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This project was completed for Slav 1050: Computational Methods in Humanities by Peter Busscher and Hunter Casazza with the support of Dr. David Birnbaum and Dr. James Pickett.
Stalin's Letters is a collaborative effort which combines the worlds of humanities and computer science. The result of our teamwork is a worthwhile research project and website which explores the correspondence between Joseph Stalin and Vyacheslav Molotov between 1925 and 1936. In these letters we see a leader with plenty of administrative license, but one still ascending his own personal quest to power. Within the text of these letters we see a wide-ranging subject matter of industrial policy, specific articles in Komsomolskaya Pravda and international relations. This research project digs into the Stalin-Molotov corpus for their primary source value. Through close and "distant" readings of the texts, a window is opened to the realities of Soviet administration. The character of Stalin as tyrannical mass-murderer is known to many, and for good reason. However, the job of the historian is to unearth information which may lead to a more complex portrait. Within these letters, Stalin plays the various roles of literary critic, construction manager, and commentator on international affairs. Our use of digital methods played an essential role in this research.
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