The EI Podcast The Slavic War according to Stalin
Oct 16, 2025
This episode dives into how Stalin manipulated the Slavic cause to construct the Soviet Empire. It reveals Edvard Beneš's perspective on the looming Slavic struggle against German expansion. The discussion highlights Nazi ambitions in Eastern Europe and the paradoxical alliances of WWII. Stalin's wartime propaganda is examined, showcasing a distorted vision of Slavic unity. As Beneš navigates his complex relationship with Stalin, the shift from Slavic solidarity to Soviet dominance unfolds, culminating in the chilling decline of the Slavic myth during the Cold War.
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Beneš's Exile After Munich
- Edvard Beneš fled Prague after the Munich betrayal and lived in exile in London for six and a half years.
- He had earlier returned from exile to found Czechoslovakia after WWI and felt personally ruined by Munich.
War Recast As A Slavic Struggle
- The war against Germany became framed as a defence of Slavic existence, especially after the 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union.
- Stalin reframed the conflict as a Slavic struggle rather than a communist or democratic crusade.
Two Competing Pan-Slavisms
- Pan-Slavism began as a cultural and literary idea but split into competing visions: Western democratic Slavism and Russian imperial Slavism.
- Those poles shaped 19th-century debates and later political alignments across Slavic lands.