Stalin

[IliaDN]

~The system of the communist party in Russia was set up to keep one man in Russia in power until his death. If Lenin had lived longer or if Trtsky had lived longer they would be like Stalin except maybe less brutal. Still dictatorial though.~

Topic is about Stalin, stay on topic, please.

[econ21]

Topic is about Stalin, stay on topic, please.

BP was wholly on topic. Most people agree that Lenin and Trotsky were Communist. BP is saying that the USSR would have turned out similarly under them to what it did under Stalin. Ergo, Stalin was a Communist. I agree with that logic. The essence of the USSR - the one-party system, state ownership, collectivisation, forced industrialisation, fermenting revolution abroad etc were shared ideals of the Bolshevik leaders.

What Stalin added, IMO, was a vicious paranoia that led him to butcher many of his fellow Bolsheviks and many ordinary people in purges. If you think such purges were necessary to keep "order", that just shows how worthless maintaining the Communist "order" was.

[IliaDN]

BP was wholly on topic. Most people agree that Lenin and Trotsky were Communist. BP is saying that the USSR would have turned out similarly under them to what it did under Stalin. Ergo, Stalin was a Communist. I agree with that logic. The essence of the USSR - the one-party system, state ownership, collectivisation, forced industrialisation, fermenting revolution abroad etc were shared ideals of the Bolshevik leaders.

What Stalin added, IMO, was a vicious paranoia that led him to butcher many of his fellow Bolsheviks and many ordinary people in purges. If you think such purges were necessary to keep "order", that just shows how worthless maintaining the Communist "order" was.

1. By staying on topic I meant to say what is his opnion.
2. Mantaining just a simple order.
Edit: Because country was ready to tear apart.

[Byzantine Prince]

~I think I stated that my opinion was that the communist (bolshevik) party's system of leadership was set up so Stalin or whoever would stay in power for as long as they lived. It wasn't necessarily Stalin's own doing that he was a dictator. That's my opinion and now it's clear.~