ABSTRACT
Like the victory of Alexander I against Napoleon in 1812, the Soviet triumph in 1945 legitimated and reinforced the system that had delivered victory in war but fostered illusions about its viability and durability in peace. Victory gave rise to expectations that the peacetime Soviet system of government would change. These hopes, however real or imaginary, were crushed by the Stalinist counterattack against the nascent pluralism led by Andrei Zhdanov.
