Most estimates I have read are around the 20,000,000 range. Although one claimed as many as 61,000,000. I imagine, the latter would be taking account soldiers and probably still greatly exaggerated.
--alozocnarfniag
I would say Stalin's use of fear and killing off his "enemies" within the governmental structure was his most influential way to maintain his power. Why? Because no one was about to go against Stalin when he would kill at will. He criticized the Germans for killing 20 million Russian people but he was such a hypocrite to say that. He himself had 2 million Russians killed for his own personal reasons (most of which stemmed from his psychosis of thinking everyone was his enemy). That is why the Generals and Politburo did not kill Stalin. They were afraid to try anything against him.
There are a lot of myths around Stalin's legacy, mostly invented to discredit Marxism-Leninism. He mostly did good. I would advise reading anything by Sir Bernard Pares or Professor Grover Furr. Many people will try to explain that Stalin was a mass murderer to some degree, but it's really silly lies, and you will notice that most people who parrot this myth mostly have no credibility.
Josef Stalin, Communist Dictator of the Soviet Union
There were many ways in which the Soviet Union suffered under Stalin's reign. Three major examples of this include the punishment Stalin would place on communists when they would deviate from his political views or commit espionage; the famine he brought on the people of the Soviet Union in an attempt to further his own political goals; and forced labor camps that he made the Soviet citizens live in.
Stalin was a horrible Communist dictator who killed 15 million of his own people. His Socialist policies ruined Eastern Europe and Russia's economy so badly that to this day they are still recovering.
There are many people who argue that Joseph Stalin was an impossibly cruel man. He put the lives of many at risk for his own benefit.
No, they're not. Many people own them.
Zero. Marijuana will not kill you in its own right but it can kill if you drive impaired or make other impaired decisions.
Stalin : He used the secret police to spy on people who threatened his authority. He also killed people in his own party because his power was somewhat sacred to him. Stalin also kept a close eye on people with the secret police and had guards to make sure everyone was doing their job. Hitler : He made the secret police kill Jewish people.
I would say Stalin's use of fear and killing off his "enemies" within the governmental structure was his most influential way to maintain his power. Why? Because no one was about to go against Stalin when he would kill at will. He criticized the Germans for killing 20 million Russian people but he was such a hypocrite to say that. He himself had 2 million Russians killed for his own personal reasons (most of which stemmed from his psychosis of thinking everyone was his enemy). That is why the Generals and Politburo did not kill Stalin. They were afraid to try anything against him.
John Gilbert was responsible for the deaths of 44 people, one being his own mother.
Stalin's main ambition was to have complete control over Russia. If you are referring to his goal in killing 20 million of his own people, it was to get rid of his enemies. He was a diagnosed paranoid.
There are a lot of myths around Stalin's legacy, mostly invented to discredit Marxism-Leninism. He mostly did good. I would advise reading anything by Sir Bernard Pares or Professor Grover Furr. Many people will try to explain that Stalin was a mass murderer to some degree, but it's really silly lies, and you will notice that most people who parrot this myth mostly have no credibility.
People who kill other people rarely, if ever, consider the innocence or guilt of the victim. People who kill others, almost exclusively, are thinking of their own needs and their own motives. This applies equally to the thug on the street or the soldier in battle.
Stalin did not kill his family. His father and mother died of natural causes. His first wife died of typhus. His second wife committed suicide. His eldest son, Yakov, committed virtual suicide by deliberately running at the fence while in a German prisoner of war camp so that the guards would shoot him. They didn't miss. (Stalin had already refused to exchange him for German prisoners of war telling the Germans he had no son by that name.) His next eldest son, Vasily, and daughter, Svetlana, survived him. Ironically, Stalin had signed a decree to the effect that all Russian soldiers who allowed themselves to be taken prisoner were to be considered traitors and enemies of the state. They and their entire families were subject to exile, imprisonment or execution. Joseph Stalin was therefore, by his own decree, legally subject to execution for treason when his son was taken prisoner.
I would say Stalin's use of fear and killing off his "enemies" within the governmental structure was his most influential way to maintain his power. Why? Because no one was about to go against Stalin when he would kill at will. He criticized the Germans for killing 20 million Russian people but he was such a hypocrite to say that. He himself had 2 million Russians killed for his own personal reasons (most of which stemmed from his psychosis of thinking everyone was his enemy). That is why the Generals and Politburo did not kill Stalin. They were afraid to try anything against him.
He was a total dictator and answered to no one. He murdered more of his own people than Hitler.