Stalingrad

For a Just Cause is a socrealist novel by Russian writer Vasily Grossman, first published in 1952. A revised English translation, which includes additional material from Grossman's unpublished manuscripts, was published under the author's preferred title, Stalingrad, in 2019. The novel is the predecessor to Grossman's more widely read Life and Fate. Historical context Most of the events of Stalingrad take place in the Soviet Union starting in the months before Nazi Germany's invasion Operation Barbarossa, and up through mid-September in the first month of the Battle of Stalingrad. The book describes the individual shock of the 22 June 1941 invasion for many of its characters as the German invasion completely altered life for Soviets everywhere.