Joseph Stalin Part 2: The Secretary Becomes Dictator
Real Dictators
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The Secret of Stalin's Rise to Power
In early 1920, war breaks out between the Soviets and neighboring Poland. Stalin is sent to coordinate the Soviet response. A month later, his men recapture the Ukrainian city of Kiev. He's keen to teach the Poles a lesson they'll never forget. Lenin encouraged them to execute and take reprisals ruthlessly. The Bolsheviks were absolutely struggling to stay in power. And so terror was essential to them. It came from the very top.Lenin was really Stalin's teacher in the practice of terror. Government terror works a treat for capitalists. Why shouldn't Communists do the same?
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