Winston Churchill is a striking figure in the political life of the 20th century. A classic British conservative, a symbol of anti-Sovietism and anti-communism—during the Second World War Churchill became an ally of Stalin, and after the war ended he turned again, almost into the main enemy and “arsonist of war.” In V. Trukhanovsky’s book, Winston Churchill appears not only as a politician viewed through “historical patterns,” but also as a person with inherent contradictions, life preferences, strengths and weaknesses—an exceptionally gifted and colorful individual.
Vladimir Grigorievich Trukhanovsky (1914–2000), a Soviet historian, corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1964). A member of the Communist Party since 1939. Graduated from the M. N. Pokrovsky Pedagogical Institute (1940) and the Higher Diplomatic School of the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1941). From 1941–53 worked in diplomatic service. From 1947 headed the Department of General History, later the Department of International Relations and Foreign Policy of the USSR at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. In 1953–57 senior research fellow; 1957–60 deputy director of the Institute of History of the USSR Academy of Sciences. In 1960 became editor-in-chief of the journal “Questions of History.” Major works on the modern history of Great Britain, the history of international relations, and Soviet foreign policy. Awarded with 3 orders.