STALIN’S GENERAL:SAVING LENINGRADAND MOSCOW, 1941 STALIN’S RELATIONSHIP WITH ZHUKOV HAD THE SAME FOUNDATION AS THE Soviet dictator’s relations with all his senior military: their loyalty and competence and his trust in them. Throughout his military career Zhukov had been loyal and respectful of his superiors even if not to all his subordinates and peers. His respect for Stalin’s authority was reinforced by the panegyrics of the dictator’s personality cult—to which Zhukov, like everyone else, subscribed, albeit moderately in his case. But more important was the force of Stalin’s personality. Stalin dominated everyone who came into close contact with him, and Zhukov was no exception. Besides their professional relationship Stalin and Zhukov had a lot else in common. Both were from a peasant background. Both their fathers had been cobblers and prone to inflict corporal punishment on their sons. The two men’s mothers had striven to ensure their sons received a good education.
