What do you think of Stalin?

What do you think of Stalin?

From Proletarian Radio by The Communists

June 5, 2026 · 4 min

About this episode

The episode discusses Joseph Stalin's views on ruling through fear in an interview with Emil Ludwig.

Here is what he had to say in an interview with German author Emil Ludwig when asked if he 'ruled through fear' “Do you really believe that we could have retained power and have had the backing of the vast masses for 14 years by methods of intimidation and terrorisation? No, that is impossible. The tsarist government excelled all others in knowing how to intimidate. It had long and vast experience in that sphere. The European bourgeoisie, particularly the French, gave tsarism every assistance in this matter and taught it to terrorise the people. ... Just now you asked me whether everything in our country was decided by one person. Never under any circumstances would our workers now tolerate power in the hands of one person.” Joseph Stalin, Works. Vol. 13, p 111-112 Taken from '81 YEARS SINCE V-DAY! | London Soviet Memorial Commemoration' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnARhQ6jy_s --------------------------------------------------- Subscribe! Donate! Join us in building a bright future for humanity! http://www.thecommunists.org http://www.lalkar.org http://www.redyouth.org Telegram: https://t.me/thecommunists Twitter: / cpgbml Soundcloud: / proletarianradio Rumble…

Topics covered

  • Stalin
  • interview
  • power dynamics
  • fear
  • history
  • communism

Keywords

  • Stalin
  • fear
  • power
  • interview
  • communism
  • history
  • intimidation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: tsarist government, European bourgeoisie, French

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