Brian Moynahan (1941–2018)

Having read "The jungle is neutral" many years ago, I was in two minds about reading this biography but I am now very pleased that I did. While Chapman's fame rests largely on his exploits behind Japanese lines in Malaya, during WWII, the first 90 pages of this book deal with his early life. Not only is this critical in understanding the character and motivations instilled by his upbringing as an orphan, but the account of his early travels in Greenland and Tibet, and the hardships endured, show more would make a book in themselves. If one considers the danger, privations and (particularly in Malaya) dire health issues that he overcame, it is quite extraordinary that the man survived at all. That, I think, is the real essence of this absorbing biography. show less

I've been a fan of Shostakovich's 7th Symphony since I first heard it, over 20 years , and was somewhat familiar with the conditions leading to its creation. However, this book goes into incredible detail over 500 pages of month by month descriptions of what was happening in the city of Leningrad during the siege. This is not a story for the weak of stomach, as the author goes into great detail on the growing desperation in the city as the blockade went on and on without relief over the show more winter of 1941/1942. If the Nazi attacks weren't enough, the insanity of Stalin continued to purge people who weren't sufficiently falling in line with the party policies. Through it all, the people insisted on surviving, and when the symphony was played, they found new resolve. This is a truly fascinating book for anyone interested in World War II, the Stalin years, Shostakovich, and the ability of the human species to survive against the greatest of odds. show less

I have always found Rasputin fascinating. Partly because I can hardly believe he’s real. He seems so fantastic. It really shows how backward the Russian monarchs were. Rasputin was never ordained as a monk or any kind of church official. He was known as a staretz (sp?) which was basically a traveling man made semi-holy because of his self-sacrifice and knowledge of the human heart. In actual fact, it took until a man was in his 50s or 60s to be known as one of these. Rasputin gained this show more reputation in his 30s when he came to Petersburg. He weaseled his way into Royal society and eventually into the heart of the Romanov family.

The amount of screwing he did was amazing. The description of him physically is repulsive so I’m not sure why these women would do it, but do it they did. Sometimes to get a favor for their husbands and sometimes just because Rasputin wanted them. Rasputin had most of the power when it came to ministerial appointments and I believe because of the turnover in the various ministries, the government was weak and disorganized. Because the government was weak and disorganized, people both royalists and parlamentarists, began to doubt the power Tsar Nicolas had.

If Nicolas and Alexandra had been reasonable people, things might have been different for them. Alexandra was just as bad as Marie Antionette in her views of monarchy. The people counted for nothing. Autocracy was everything and she had a divine right to rule over them. She absolutely would not hear of a constitution being drawn up and drafted into law and wouldn’t let Nicolas think of it either. He was completely ruled by her. She encouraged him in everything, even those things to which he was clearly not suited. For example, he decided to become military chief in the time of the First World War. He did not graduate from any military academy, had never fought in any wars or studied any military tactics or strategy but yet he displaced all his war ministers and generals with people he could control. If they had not been losing already at that point, they would have been doomed at that point.

What it took to kill Rasputin is amazing. There was supposed to have been poison (arsenic) in his madiera but he didn’t die of it and it didn’t show up in the autopsy. Prince Felix then had to resort to shooting him. Apparently two or three shots weren’t enough for him so he emptied the gun into Rasputin and dumped his body into a river. It was later retrieved and given a state burial. When the Bolsheviks dug it up and burned it after the coup de etat, pictures of all the Grand Duchesses (Alexandra & Nicolas’ children) were found on his body. When the Royal Family themselves were killed, they all had pictures of Rasputin.

Alexi did appear to get better after a ‘healing’ from Rasputin and it will never be known if his episodes would have subsided on their own or not because each time he had one, Rasputin was called.

In the end it had to happen. Madness and illiteracy can’t run a country forever. When the Communist Regime also fell, it proved it yet again. show less

Brian Moynahan's Leningrad: Siege and Symphony is an interesting book in that it gives a good portrayal of life in Leningrad before and during the siege as well as a look at Dmitri Shostakovich.

What it did for me was bring to life some interesting aspects of life in Russia during this time

I have just finished Leningrad: Siege and Symphony - a well researched and compelling re telling of the siege of Leningrad during WWII (Ref: The 900 Days by Harrison E. Salisbury) and the concurrent show more creation and eventual playing of Shostakovich's 7th symphony - which immortalizes the siege.

Several things struck me about this story:

1- the strength and perseverance of the Russian people. Through unbelievable hardships imposed upon them by their own, pervasively corrupt government led by Stalin; attack by the Nazi war machine; and mass starvation, the Russian people were survivors. Critics would point out the rampant cannibalism which occurred in Leningrad - and the numerous examples of criminal and selfish behavior exhibited by some of the survivors. While no one can condone these acts, we must ask ourselves - what would we do to survive? to extend the possibility of life for our children? Through it all, the indomitable spirit of the Russian people shines through.

2- the insanity of the Soviet system - and the Stalinist regime. We vaguely know that Stalin was a bad leader (maybe the worst in history) - few understand the depths of brutality and insanity foisted upon his own people. Throughout the book, examples of people - especially the intelligentsia - artists and scientist - were accused of being "anti-revolutionary" or "defeatist" - were taken by the NKVD (predecessor of the KGB), tortured until they "gave up" the names of other Russians who were "anti-Soviet" or "counter-revolutionary" - and then were subsequently shot.

This time frame is referred to as The Terror. (Reminiscent of the Reign of Terror in France). The futility of the Russian military at the beginning of the war can be largely traced to the work of the NKVD, which purged the Russian military of thousands of officers who were deemed untrustworthy - not loyal to the Communist party. These were men who had earned numerous distinctions during WWI and in other actions - and some of which had previously been rewarded the title (and award) Hero of the Soviet Union. The book relates the story of a military officer who was in jail (suspected of being anti-Soviet) - who the day before he was to be executed, was pulled out of jail - promoted to Major General and placed in charge of training new recruits!!!

The depth of the insanity foisted on the military and the civilian population is astounding. The NKVD was the predecessor of the KGB. Even today the best path to political success and power in Russia is through the (former) KGB. Example; the current premier - V. Putin.

When I visited Moscow in May 2013 (with IAQG) as we visited Red Square, we were told to not make any loud noises, or laugh or sing, because those actions could be interpreted as being anti - Putin. So the spirit of repression is live and well in modern day Russia.

Of course the hypocrisy and utter depravity of the loyal party members is displayed. An example was one day at a local bath an obese man was bathing next to the skeletons of the starving Leningraders when they asked him how he was so fat. He replied that he was a baker at a party commissary. So the party big wigs were getting fat while the city literally starved.

3- The ability of music to move the Russian people. The reaction of the world and the Russian people to Shostakovich's Seventh was remarkable. The story of how they found 80 musicians in devastated Leningrad to play this very demanding work, is amazing. The impact of the piece was that the world recognized that Russia was not out of the war, that the Russian people would not quit. The symphony also helped convince the world that Russia was a country of enlightenment and progress - which of course was the opposite of the truth.

What this book did for me was to fill in a chapter of my understanding of WWII and Operation "Barbarossa" - the German attack on Russia - with a greater depth of understanding as to how the Russians survived the onslaught. And it reinforced to me how critical motivation and patriotic spirit is to people under duress. It made me realize that one does not destroy a people by killing them - that unless their spirit is crushed, they can survive. show less