Thousands of memoirs have been published in the Soviet Union about the Great Patriotic War. However, nothing other than the official Soviet History was published until after Stalin's death. Was Stalin afraid of criticism? Lack of preparedness? Humilitating defeats of the Glorious Red Army (pre-war Soviet films convinced the average Soviet citizen that the war would be over in months with the Red Army entering Berlin). Stalin's ignoring of intelligence that divulged the German intent to attack and even the date of the attack? Even after Stalin's death when a lot of memoirs were being written and released, they were all subjected to the heavy hand of Soviet censorship/propaganda.
Stalin was Removed of his "greatness" in 1956. I think the USSR policy made the books and the writers the country look great until 1991 when the USSR collapsed.
..the USSR was ''afraid'' of a lot of things...they even censored ''harmless'' novels like Dr Zhivago!!!!! Doctor Zhivago (novel) - Wikipedia
Learned there was a publication in CCCP that printed from 1944-6 soldier submitted memoirs. Then it stopped.
I read that in the Nuremberg court the Soviet lawyers were surprised when they heard about the secret pact between Germany and the USSR. I guess the top level believed this would not be released in the court at all.
