STALIN was of the first generation of bolshevik revolutionaries. He financed the Communist Party by bank robberies and various criminal methods. Because he was trained and talented in manipulation, he became rapidly General Secretary of the Party. He eliminated all his rivals to become Lenin’s successor. Haunted by personal power, he improved Soviet totalitarianism and terror with the gulags. With tens of millions of dead, Stalinism is worse than even Nazism. Because he mobilized the Soviets against the German invaders, he lured for a time on his role of mass executioner. Stalinism was imposed by force in all spheres of society, including the arts (painting and music) and science.
© Alice Labrèque and Jean Routier, 2012