Number 5 on my list of despot is this Russian Born on December 18, 1879, in Gori, Georgia, Joseph Stalin rose to power as General Secretary of the Communist Party, becoming a Soviet dictator upon Vladimir Lenins death. Stalin forced rapid industrialization and the collectivization of agricultural land, resulting in millions dying from famine while others were sent to camps. His Red Army helped defeat Nazi Germany during WWII. Stalin had been suspicious of the West since the inception of the Soviet Union. Ever since the Soviet Union had entered the war, Stalin had demanded the Allies open up a second front against Germany. Both British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and American President Franklin D. Roosevelt argued that such an action would result in heavy casualties. This only deepened Stalins suspicion of the West, as millions of Russians died. After an assassination plot was uncovered, he ordered the head of the secret police to instigate a new purge of the Communist Party. Before it could be executed, however, Stalin died on March 5, 1953. He left a legacy of death and terror as he turned a backward Russia into a world superpower.
Posted on: Fri, 07 Mar 2014 23:25:13 +0000
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