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Stalin tops Putin in Russian poll of greatest historical figures

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By Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV

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20 million dead and 'disappeared' Russians under Stalin would disagree...

7 ( +7 / -0 )

Russians have picked Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin as the greatest figure in history, a new poll said Monday, beating President Vladimir Putin into joint second alongside poet Alexander Pushkin.

Imagine if the Germans picked German dictator Adolf Hitler as the greatest figure in history. What would we say?

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20 million dead and 'disappeared' Russians under Stalin would disagree

Dead people can't disagree, which is why they were dead in the first place. Stalin was a hero to the left. Though we pretend otherwise today, he still represents the ultimate result of leftist policies. Unfortunately, we haven't seen the last of his kind.

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only russian historical figures i know are the one from the Boney M song, Rasputin, and the guy with the big red mark on his head. i do admire Putin though, is a cool, smart dangerous guy.

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Greatest does not alwayas mean "good" or "loved". Russians were not asked who they love most. Presence in this list of Napoleon Bonaparte is very telling - I do not think Russians have any reason to love the Emperor who invaded their country, but they admit that he was a man of greatest historical significance. The same applies to Stalin.

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Scientists, a poet, cosmonaut, tsar and couple of politicians. Napoleon Bonaparte an interesting choice.

Two qualifications: respect or nostalgia for 'great men' telling; and in living memory confusion between 'Soviet' and 'Russian' still prevalent (well, Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili - aka Joseph Stalin in English - was Georgian)

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Stalin was a hero to the left. 

Until the truths came out about his slaughters of any and all opposition.

During Stalin's reign millions of USSR citizens - Soviet citizens, supposedly his own people - were killed by the state. After WW2 the killings continued throughout the USSR.

His legacy lives on in North Korea. Kim Il Sung was put into power and puppeted by Stalin. Curious that the so-called Korean War ended days after Stalin's death. Curious that North Korea, ruled through Kim's police and cult worshippers, copied Stalin's style. As did Mao.

Stalin has gone down in history as one of the most evil rulers. Of any time. But I guess Russians have a different definition of evil from the people they call 'westerners'.

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Makes sense, Russia has never been prosperous in its entire history. In fact, so squalid is the Russian today, that under Stalin they achieved their cultural, economic, and moral peak. It's only been downhill from there

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Aaaahhhhh the good old days... Persecutions, repressions, censor, Gulags...

/sarcasms

Some must have been seriously brain washed or were in the elite circle to have enjoyed this era...

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There would be no Russia had he not stopped Hitler. Had hitler won against Russia and controlled the their oil and resources, it is not difficult to imagine what would have happened. D-Day would have failed because Hitler could have moved his eastern troops to hold back the invasion.

Stalin had already been defeating Hitler by Feb. of 43. More than a year before DDay.

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The Russians are a brutalized people.

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There would be no Russia had he not stopped Hitler. Had hitler won against Russia and controlled the their oil and resources, it is not difficult to imagine what would have happened. D-Day would have failed because Hitler could have moved his eastern troops to hold back the invasion.

And the US was helping Stalin:

https://www.quora.com/How-much-did-the-United-States-supplying-the-Soviet-Union-help-the-Soviets-win-in-World-War-II

https://www.rbth.com/defence/2016/03/14/lend-lease-how-american-supplies-aided-the-ussr-in-its-darkest-hour_575559

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Though we pretend otherwise today, he still represents the ultimate result of leftist policies

Probably the most ridiculous statement I've read on JT.

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I'm not sure why Fizzbit's post got thumbed down. He didn't defend Stalin's brutality. Nobody doubts the US aided the USSR but the Soviets fought and lost more people than the rest of the allies combined. They also saw the destruction of large parts of their homeland.

I remember a story here about the commemoration of Soviet troops who died fighting the Nazis, and it received plenty of 'yeah, but the victory was because of US help...etc'.

Slightly off topic I know, but credit where it's due even if they were commies. There was more than one country which defeated the Nazis.

Back on topic, Stalin was a scumbag.

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In for a penny in for a pound. Why wasn't Mao on that list? Double standards?

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As long as Putin stays in power, I'll be happy. He is destroying Russia's image on the world stage and forcing them into isolation.

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None of the pro-Putin crowd in tonight?

Revolutionary Vladimir Lenin, Tsar Peter the Great and first man in space Yury Gagarin came next in the list of 20 people, with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in last place on six percent.

Not sure about Gorbachev being relegated to the wooden spoon status; he did so much to end the cold war. Albeit briefly, with hindsight.

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Just checked out the full list. No Dostoyevsky, Chekhov, Tchaikovsky or Trump.

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None of the pro-Putin crowd in tonight?

No, but the whole Russophobic committee is here!

As long as Putin stays in power, I'll be happy. He is destroying Russia's image

Putin made Russia so weak that it even managed to put its man into the White House (at least they try to make us to believe that). Keep be happy!!

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Oh I'll put the greed and stupidity of uneducated Republican voters over anything Putin did. Besides, Putin is lowering the standard of living for all Russians which is something I support as long as they support him, and he's going to be in power for a long time.

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Oh I'll put the greed and stupidity of uneducated Republican voters over anything Putin did

Shhh! Don't say it loudly! If you do not believe that everything bad is Putin's fault, then some posters here will charge you with treason!

Putin is lowering the standard of living for all Russians

Oh, yes, Obama's "Russian economy in tatters" funny story. Hilarious. What is US national debt now? How are you going to repay it? At least Russians live within their means.

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Oh I'll put the greed and stupidity of uneducated Republican voters over anything Putin did.

You met every Republican voter???? Wow!

Besides, Putin is lowering the standard of living for all Russians which is something I support as long as they support him, and he's going to be in power for a long time.

Actually, A lot of people don't support him, but what's the alternative. Putin pretty much made himself president for life and any election they have is heavily rigged and no other candidate could ever win, without blood flowing.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Dictatorship sometimes is a necessity for survival in some parts of the world. Russia needs someone like Putin to lead because Russia is special and Russia is special because the US is exceptional. If you know what I mean.

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Probably the most ridiculous statement I've read on JT.

That would be quite a remarkable achievement here. But I assume you have little concept of what's ridiculous and what's not.

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Stalin was  a hero, thats true! He was a hero because Roosevelt,Churchill and Uncle Adolf all three warlords together made him a hero!

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Elephant where on earth do you get your facts from? Are you seriously putting Roosevelt and Churchill on the same page as Hitler in terms of warmongering??? Stalin I agree is revered in Russia but you can't hide the fact that he was responsible for millions of deaths:

The current status of historical research, which has revised much higher estimates from the Cold War era, is that Stalin more or less deliberately caused the deaths of about 8–9 million people: 5 million in the collectivization famines of the early 1930s (thereof 3.3 million in Ukraine), 1 million people executed (thereof 681,692 in the 1937/38 purge) and 2–3 million deaths in labor camps and exile colonies

It's always wise to treat comparisons of dictators and democratically elected leaders with caution!

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@joyridingonthetitanic:  Perhaps you dont understand the Russians or the history of Russia!  Stalin was a very generous and heroic leader in Russian history if you compared him with 'Ivan the terrible'! All revolutions shed blood, the French revolutions and what if I tell you Washington was a bandit who shed the British blood ,toppling the British empire and took power by his own if his revolution has failed!

About Chruchill and Roosevelt....I have no bad opinion over these two Allied  leaders, what i mean is: Both of them and Hitler, Missoulini,Stalin, Hiroito, Chiang Kai-Shek they  were all war lords of World war 2. Their reputations depend on the situation of who took a more heavy burden over their shoulders that written this page of human history. And Stalin has out weighted all of them, he is a victor and an honorable warlord!

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