Blood Upon the Snow – Russia’s War DVD – Nigel Hawthorne 

This is the incredibly powerful story of the Stalin years. It is based on rarely seen archival footage, contemporary diaries and documents and personal memoirs, as well as interviews with relatives and those people who survived the Gulag labour camps and World War II. It follows the events from Stalin’s rise to power, his association with Hitler and the Soviet involvement in the Second World War right through to his death. First regarded as a visionary, it soon became apparent that Stalin was a capricious, ruthless tyrant who would arrange for the ‘removal’ of anyone he thought was opposing him. For nearly 30 years, he maintained power without challenge by manipulating his people through propaganda, state sponsored lies and terror. In this tremendously moving and at times graphic, harrowing and shocking documentary, we witness the suffering and sacrifices of the people of the Soviet Union and discover what led to the death of millions of Soviet citizens during the Great Patriotic War.