“A single death is a tragedy
“A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic.” This line is from the communist leader, Joseph Stalin, of the Soviet union. Though history we learn about the great explorers of the world, and great leaders that fought for peace. But they rarely talk about the dictators that ruled with fear, and complete control, the leaders that had put fear in their people, and used that fear to stay in power. While their are many world leaders that fit this from past, and present, Joseph Stalin, was arguably one of the most feared leaders in Russian history, due to the fact that he was one of the most hated and feared leaders in history, due to the “Great Purge”, and he was able to help stop the spread of the Nazi spread of influences.
Joseph Stalin rose to power in 1929, and after his rise to dictator of the Soviet Union he proceeded to carry out the “Great Purge”, or “Great Terror”. This took place from 1936-38. This is when he killed people that he believed who’d be threats to him and his rule, throughout this time of death Stalin had ordered the death of over 750,000 political rivals. No one safe, although he focused on ethnic minorities, artists, scientists, intellects, writers, and foreigners. He even killed members of Bolshevik, Vladimir Lenin’s political party. He had staged trials which were known as the Moscow Trials, everyone that were on trail admitted of being spies and traitors, they were killed after they went through tortured. He even order the execution of members of the Red Army, 30,000 members, they were are experts that say estimate that 81 of the 103 generals and admirals were executed. At the end of the chaos, around 3 million people were killed, and the people that were arrested but not killed were put in forced labor camps called Gulags, and death was a preferred option. This was not the last time Stalin did this, but it is the greatest example of how turpitude he was.
Although, he had killed and imprisoned so many of his people, one of his most notable achievements was helping to stop the spread of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany. Although this was only after Hitler attacked the Soviet Union. But after that he was know as on of “The Big Three”, which were at the time Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin.
