The Stalin Affair by Giles Milton 

Original version

BBC Radio 4 FM

BBC Radio 4 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced BBC Home Service.

BBC Radio 4

Radio 4

Radio 4 (FM)

BBC Radio 4 LW

The Stalin Affair by Giles Milton: Episode 5

The Stalin Affair by Giles Milton

Episode 5

BBC Radio 4 - The Stalin Affair by Giles Milton, Episode 5

The story of an impossible alliance that won the Second World War. Read by Nigel Anthony.

The story of the most unlikely coalition in history as the USA and Britain join forces with communist Russia to combat Nazi Germany. Read by Nigel Anthony.

Drawing on astonishing unpublished diaries, letters and secret reports, Giles Milton’s The Stalin Affair reveals troves of new material about the most unlikely coalition in history.

In the summer of 1941, as Hitler invaded the Soviet Union, Stalin’s forces faced a catastrophic defeat which would make the Allies’ liberation of Europe virtually impossible. To avert this disaster, Britain and America mobilised a unique team of remarkable diplomats with the mission of keeping the Red Army in the war. 

Into the heart of Stalin’s Moscow, President Roosevelt sent Averell Harriman, the fourth-richest man in America, and his brilliant young daughter, Kathy. Churchill despatched the reckless but inventive Archie Clark Kerr – and occasionally himself – to negotiate with the Kremlin’s wiliest operators. Together, this improbable group grappled with Stalin at his most cunning, to make victory possible. But they also discovered that the Soviet dictator had a terrifying master plan for the post-war world.

May 1942. Foreign Commissar Molotov is sent by Stalin to visit Churchill in London. He tries to persuade Britain and America to open a second front by launching a joint invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe. German warships attack the convoys bringing supplies from America to Russia. Churchill visits Stalin in Moscow. The two leaders bicker and argue. Stalin reacts angrily and bitterly when told of the postponement of the planned Allied landings in France.

Read by Nigel Anthony
Abridged by Libby Spurrier
Producer: David Blount 

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

Audiobooks

Podcasts

Factual: History

Factual: Real Life Stories

Book of the Week. The story of the most unlikely coalition in history as the USA and Britain join forces with communist Russia to combat Nazi Germany. Read by Nigel Anthony.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

The Stalin Affair by Giles Milton

Episode 5

Genres

Series

BBC Radio 4 FM

About BBC Radio 4