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I am nearly finished a biography of Georgy Zhukov and I think I will stop in 1945. Though he lived for several decades afterwards, 1945 was the high point. He had fought Germany to a standstill in Leningrad, Moscow, Stalingrad, had rolled across Europe and liberated Warsaw (for a certain value of liberation, somewhat late) and finally captured Berlin. His afterlife could only be a disappointment.
Having read this, I see that Lois McMaster Bujold must have read a bit of Russian history when creating Barrayar. The political officers who could over-rule the military - Red Army during the civil war. Aral Vorkosigan even looks like Zhukov, burly and direct. And Zhukov is interestingly like Aral Vorkosigan in that he is sincerely and loyally committed to a totalitarian order. (Or, in the case of Barrayar, the glittering tinsel of neo-feudalism).
Having read this, I see that Lois McMaster Bujold must have read a bit of Russian history when creating Barrayar. The political officers who could over-rule the military - Red Army during the civil war. Aral Vorkosigan even looks like Zhukov, burly and direct. And Zhukov is interestingly like Aral Vorkosigan in that he is sincerely and loyally committed to a totalitarian order. (Or, in the case of Barrayar, the glittering tinsel of neo-feudalism).
