Asklemmy

43777 readers

1450 users here now

A loosely moderated place to ask open-ended questions

Search asklemmy 🔍

If your post meets the following criteria, it's welcome here!

Open-ended question
Not offensive: at this point, we do not have the bandwidth to moderate overtly political discussions. Assume best intent and be excellent to each other.
Not regarding using or support for Lemmy: context, see the list of support communities and tools for finding communities below
Not ad nauseam inducing: please make sure it is a question that would be new to most members
An actual topic of discussion

Looking for support?

Looking for a community?

Lemmyverse: community search
sub.rehab: maps old subreddits to fediverse options, marks official as such
!lemmy411@lemmy.ca: a community for finding communities

~Icon~ ~by~ ~@Double_A@discuss.tchncs.de~

founded 5 years ago

MODERATORS

What's your favorite work of Stalin's? (lemmygrad.ml)

submitted 2 years ago by simply_surprise@lemmygrad.ml to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

22 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I've got a soft spot for "Dialectical and Historical Materialism" (though I can't claim I understand it all), but I remember liking the letter where he admonishes a comrade for calling themself a "Stalinist". I wish I could remember which one that was!

I like his writing style, and the way he lays his points out. There's still a lot in the archive for me to read!

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] kujaw@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 years ago (2 children)

He was ruling the country back then, who else could be responsible for that? Well, USSR and later RF even admitted they did it.

[–] Awoo@lemmy.ml 10 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

He was ruling the country back then

This isn't how the soviet system worked.

He was one of FIVE people on the upper most council, and hundreds and then thousands on the councils that reported to it. He had exactly the same powers that the other people on this council had. The USSR is not a presidential system, there was never one single leader of it.

But don't take my word for that, here is a quote directly from the CIA's declassified documents:

Even in Stalin's time there was collective leadership. The Western idea of a dictator within the Communist setup is exaggerated. Misunderstandings on that subject are caused by a lack of comprehension of the real nature and organization of the Communist's power structure. Stalin, although holding wide powers, was merely captain of a team and Krushchev will be the new captain. However, it does not appear that any of the present leaders will rise to the stature of Lenin and Stalin, so that it will be safer to assume that development in Moscow will be along the lines of what is called collective leadership, unless Western policies force the Soviets to streamline their power organization. The present situation is the most favorable from the point of view of upsetting the Communist dictatorship since the death of Stalin.

[–] simply_surprise@lemmygrad.ml 8 points 2 years ago

He was ruling the country back then.

No he wasn't. "Anything asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence".