• chaogomu@kbin.social
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      9 months ago

      We really must separate out the people directly murdered for being a threat to the Soviet dictatorship, and the people who died as a result of Soviet incompetence and mismanagement.

      They still died, but context matters.

      Strongman style dictators are always petty and vindictive. But are also always corrupt and just bad at their job.

      It’s often made worse by the fact that they will kill people for pointing out how bad they are at their job.

      • BolexForSoup@kbin.social
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        edit-2
        9 months ago

        The Great Purge - i.e. just the purge under Stalin in the mid-1920’s - is estimated to have killed around (some estimate more than) a million people. No separation necessary, we aren’t talking about disastrous policies and wars.

        This is to say nothing of the Russian civil war (tens of millions dead) or other leaders’ at the national and more local levels engaging in their own political purges.