Specifically, I know that he was popular because his policies were based around Russian nationalism and security. But I don't know what these policies actually were.
We covered him in GCSE history in school last year. However what with leaving school and such I gave back all my textbooks and burnt any exercise books, as the tradition is.
Vi Veri Veniversum Vivus Vici.
By the power of truth, I, while living, have conquered the universe.
Yeah, Wiki isn't great for that sort of high-detail I need here, unfortunately. Cheers for digging out the link though.
I've found a book written by TA Morris which seems like it'll cover it. I'm reading a mahoosive essay in said book at the moment, in the hope that it'll be mentioned somewhere.
I'm no historian, but he was one of the most evil bastards of the last century and, arguably, was responsible for more deaths than even Hitler was (how can anyone without a hugely monstrous ego live with themselves for bloodshed on that appalling scale?). He contracted an "alliance" with Hitler and Nazi Germany in 1940 which bought him time, though both he and the Germans knew just how shallow and worthless that entente really was. This is history, not politics, all you Mods.
He ignored all the advice of his Generals about the threat that Germany posed and then, when the Germans invaded, with huge success, in mid-1941, he executed the lot of them!
He was utterly hard and ruthless. He didn't care how many lives his policies might cost - and Russia lost something like 22 million in the course of war. He was a dictator in the truest sense of the word. At the tri-partite conferences which took place during WW2 at Casablanca and Yalta, to agree just how to proceed with the war, he humbugged Roosevelt and fooled him into thinking that there was a "special relationship" between them which could exclude Churchill, the "imperialist".
I have deleted the rest of this post since it might be deemed to be political ...
But somebody asked the question, so here's my small opinion.
Hi again. You got the short answer - I'll let you have the full version by PM if you might find it helpful! I'll even write an essay for you, for a fee ...
The world has been full of generous, reasonable and self-effacing people since time immemorial. You are probably one of them. But, regrettably, there are also a substantial bunch of seriously bad bastards out there who will screw you as soon as look at you.
Part of trying to cope with life is learning to recognise the maladjusted and how to deal with them.
Meanwhile, do be clear that Stalin was a truly hideous monstrosity of a human being. He was the ultimate dictator. He died in 1953 and quite what went through his brain in his dying moments I have no idea whatever.I do hope he was as tortured as he deserved to be, though I rather doubt it. People like him, and people like Hitler, were advanced cases of megalomania
I currently have the lives of two Omani soldiers on my conscience through lack of ruthless attention on my part (foolishly thinking I could trust a subordinate). I still lie awake at night feeling guilty about it.
Sorry if this seems serious ... "Any Man's death Diminisheth Me (sp)" John Donne (circa 1500).
He took over power after Lenin died (Lenin was genuinely popular and Stalin more underhand)
At that time photography was still new and they just developed the photo-montage (what we would now photoshop)
So to make it look like Stalin was friendly with Lenin he took photos of Lenin and Trotsky - airbrushed out Trotsky and put himself in.
Just a few quick facts about both Stalin and Hitler:
Stalin was responsible for the deaths of about 28 million Russians through a faminine he caused.
Hitler was responsible for about 6-7 million deaths.
Stalin pulled Russia out of a backward economy and on to a par with the Western world (which was deemed to be impossible)
Hitler pulled Germany out of the Great Depression, stabilised the economy and ensured the general public had food, water and shelter.
Stalin was feared so greatly that he lay dead in his office for 3 days as no one dared to enter his office.
Hitler created the first motorway.
~Phoenix~ is my Little Sister of Awesomeness and Self-Delusion :P Bitter Angel is my Mitten Animad is my Top Trump All Im Living For - Is my beautiful and special daughter who isnt called Kim but will moan if i dont add her :P
Nah, he's been offline since 1953. He was discovered the evening of the next day actually, not three days as previously stated. There's was a good documentory on him the a week or two ago on terrestrial tv, it was about his early years, he was quite a little scamp then apparently...
OK, Tortured, I've no doubt that (as they burn in hell) they will both claim to have had only the interests of their countries at stake. But at what cost in terms of human life.
Germany alone lost about 5 million dead in WW2, never mind the millions more that its policies killed elsewhere, particularly in the Soviet Union. The Nazis regarded the Russians as "untermenschen" - subhuman, to be disposed of as vermin. And in the early stages of their war against the Soviets they took huge numbers of prisoners who then became slave labour and very few of whom ever got back to Russia after the war. They were either worked to death on a totally inadequate diet or shot out of hand.
The Soviet victory at Stalingrad was well deserved but it only took place after the Soviet forces had recovered from the Stalinist purges which had taken place throughout the 1930s and which continued well into 1941. Stalin's rule was as absolute as was Hitlers. They were both utterly evil and I'd really not want to have to choose just which of them was worst.
I'm no historian, but he was one of the most evil bastards of the last century and, arguably, was responsible for more deaths than even Hitler was (how can anyone without a hugely monstrous ego live with themselves for bloodshed on that appalling scale?).
Tony,
I never said that they were good people, I just contributed a few facts about them. I never condoned anything either of them have done. Just without Stalin, Russia would still be farming with Ox's and ploughs. And without Hitler, Germany's economy would have been in a very weak position for years longer than it actually was. Hyperinflation would have got worse and Germany would probably have turned Communist, which we all know doesn't work in reality (example = USSR).
I am not saying that these good points justify their actions in other areas or makes them good people. I was just pointing out they had done some good
