Was Stalin a bad person

Answer 1

Lenin's an interesting historical figure - reviled by many for his involvement in the Russian Rev., it, however, is too simplistic to call him "incurably evil".

Lenin was a man devoted to his cause. He truly believed he was doing the right thing for Russia - he, generally, was moved either by devotion or by hatred of the old order - that same old order that executed his brother for treason.

If America executed a close relative of your for treason, would you still support it? That is why Lenin became a revolutionary - because people did him wrong.

This is not to say Lenin was a saint - he did have his bad qualities. The man was stubborn and arrogant, yes, but also visionary and determined. Ascribing "good" or "evil" to Lenin without significant qualification is to ignore the complexity of the issue.

Another Answer

Yes, Vladimir Lenin was a "bad" person and while the matter may be complex it does not take much thought to come to that conclusion. Lenin may have become a revolutionary because the tsarist regime executed his brother, but that does not explain the things Lenin did after the revolution. Besides, the regime did not execute Alexander Lenin for no reason. Alexander was part of a failed assassination plot against the tsar.

On September 2, 1918, Lenin decreed a state "Red Terror" against all counterrevolutionary elements. In other words, against everyone who did not agree with Lenin's Bolshevik ideals. The Red Terror brutalized the population into obeying his commands out of fear. The deputy chief of the Cheka, the organization charged with conducting the terror, described the job like this:

"We are exterminating the bourgeoisie as a class. During the investigation, do not look for evidence that the accused acted in word or deed against Soviet power. The first questions that you ought to put are: To what class does he belong? What is his origin? What is his education or profession? And it is these questions that ought to determine the fate of the accused. In this lies the significance and essence of the Red Terror."

The Bolsheviks were a tiny minority of the other socialist political parties such as the Socialist Revolutionaries and Mensheviks, yet when the Bolsheviks were in power Lenin outlawed all political parties but his.

Lenin was a revolutionary in favor of workers' rights, but once in power he outlawed all trade unions.

In January 1818, Lenin said, "Until we use terror against speculators-shooting them on the spot-nothing will happen." In other words, the death penalty without trial or appeal for mere economic misdoing, i. e. trying to make a profit on something.

A directive to the Penza Provincial Executive Committee urged mass terror by taking steps ". . . to carry out merciless mass terror against the kulaks, priests and white guards; suspects are to be shut up in a concentration camp outside the town." In other words class jailing of people simply because of the class to which they belong rather than whether or not the individual did anything wrong. And not even just for punishment but to terrorize the populace into obeying his dictates or else.

Lenin's character was not monolithically evil. Most evil doers, like Lenin, Hitler and Stalin, think they are just doing what is necessary for the greater good. But that does not excuse these kinds of actions. The ends do not justify the means.

And anyone searching or answers to questions like this one should not simply stop when things become a little unclear. One should not be afraid to delve into complex issues in order to get to a conclusion. That kind of faux intellectualism does no one any good.

Answer 2

No, he wasn t a good man. he killed his people

Answer 3

Yeah.