Introduction: Pseudo-reality and the Soviet Union -- Understanding the evil empires : two case histories -- The dictators' gamble -- Into the maelstrom : the first seventeen days -- Deep battle : from the breakthrough to the fall of Kiev -- The campaign of compromises : October-December 1941 -- The hollow victories of 1942 -- The planets and paradoxes of 1942-43 -- Summer 1943 : the turning point -- Deadlock : the great retreat -- Death of the phoenix : the last eleven months of the war -- The war of extermination : allies, partisans, criminals -- Conclusions: False victories, mistaken beliefs -- Epilogue: The Great Patriotic War and the collapse.