of Stalinism in Eastern Europe (Vladimir Tismaneanu)

Stalin, Soviet Policy, and the Consolidation of a Communist Bloc in Eastern Europe, 1944–1953 (Mark Kramer)

Popular Democracy: an Illusion? (Alfred J. Rieber)

Part Two : The Establishment of Communist Regimes 

Eastern Europe between the USSR and the West: Reflections on the Origins and Dynamics of the Cold War (Thomas W. Simons, Jr)

Legitimation deficit and legitimation crisis in East European societies (Agnes Heller)

The Paradox of East German Communism: From Non-Stalinism to Neo-Stalinism? (John Connelly)

Road to “People’s Poland:” Stalin’s Conquest Revisited (Antoni Z. Kaminski, Bartlomiej Kaminski)

Part Three : Stalinism and Historiography 

Revisiting Hungarian Stalinism (Janos Rainer)

Avatars of the Romanian Academy and the Historical Front (1948 versus1955) (Bogdan Cristian Iacob)

Bulgarian Stalinism Revisited (Ekaterina Nikova)

Historicizing a Disputed Theme: Anticommunist Armed Resistance in Romania (Dorin Dobrincu)

Part Four : National or Revolutionary Breakthroughs? 

Hope Died Last: The Czechoslovak Road to Stalinism (Bradley Abrams)

Propaganda and Culture in Romania at the Beginning of the Communist Regime (Cristian Vasile)

Varieties of Stalinism in Light of the Yugoslav Case (Svetozar Stojanovic)

Community Building and Identity Politics in Gheorghiu-Dej’s Romania (1956–1964) (Dragoş Petrescu)

List of Contributors

Index