…correctly in that book. I wonder if we will have time to debate this. You cannot simply say Stalin is a deviation. Stalin did propose a solution to a certain deadlock. in Leninism already. But I nonetheless don't agree with his version of that. Because…

…Like, we are people's representatives. We know better than people what they really want. Why, you know, it's like, would you interrupt Stalin with a question? Okay. I mean, there's a serious question about how you can say, because in a sense, I often…

…those who invent or use new proverbs. And I think this is an excellent definition. For Althusser, for example, he noticed how Stalin from early 30s liked to use old Russian proverbs, old wisdoms and so on. How Robespierre mostly used proverbs No proverbs.…

…blamed the bureaucratic attitude of indifference, and so on and so on. No wonder that from the late 20s onwards, Stalin was writing attacks on bureaucracy, on... bureaucratic attitudes. But I think that paradoxically, what didn't function, it's not that…

…Prohibited to be announced publicly. If I may repeat an old joke, if you allow me. Imagine we are in Moscow in 35, I'm Stalin. Okay, what can I do? I give a speech. You have to, otherwise you disappear. You applaud. Okay. Then we have a debate. One…

…to, otherwise you disappear. You applaud. Okay. Then we have a debate. One of you stands up and says, I don't disagree with Comrade Stalin, he made mistakes here. Okay. The next day, the big question would be who was the last one to see that guy alive,…

…up and starts to shout at the first guy. Are you crazy? Don't you know that we in Soviet Union don't criticize Stalin, that it's prohibited? My thesis is the second one would disappear even faster. In Stalinism, it wasn't only prohibited to criticize…

…it's prohibited? My thesis is the second one would disappear even faster. In Stalinism, it wasn't only prohibited to criticize Stalin. It was even more prohibited to publicly announce this prohibition. If you just publicly announce this prohibition, you ruin…

…Then the left-wingers, some followers still there of Trotsky, said, no, money is alienation in communism, no money. Then Comrade Stalin intervenes and says, you are both wrong. Here we have right-wing deviation and left-wing deviation. The truth is, as they…

…synthesis of the opposites. In communism, there will be money and there will not be money. Then they ask him, but Comrade Stalin, how do you mean this? And you can guess what Stalin says. Very simply, some people will have money, other people will…

…and there will not be money. Then they ask him, but Comrade Stalin, how do you mean this? And you can guess what Stalin says. Very simply, some people will have money, other people will not have money. No, but quite seriously now. I am not people,…

…maybe it will bring me a lot of trouble if I name them. One solution would be an inverted Stalinist one. that to have what Stalin was doing, but in not such a terrorist way. Be aware when you have people who lead you, that there are also other people…

…I cannot work. politically and for me. Politics is only life I know, so please give us some poison that we kill ourselves. Stalin sabotaged it. You know why? Because he knew it. If at that point Lenin were to die, and they would have to decide…

…Because he knew it. If at that point Lenin were to die, and they would have to decide who will be the follower, then Stalin probably wouldn't yet have won. He needed another year, year and a half. And in that year, only in year 23... Then, when he…

…year, year and a half. And in that year, only in year 23... Then, when he was strong enough, the end of 1922, Stalin wanted to get Lenin dead. He started to insult Lenin, spoke dirty to Nadezhda Krufkaya, to humiliate Lenin. But, you see, Stalin was…

…Stalin wanted to get Lenin dead. He started to insult Lenin, spoke dirty to Nadezhda Krufkaya, to humiliate Lenin. But, you see, Stalin was aware of this. And I read those memoirs by Georgy Dimitrov, the boss of International, where he reports how Stalin…

…Stalin was aware of this. And I read those memoirs by Georgy Dimitrov, the boss of International, where he reports how Stalin once said at a meeting... narrow meeting, of course, that Trotsky was undoubtedly more popular in... mid-twenties than he, Stalin.…

…how Stalin once said at a meeting... narrow meeting, of course, that Trotsky was undoubtedly more popular in... mid-twenties than he, Stalin. But he said, cadre, they supported me, that was crucial. Stalin, and this was the tragedy of Trotsky, he was, he…

…course, that Trotsky was undoubtedly more popular in... mid-twenties than he, Stalin. But he said, cadre, they supported me, that was crucial. Stalin, and this was the tragedy of Trotsky, he was, he didn't have the sensibility for this, like from 23 at the…

…it's already walking in empty air. This is what Trotsky was missing. You know, like, why wasn't he more attentive to how Stalin is de facto grabbing power? That was, for me, the true tragedy of Trotsky. How he totally lost, didn't have this sensitivity…

…Quickly repeat my general position. First, all those who think that I'm playing some kind of obscene game of secretly rehabilitating Stalin or whatever, I'm sorry to disappoint them. They are wrong. What intrigues me, the only point on which I do insist…

…take over in different official conferences, you will be forced to applaud. Keep your energy for our dictators later. Now, Genosse Stalin will give a small summary with critical remarks. Slavoj, thank you very much for the always interesting lecture and to…

…therefore, when you, for instance, in the film, I mentioned previously, come out of airplane doors directly after previously we have seen Stalin coming out or Hitler. So, it transports you into a rear, which no doubt you did not add your intention to it,…

…it, that this would happen. No, because I think that at the same time, wait a minute, imagine it, me standing at the side of Stalin. I doubt Stalin will survive this, you know what I mean? Am I not a scandal there, stepping out like Stalin and so on?…

…would happen. No, because I think that at the same time, wait a minute, imagine it, me standing at the side of Stalin. I doubt Stalin will survive this, you know what I mean? Am I not a scandal there, stepping out like Stalin and so on? I think we…

…the side of Stalin. I doubt Stalin will survive this, you know what I mean? Am I not a scandal there, stepping out like Stalin and so on? I think we should do it in the right way, to transpose ourselves into that universe but as the disturbing…

…of the most brutal dictatorships. They had to pretend. that they have some form of freedom. Like, you were not allowed to say, Stalin is our master, sorry, old joke, I repeated it here at least ten times. In Stalinism, you are not allowed to say…

…ten times. In Stalinism, you are not allowed to say publicly what everyone knew it was true. We are not allowed to criticize Stalin, Stalin is a master, if we do it, you will disappear. If you said this, what everybody knew, you would be absolutely…

…In Stalinism, you are not allowed to say publicly what everyone knew it was true. We are not allowed to criticize Stalin, Stalin is a master, if we do it, you will disappear. If you said this, what everybody knew, you would be absolutely immediately…

…citizens, okay, inmates of Gulag, were gathered, and they all had to, with acclamation, accept a long telegram, endorse it, wishing Stalin all the best for his birthday, long years to live. Why this? Everybody knew this was appearance, but it was absolutely…

…communist crimes. But the background... Theoretically, it's not strong enough. The story is always this one. Oh, what a bad guy Stalin was, doing all this horrible... No, communism is not a problem of bad people doing bad things. It's an authentic tragedy…

…for almost one month. October played, I think, for one or two weeks in a suburb of Sinema. So people, what Stalin promised them is, enough of these stupid avant-garde drinks, I will bring you back ordinary people with their blunt passions, sentiments,…

…It was Platon and he saw it much better than Western liberals. Recently I saw a real impression of a dialogue between Stalin and George Herbert Wells, who visited Russia in 1934-1935, and I had to laugh, it's wonderful this, when it was published in…

…But isn't it that maybe also you in the Soviet Union don't get enough of me? How stupid. He thought he would embarrass Stalin in his government. Stalin didn't get the answer. No, no, we didn't get it. We have this Even more developed than you, because…

…maybe also you in the Soviet Union don't get enough of me? How stupid. He thought he would embarrass Stalin in his government. Stalin didn't get the answer. No, no, we didn't get it. We have this Even more developed than you, because only the English…

…it in England, well, you can send yourself a car. I'm not going to teach you about British car. If you're talking about Stalin, you can't do that. You know how the Spaniards and liberals also accused Stalin, when Stalin was leader in the 30s? I'll stop…

…teach you about British car. If you're talking about Stalin, you can't do that. You know how the Spaniards and liberals also accused Stalin, when Stalin was leader in the 30s? I'll stop there. I mean, lower the level of death penalty in the West for 30…

…about British car. If you're talking about Stalin, you can't do that. You know how the Spaniards and liberals also accused Stalin, when Stalin was leader in the 30s? I'll stop there. I mean, lower the level of death penalty in the West for 30 years, no?…

…30 years, no? Then they protested a new movement in socialist humanism, blah, blah, blah. My Lord, I thought they would call Stalin. He's coming for the perfect answer. He said, this is the sign of the great rise of our socialist education. Our country…

…only drop a landing when you survive three, four years, made a pact with Trotsky, they would get rid of Stalin, and they would have a wonderful, thriving, democratic Soviet Union with freedom, with Eisenstein, Futurist, Algartha, Popolar, with the Finkler,…

…more ambiguous. It's not some golden era and so on and so on. Platon was much more ambiguous. Of course, no wonder that Stalin came. I think it's well known that he founded one manuscript of the Torah, which Stalin's known for. I think he just said…

…poets, we were great celebrators, mega heroes and so on, the great people starting new work then was much more dangerous. Stalin almost feared and respected them. For example, you know, in around 1931, Osip Mandelstam wrote a pretty brutal satire poem named…

…almost feared and respected them. For example, you know, in around 1931, Osip Mandelstam wrote a pretty brutal satire poem named Stalin, as you know, his hair protruding out of his nose, greasy fingers, and so on. KGB, of course, already prepared…

…hair protruding out of his nose, greasy fingers, and so on. KGB, of course, already prepared immediately the plan for Israel's elimination. Stalin himself wrote, no, if a couple of years of exile will be enough. And it's only later, in 1938, well, it was…

…no, if a couple of years of exile will be enough. And it's only later, in 1938, well, it was too late for Stalin to do his interventions, and the British University was arrested again. Also the same thing, Pasternak. Pasternak was already on the list of…

…the British University was arrested again. Also the same thing, Pasternak. Pasternak was already on the list of APB for degradation. And then Stalin broke the news. He wrote, he's a boy, he walks on the clouds, let him alone there walk on his clouds. The…

…such an unsightly, the fact that the title of the last Superman film, The Man of Steel, is literally in his translation of Stalin. So what I want to emphasize here is that, again, Lacan saw this tendency. For example, in the ethics seminar, Lacan evokes…

…their body. The inner truth, of course, any criminal can be revealed by it. I'm quite sure that if you were to ask Stalin, Hitler, whoever, they would tell you their story. This would appear momentary. You see, this guy has an inner life. I don't think…

…be the scene. Let us say it's a beautiful dream, that we are in 35-6 in Moscow, you are the central committee, I am Stalin. Okay. I finish my speech, you... Then there is a debate. One of you, let's say you, Matthew, is stupid enough to stand up…

…debate. One of you, let's say you, Matthew, is stupid enough to stand up and you start to criticize me openly. No? No, Comrade Stalin is wrong and so on and so on. Okay, we know what would have happened. The day after the big question would have been…

…same time. Let's imagine that you, for example, would then stand up and start to shout at him. How dare you criticize Comrade Stalin? Aren't you aware that we don't do this in Soviet Union? you would disappear even faster. You see the paradox. It wasn't…

…are in principle ready to take questions, right? Bye. Are you leaving? Underline five times the word in principle. In principle. Like Stalin was in principle for democracy. In this sense, yeah. But we don't want to torture you either. Why not? Okay, we…

…top figure return with a vengeance in the guise of the Marxist communist leader, who is even worse than a king? Why? Because Stalin certainly did not just add the subjective, I will. Stalin was not the one who said, you present me with documents, I will…

…Marxist communist leader, who is even worse than a king? Why? Because Stalin certainly did not just add the subjective, I will. Stalin was not the one who said, you present me with documents, I will just sign them. Stalin thought that, you know, Stalin…

…not just add the subjective, I will. Stalin was not the one who said, you present me with documents, I will just sign them. Stalin thought that, you know, Stalin was, as it were, his own Moltke, you know. He thought he is the greatest genius and so on…

…I will. Stalin was not the one who said, you present me with documents, I will just sign them. Stalin thought that, you know, Stalin was, as it were, his own Moltke, you know. He thought he is the greatest genius and so on and so on. What Hegel…

…I only allow all these illusory celebrations to go on not to disappoint the ordinary people who need a great leader like Stalin, whatever. No. The point is that you even do not need another actual subject who really believes. The whole system of belief…

…close to that area, let me tell you a weird story which I found wonderful. What happened in the Soviet Union in 1953? Stalin died, and then in the summer of 1953, the first volume of the new Soviet encyclopedia covering letters from A to C appeared.…

…Okay, it's not actual figure today, but all and all I am fascinated how Lenin in his last years, his big motive against Stalin, and it looks crazy for a tough guy like Lenin, was politeness. You remember what Lenin's main argument to why we have to…

…crazy for a tough guy like Lenin, was politeness. You remember what Lenin's main argument to why we have to get rid of Stalin is he doesn't behave in a polite way towards his colleague, he's a brutal guy. So you know, politeness, wasn't it your writer,…

…you know, this leftist, fake leftist thing. the king is the beggar, the beggar is the king, we have liberation. No, for him, Stalin is purchase and some trials for a big carnival. It's exactly like the king is a beggar. Yesterday you were a member of…

…Every year on Stalin's birthday... all prisoners in a gulag camp were gathered and had to sign each of them a telegram to comrade Stalin wishing him all the best and so on and so on. Now, of course, I'm not an idiot. I'm not claiming they really meant…

…Jews. It never happened. My point is that precisely in these perverse details, every prisoner still sending a telegram to Stalin or this confession, this is what makes Stalinism unique. part of Enlightenment movement. That we all participate in it. And…

…know, it is for me one argument for Stalinism. that it had dissidents. Dissidents also in the sense of inner party dissidents. Stalin all the time had to fight from Trotsky to others who reproached him for you betrayed the true greatness of communist…

…this Trotskyist dream. If only Lenin were to survive three, four years more and made the pact with Trotsky, there would be no Stalin, we would have what? A kind of a happy social democracy or what? No, I think the tragedy was authentic. I really don't…

…talk consisted of preliminary improvisations. So let me only tell you that... two things. One is that actually it was also Stalin himself who was supposed to send letters to himself. He was also differently than Hitler was putting his hands together after…

…like to use, a fictional example. Let's say we are in Moscow, 1935. Let's say, to be modest, you are a central committee, I am Stalin. Somebody has to be. I give a big speech, you applaud, you applaud, I applaud, and so on. Then we have a debate. One…

…and starts to shout at this first guy who attacked me are you crazy we don't do this here we don't attack comrade Stalin I claim the second guy would disappear even faster. You see the point. It wasn't only prohibited to criticize Stalin. It was even…

…comrade Stalin I claim the second guy would disappear even faster. You see the point. It wasn't only prohibited to criticize Stalin. It was even more prohibited to publicly announce this prohibition. It's not only that Stalin was a master, but if you…

…point. It wasn't only prohibited to criticize Stalin. It was even more prohibited to publicly announce this prohibition. It's not only that Stalin was a master, but if you say this, you were wrong. Well, you disappeared or whatever. So this paradox I find…

…far as I know, Stalinist Communist Party. By Stalinist, I really mean Stalinist. They still reprint the collected works of Stalin. which is their sacred literature, and even, for example, their enemy is not Gorbachev, their enemy is Khrushchev, who betrayed…

…communists Are you crazy? Do you want back all those party congresses and so on? My answer is a clear one. They are now Stalin or Mao was, in some formal sense, of course it was crazy, but in a formal sense was within the limits of reason. Even…

…some formal sense, of course it was crazy, but in a formal sense was within the limits of reason. Even those who claim Stalin is the greatest genius of humanity, they didn't say Stalin can fly in the air or whatever. Incidentally, he didn't. He was…

…formal sense was within the limits of reason. Even those who claim Stalin is the greatest genius of humanity, they didn't say Stalin can fly in the air or whatever. Incidentally, he didn't. He was terribly afraid of flying. But in North Korea, they…

…lie. The truth is not in there, in the heart of your personality. I assure that. If you were to look from real proximity at Stalin, Hitler and so on, you would discover that in their family they were very kind and so on. And you should go to the end…

…this, and came to a following conclusion. Let's make a wonderful mental experiment. We are Central Committee 37 Moscow. Okay, I am Stalin. Somebody, you stand up and criticize me. Okay, it's clear. Next day people will ask who saw you the last time and…

…you would stand up and tell him, but what are you doing? Don't you know that here we don't criticize Comrade Stalin? You would disappear even faster. You see the point. It was prohibited to criticize Stalin, but this prohibition itself was prohibited.…

…that here we don't criticize Comrade Stalin? You would disappear even faster. You see the point. It was prohibited to criticize Stalin, but this prohibition itself was prohibited. People checked to act as if it's not prohibited. As if just, Kovach Stalin is…

…prohibited to criticize Stalin, but this prohibition itself was prohibited. People checked to act as if it's not prohibited. As if just, Kovach Stalin is so great and so on, there is nothing to criticize. So this, I think, is what I like to call the…

…It's a conservative modernization, blah, blah, anti-enlightenment. But what went wrong in Stalinism? I mean, you cannot play this simple game, Stalin, evil guy, there of course he was, but... That's not it. For example, I totally oppose this old thesis of…

…of, how to put it, of disturbing the appearances. And now, so that we will not just put all the blame on beloved comrade Stalin, and you can go to this logic to the end. I think there is here a big difference between Stalinism and Nazism. I think…

…in the worst years of Gulag, she claims, They collected on Stalin's birthday all the prisoners who had to sign a telegram to Stalin wishing him all the best and blah, blah, blah. Now just think about it. This is meaningless in fascism. What should they…

…Hegel called The absolute freedom and terror was a pretty mild thing compared to what the greatest genius of humanity, Comrade Stalin, and others did in the 20th century. Like, you know, never forget, before lambasting on Jacobins, that... They were simply…

…by a vote in Assemblée Nationale. I would like to see someone doing this in Supreme Soviet, you know, like voting against Stalin. So what I'm saying is that this maybe is the lesson of the terrifying experiences of the 20th century. We should return…

…critique of alien Marxism somehow is that it's a closed system and the totality means totalitarianism. And therefore, Hegel and Marx are Stalin, and Stalin is Hegel, and so on. And the solution, then, is that everything is relative. We need to add a…

…Marxism somehow is that it's a closed system and the totality means totalitarianism. And therefore, Hegel and Marx are Stalin, and Stalin is Hegel, and so on. And the solution, then, is that everything is relative. We need to add a little contextuality.…

…and fascist documentaries how the leader, fascist leader is applauded, but he never applauds himself. He just receives the, by Stalin and other great luminaries, did you notice how when in the central committee they are applauded, they always join the…

…a properly Stalinist misunderstanding. People were not sure should we applaud or not, you know? Is this the silence where Comrade Stalin signals, now you can have spontaneous applause? Or should I put it, no? And this is already quite seriously brings me…

…frequently and vehemently deny that you're a Stalinist, but we saw you in the film about yourself with a poster of a resplendent Stalin on the wall of your home. You say, this is just for people who come to be shocked and hopefully they get out.…

…order to account for what we are doing is thus a lie. The truth lies rather outside in what we do. Professor Zizek, I'm worried. Stalin is your poster boy. That's what we see you do. I hope I have some time to answer. I go there, rather. I'm just…

…hour, yeah, absolutely. No, no, Siri, I will be brief. You know that absolutely I stand where I am. Let me try to go, first this Stalin poster boy and so on and so on and so on. look at how you fetishize the image of Stalin there. Look at how it…

…to go, first this Stalin poster boy and so on and so on and so on. look at how you fetishize the image of Stalin there. Look at how it really functions. Why do we automatically assume it functions, but it's now a marginal question, as I admire Stalin…

…Look at how it really functions. Why do we automatically assume it functions, but it's now a marginal question, as I admire Stalin and so on and so on. It's a reminder that especially those who criticize Stalin today didn't do their job properly. For…

…now a marginal question, as I admire Stalin and so on and so on. It's a reminder that especially those who criticize Stalin today didn't do their job properly. For me, Stalin is still the big trauma figure. ethical catastrophe, as I've written again and…

…so on and so on. It's a reminder that especially those who criticize Stalin today didn't do their job properly. For me, Stalin is still the big trauma figure. ethical catastrophe, as I've written again and again, of the West. And what shocks me utterly…

…blah, blah, blah. Tell me one good theory of Stalinism, my God. It's just condemned. I think the message of the poster is story. Stalin is still a challenge. Not a challenge in the sense of model to be copied and so on. But a challenge of, this is…

…Did you see the film which got Oscar, Life of Others? It's a fanatical anti-communist film. My reproach is too soft towards Stalin. It's a Stalinist system. You know the story. A top East German writer, theater writer, a corrupted minister is in love,…

…of the power system. Power is not only the explicit text of power. Power is also, you know, for example, your own Stalin, which is maybe greater than the Russian Stalin, the director from Kerala or what you said. You misrecognized him. You didn't know…

…the explicit text of power. Power is also, you know, for example, your own Stalin, which is maybe greater than the Russian Stalin, the director from Kerala or what you said. You misrecognized him. You didn't know your Stalin. He had this movie about…

…which is maybe greater than the Russian Stalin, the director from Kerala or what you said. You misrecognized him. You didn't know your Stalin. He had this movie about Dalits, no? He has this same wonderful pupils in some school who are It's like, how are…

…Trotsky. You know, I tried to kind of convince people, well, Mark is like Trotsky. And Slavoj asked a question like, but who is Stalin? And I said, well, Judas, I guess. I don't know. Here maybe we can have a debate. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. So let's…

…on in a primitive way everything was already there formulated in Soviet Gnosticism. And you know what's the saddest thing in it? Stalin put an end to it. The Stalinist cultural revolution in the late 20s was precisely, with all its horrors, a return to,…

…in the late 20s was precisely, with all its horrors, a return to, let's call it, normal human life. This is why Stalin imposed socialist realism, a move which was very popular at that point. The idea was what? People hated all that futurist,…

…hated all that futurist, constructivist, avant-garde bullshit, you know, Malevich, Eisenstein. They want that normal, warm story, sentimental and so on. Stalin gave all this to them. Now we are returning to it. What I want to say is, again, I want to…

…claimed, left-wingers claimed, no, money is a capitalist tool of exploitation, there will not be money. Then Comrade Stalin enters the debate and says, these are both deviations, right-wing deviation, left-wing deviation. The truth is the dialectical…

…deviation. The truth is the dialectical unity of both. There will be money and there will not be money. Now, nobody understands Stalin. Comrade Stalin, can you explain how can this be? And now comes the genius. Stalin says it's very simple. Some people…

…truth is the dialectical unity of both. There will be money and there will not be money. Now, nobody understands Stalin. Comrade Stalin, can you explain how can this be? And now comes the genius. Stalin says it's very simple. Some people will have money,…

…will not be money. Now, nobody understands Stalin. Comrade Stalin, can you explain how can this be? And now comes the genius. Stalin says it's very simple. Some people will have money, other people... We'll not have money, you know. And that should be…

…in the machine, but some people, the elite, will be much closer to controlling the machine, you know. I always think about Stalin here. There is another, and with this I will conclude, wonderful example. joke from Stalinist Soviet Union in the mid-30s, the…

…money? There will be money. Then the left-wingers claim no money is capitalist alienation. There will not be money. And Stalin intervenes and says, oh, comrades, you are both wrong. Right-wing and leftist deviation, the... solution is the dialectical synthesis…

…is the dialectical synthesis of both. There will be money and there will not be money. And then they ask him, but Comrade Stalin, how do you mean this? And Stalin answers, it's very simple. Some people will have money, others will not have money. And…

…will be money and there will not be money. And then they ask him, but Comrade Stalin, how do you mean this? And Stalin answers, it's very simple. Some people will have money, others will not have money. And it's the same... with a prospect of artificial…

…act as if she is a domina with a black leg. And you are now whipping me, and I agree. Okay, I stop. I will be Stalin tonight, and I will try. And what are we? Who is Bukharin? Who is Trotsky? Who is... Actually, I mean, if somebody were Trotsky, we…

…was too much abstract in the bad sense, not in your sense, essentialist. He did not see how to gain power. You know, Stalin was very bright. You know, just in 23, he nominated over 100,000 of mid-level bureaucrats and so on. He knew that. And Trotsky…

…company. It was one thing. I obviously agree. In the same sense, I think there is one communism. It's too cheap to say Stalin falsified it or whatever. Yes, that's right. Also, essences for me don't necessarily have to stay the same over time. They can…

…and... Re-read Stalin's imposition of socialist realism. It wasn't, there was thriving multiplicity in the 20s, and then brutal Stalin came, imposed socialist realism. In all histories that I've read, Stalin's introduction of socialist realism was an extremely…

…Old and the New, they were a total fiasco. They played for two weeks in a suburban movie theater in Moscow. So what Stalin offered to people... Wasn't Eisenstein Potemkin completely enacted by the people? No, it was the other way around. I know what you…

…this socialist realism, where they actually produce rendered photographs No, no, I agree with you. It was a tragedy, horror, the way Stalin crushed avant-garde. I just think we should see the 20s in a much more problematic way. They were not a lost…

…it contingent, like we need to put it. And I'm consciously ironic here. You know that this was the problem that our great comrade Stalin, when things start to get wrong with five year plan. No. The point was how to save the party. The idea was it must…

…It's the only one that I know of considerable strength. Communist Party, where? For them, the point of reference is simply Stalin. They reprint Stalin's work, they are totally orthodox. For them, the traitor is not Gorbachev, but Khrushchev. But they have…

…Greeks were aware of it. In Venice, in their great epoch, they were aware of it. This is the horror of Stalinism, that Stalin precisely wasn't like a king or a despot. No, he pretended to know, really, the greatest scientists and so on and so on.…

…I was there. For example, in Budapest, and I bought some things, which I use even today. I bought some 50 candles of Stalin hat. It's wonderful. You light it and Stalin... This is anti-Stalinism in practice. And Stalin melts down. I mean, what more do…

…I bought some things, which I use even today. I bought some 50 candles of Stalin hat. It's wonderful. You light it and Stalin... This is anti-Stalinism in practice. And Stalin melts down. I mean, what more do you want? What I'm saying is that in such…

…even today. I bought some 50 candles of Stalin hat. It's wonderful. You light it and Stalin... This is anti-Stalinism in practice. And Stalin melts down. I mean, what more do you want? What I'm saying is that in such a confused situation, now we come to…

…The point is very interesting. Incidentally, how can you see this point? Look at the Stalinist Soviet Union. Do you know that Stalin was just a secretary, general secretary of the party and for some time prime minister? He never was the president. Who was…

…reading of October Revolution. Those idiots acting at that time. thought, but my God, we blew it up, we should liquidate Stalin early enough, whatever, as if there were alternatives, but as wise reactionaries like to point out, now retroactively, when we…

…had a great revenge on Marxism here. Because in Stalinism, we precisely got a master, a leader, who thought that he knows, really. Stalin was not just like a king. Stalin was not just a symbolic top. The whole machinery was to demonstrate that he really…

…Because in Stalinism, we precisely got a master, a leader, who thought that he knows, really. Stalin was not just like a king. Stalin was not just a symbolic top. The whole machinery was to demonstrate that he really knows. And then you get the nightmare…

…we have so many things to decide in Politburo, we need someone just to take notes and... put things in order. So because Stalin was at that time considered a kind of a local idiot of the Politburo, first Lenin proposed it to Trotsky. Trotsky said, it's…

…local idiot of the Politburo, first Lenin proposed it to Trotsky. Trotsky said, it's too humiliating, I don't want to do it. So Stalin said, okay, I will do it. And then, you know, two years later, Trotsky, Trotsky was a little bit stupid there, if you…

…if you read history. Trotsky believed in himself. He thought, who cares about this small bureaucrat? I will make one big speech and Stalin will be out. Well, he noted, you know, Trotsky was really strategic in the, from 23 to 25 seats, Trotsky was like,…

…up in the air. He was totally without power, but he didn't know it. Then in 1926, I think, he was reminded by Stalin, look down, there is no... He went all of a sudden... So, again, I claim that this lesson, again, is... Actual, especially today,…

…from above, but the order was absolutely not clear. For example, even let's take the big examples, collectivization. The only thing that Stalin said was the problem with kulaks as classes should be, as a class should be solved. We should get rid of…

…get an order, but it's not clear what this order is, pushes you to excess. And then, paradoxically, the only positive Stalin interventions were always one of moderation. It's the famous essay from 31, Dizziness is Success, where Stalin says, no comrades…

…then, paradoxically, the only positive Stalin interventions were always one of moderation. It's the famous essay from 31, Dizziness is Success, where Stalin says, no comrades here, we cannot do it just like that, and so on and so on. It's the same with…

…says, no comrades here, we cannot do it just like that, and so on and so on. It's the same with Bukharin. Stalin let it know in the late 20s, Bukharin looks back, traitor. Without specification. Then, afraid of being accused of leniency, blah, blah.…

…in a legal state. The guilt of Comrade Bukharin is not yet proven. We cannot simply... You know, this is the masterful way Stalin plays. So the mystery is that, and I don't think this dimension is clear in Orwell, that with all the totalitarianism does…

…All you get from up, up, this is the true Kafkaesque situation, are hints. Like, what does it mean if after Stalin says collectivization... There is an article in Pravda about some unrest among peasants in southern Siberia. Does this mean that we…

…the working class. Sorry? I'm the working class here. You learned the trick of the communists in power. Even the highest nomenclature. Stalin always said, I am the real working class. Sorry, let's go on. But please, now we just debated, allow us to…

…to the smallest in a factory Communist Party cell meeting, they had this ritual. They always, they began with voting that Comrade Stalin will win. preside this meeting. This was ritualized. Then the one who really ran the meeting said that it's not sure…

…Stalin will win. preside this meeting. This was ritualized. Then the one who really ran the meeting said that it's not sure if Comrade Stalin will be able to come, but that if by a miracle he will drop by, there has to be one chair empty for him.…

…be kind of... Yeah, in my last text on the election, I ironically, of course, referred to a famous answer by Joseph Stalin, who, when asked in 1928, I think, by some official newspaper, of course, which deviation is worse, the right-wing or the left-wing…

…communism. Left-wingers claimed, no, money means alienated commodities, societies, there will not be money in communism. Then, Comrade Stalin, the greatest union intervenes and says, no, these are both deviations, left-wing, right-wing deviations. The reality is…

…right-wing deviations. The reality is a theatrical synthesis. There will be and there will not be money in communism. Then they ask Stalin, but how do you mean this Comrade Stalin? And he says, well, it's simple. Some people will have money, others will...…

…synthesis. There will be and there will not be money in communism. Then they ask Stalin, but how do you mean this Comrade Stalin? And he says, well, it's simple. Some people will have money, others will... Not have money, no? And my point is that it's…

…Stalin's answer from, I'm sorry if I repeat old jokes, it's one of my favorite Stalinist jokes, there is a wonderful joke about Stalin from Soviet era, where, I'm sorry if you know it, And they debate in 33-4 in Politburo the question, will there be…

…products? Then leftists, some old trotskais claim, no, money is alienation, blah, blah. There will be no money. Ah, Comrade Stalin intervenes and he says, no, this is just right-wing and left-wing revisionism. The truth is dialectical synthesis. There will be…

…truth is dialectical synthesis. There will be money and there will not be money. And they ask him, how do you mean this Comrade Stalin? You know what he says, you can guess. Some people will have money, others will not. So I will say, will there be…

…was an extremely strong tendency. Lenin was wise enough to oppose it. But even Trotsky somewhere, and that's why Stalin triumphed, I claim, paradoxically. Because ordinary people were totally confused by all this constructivist biological talk about new…

…Because ordinary people were totally confused by all this constructivist biological talk about new post-human men already there. And Stalin did something very efficient but obscene. He said, no, language, family, sexuality, all this remains, it's eternal, and…

…was listening to Hitler from the very beginning. And he knew it immediately that Hitler is even more dangerous than Soviet Union, than Stalin. And as a great conservative, he saw it. Sorry, I hate communism, but at this point we have to unite with Russia…

…say, to locate Putin into that, how should I call it, Russian nationalist line, which was active all the time, which played Stalin against Lenin. The idea was this one, Lenin and Trotsky bad guys. They didn't care about Russia. They gave too many rights…

…and Trotsky bad guys. They didn't care about Russia. They gave too many rights to other nationality. And all this liked what Stalin did in the early 30s. rewriting the entire history. For example, you know that in the 20s the official Soviet history of…

…nationalist rewriting. shows a little bit understanding for this humanitarian problems of Stalinism. He nonetheless Putin always celebrates moderately Stalin as a figure of patriotic war, a great Russian patriot, and it's, do you see those catastrophic opinion…

…and it's, do you see those catastrophic opinion polls that they make every couple of years, where among thousands of academics, where Stalin usually finishes quite at the top, like recently I think it was, I think it was after Alexander Nevsky, I don't…

…saying, here I'm more open into, you know this, I like to play this alternate history games, you know, like let us say that Stalin were to have in 1925 or 6 a car accident, really without any plot. What would have happened? Maybe it wouldn't have been…

…conflict cannot be solved by elections, but only either by war or by negotiations. So where does this leave us with Brexit? When Stalin was asked in the late 20s which deviation is worse, the right one or the leftist one, he snapped back. They are both…

…about it it goes on like this communism failed in 1920s there was no european revolution and then Communists met Stalin, whoever, Comintern, and decided to do something. The result was communism failed because communists underestimated the strength of Catholic…

…old observation of mine. You know, maybe you know the joke, I'm sorry. You know that if you watch old documentaries on Stalin, Hitler and so on, you may have noticed one big difference. When fascist leader is applauded, he just stands up and recognizes…

…may have noticed one big difference. When fascist leader is applauded, he just stands up and recognizes himself as the addressee. When Stalin or a communist leader is applauded, he stands up and joins the applause. I think this is in the shortest way, the…

…is different. In Nazism, you have Führer, Master, Herrschaft. In Stalinism, you have the same, but in a different form. The position of Stalin is I'm like you, I'm just a servant of the people, when you applaud me, you really applaud the cause which I…

…Do you know that every year on Stalin's birthday in Gulag, all prisoners were gathered together and they had to sign a telegram to Stalin wishing him all the best and so on and so on. Now, of course, I'm not an idiot. This was all staged. But why…

…And I think that our permissivity today, much of it, and already the high genius that I mentioned at the beginning, Stalin, of our modern era, that it's not only that there are prohibitions, but prohibitions themselves are prohibited. It's not only that…

…formally not dominated, no, sorry, they are, but it's somehow prohibited to let's say, it's my dream, we are in Moscow, 36, I'm Stalin. You are, and so on. Okay. Then there is the debate in central committee. One of you stands up and criticizes me.…

…Stalin. You are, and so on. Okay. Then there is the debate in central committee. One of you stands up and criticizes me. Comrade Stalin was wrong and so on. Okay, we know what will happen. The big question next day will be who was the last one Ah,…

…you know, steps up and starts to shout at that guy. Are you crazy? Don't you know that we don't talk about this Stalin, we don't do this here, it's prohibited, you would disappear even earlier. No, no, I'm serious. You see what I mean? It wasn't…

…prohibited, you would disappear even earlier. No, no, I'm serious. You see what I mean? It wasn't simply prohibited to criticize Stalin. It was even more prohibited to publicly announce this prohibition. You have to pretend that, of course, we can't do it…

…It was even more prohibited to publicly announce this prohibition. You have to pretend that, of course, we can't do it just, ah, Stalin is such a genius, why to do it? And I think our permissivity Often functions like that. Another story, sorry to jump…

…journalist recently asked me what kind of society would be your ideal type, my answer was instant, bureaucratic socialism. read Stalin closely. The problem of Stalinism was precisely that democracy was too politicized and never even functioned there. It's a…

…is that he was listening to Hitler already in the early 30s. And he immediately got it, this guy is more dangerous even than Stalin, and so on. So what I'm saying, this statement is doubly wrong, although it sounds so nice. When you don't listen to an…

…say that we are here, central committee in 35 in Moscow. Let's say that one of you is so stupid after the end, I am Stalin of course, I give a report to the central committee, then there is a debate, of course. Okay, one of you stands up and attacks…

…who saw him last alive, of course. But that's still okay. Let's say that another of you then stands up and defends me, Stalin, and attacks that guy, claiming, but are you crazy? Don't you know we don't criticize Stalin here and so on? I can guarantee…

…you then stands up and defends me, Stalin, and attacks that guy, claiming, but are you crazy? Don't you know we don't criticize Stalin here and so on? I can guarantee you he will disappear even sooner. You see the point. It was not only prohibited to…

…on? I can guarantee you he will disappear even sooner. You see the point. It was not only prohibited to criticize Stalin. it was absolutely prohibited to announce, pronounce publicly this prohibition. And every legal system, it's not just Stalinism, plays in…

…it, I'm sorry. Like, Stalinism works like this. Imagine, it's my golden dream, I'm sorry. Imagine we are in Moscow, 37. I'm Comrade Stalin, you are the Central Committee. I give a big speech. You applaud as it is your duty. Then we have a debate. One…

…up and attacking the first guy. Tell him, but are you crazy? Don't you know that here we are not allowed to criticize Stalin? You don't do this. I claim he, the second guy, would have disappeared even faster. You see the point. It wasn't only prohibited…

…I claim he, the second guy, would have disappeared even faster. You see the point. It wasn't only prohibited to criticize Stalin. It was absolutely even more prohibited to publicly say that it's prohibited to criticize Stalin. So all the system functioned…

…wasn't only prohibited to criticize Stalin. It was absolutely even more prohibited to publicly say that it's prohibited to criticize Stalin. So all the system functioned in, so that's my point. With every social symbolic system, you never simply have rules…

…even if reactionaries take power there, we should give all of them freedom. Which is why it's important to know already in 22, Stalin attacked Lenin as bourgeois liberal nationalist because of this. And this is why it made me a little bit sad when I saw…

…so on. It's Bolsheviks in 1920s that established Ukraine as a full nation with their own language, universities, literature, and then Stalin counterattack in early 30s. So precisely as a Leninist, I would say, I don't know in detail the situation, but I…

…modern life. First it was Ivan Grozny, Ivan the Terrible, then it was Peter the Great, at the end it was basically Stalin. So for them, Bolshevism, communism, is not authentically Russian, but it's a brutal Western modernization. And you see, so again, I…

…want you to open it up in a better way. Because I'm personally from Georgia, the country... Ah, Georgia. Yeah, yeah. country of Stalin that we don't like. Stalin, Beria. My friend from there is a nephew of Beria, but that's another story. I would be…

…in a better way. Because I'm personally from Georgia, the country... Ah, Georgia. Yeah, yeah. country of Stalin that we don't like. Stalin, Beria. My friend from there is a nephew of Beria, but that's another story. I would be ashamed of these people.…

…That's why I always claim that we are approaching a kind of a post-democratic system, but that it will not be a new Hitler, Stalin with dignity. It will be more kind of a Berlusconi type. You know, the guy who, I mean, I spoke with some journalist…

…Because of the predominant ideology today, this is almost impossible. No master wants to be openly a master. We have secret masters. Stalin began with this. It's deeply significant that Stalin acted as even a moderate one among and so on, but it's a nice…

…almost impossible. No master wants to be openly a master. We have secret masters. Stalin began with this. It's deeply significant that Stalin acted as even a moderate one among and so on, but it's a nice detail. Privately, his inner circle called him, if…

…know it. And this is extremely important. For example, this is the importance about Khrushchev's 20th Congress speech condemnation of Stalin. Why did it get such a shocking impact? Did anyone learn anything really new there? Absolutely not, I claim. Everyone…

…cigarettes now? It's naive, but I love it. You know, you totally use the past to deliver a message. And I love Comrade Stalin when he was at his high point, for example, when in 26, 27, Nadezhda Krupskaya, Lenin's wife, for a brief moment, sided with…

…high point, for example, when in 26, 27, Nadezhda Krupskaya, Lenin's wife, for a brief moment, sided with the left-wing opposition against Stalin. And it's well known that Stalin told her You should think what you are doing. If you'll be going on like…

…26, 27, Nadezhda Krupskaya, Lenin's wife, for a brief moment, sided with the left-wing opposition against Stalin. And it's well known that Stalin told her You should think what you are doing. If you'll be going on like this, we will have to discover…

…even if you have to put some pressure on your leftist circles and silently work. My God, Syriza should learn from Stalin. What can they do? They can penetrate the state apparatus with their people. You know, they can lay the organizational foundation,…

…should beat women. But you're not against real wisdom. Well, that doesn't exist. There is no real wisdom. Real wisdom is like democratic Stalin, you know. What do you want? There is no real wisdom as such as this cheating. But this you should learn from…

…of this is extremely limited, I think. Because what always fascinated me is how if you take even the greatest criminals, Hitler, Stalin, whatever, murderers, I'm quite sure that each of them will be able to tell you a very authentic inner story and so…

…every year on Stalin's birthday all prisoners in a Gulag camp were gathered and had to sign each of them a telegram to comrade Stalin wishing him all the best and so on and so on. Now, of course, I'm not an idiot. I'm not claiming they really meant…

…Germany. It never happened. My point is that precisely in these perverse details, every prisoner still sending a telegram to Stalin or this confession, this is what makes Stalinism part of Enlightenment movement, that we all participate in it. And again,…

…You notice for me one argument for Stalinism. that it had dissidents. Dissidents also in the sense of inner party dissidents. Stalin all the time had to fight from Trotsky to others who reproached him for, you betrayed the true greatness of communist…

…this Trotskyist dream. If only Lenin were to survive three, four years more and made the pact with Trotsky, there would be no Stalin, we would have what? A kind of a happy social democracy or what? No, I think the tragedy was authentic. I really don't…

…like to use, a fictional example. Let's say we are in Moscow, 1935. Let's say, to be modest, you are a central committee, I am Stalin. Somebody has to be. I give a big speech, you applaud, you applaud, I applaud, and so on. Then we have a debate. One…

…and starts to shout at this first guy who attacked me. Are you crazy? We don't do this here. We don't attack Comrade Stalin. I claim the second guy would disappear even faster. You see the point. It wasn't only prohibited to criticize Stalin. It was…

…Comrade Stalin. I claim the second guy would disappear even faster. You see the point. It wasn't only prohibited to criticize Stalin. It was even more prohibited to publicly announce this prohibition. It's not only that Stalin was a master, but if you…

…point. It wasn't only prohibited to criticize Stalin. It was even more prohibited to publicly announce this prohibition. It's not only that Stalin was a master, but if you say this, you were wrong. Well, you disappeared or whatever. So this paradox I find…

…far as I know, Stalinist Communist Party. By Stalinist, I really mean Stalinist. They still reprint the collected works of Stalin, which is their sacred literature, and even, for example, their enemy is not Gorbachev, their enemy is Khrushchev, who betrayed…

…is his birthday. Ah, today? Yeah. No, I usually, in my mind, I rather celebrate, wasn't it a week ago or when, when Stalin died? Okay, let's drop this. Thanks for reminding me. Who sent you, Jacqueline Miller, to provoke me here? I'll put you a spirit.…

…did at me today, so go next window here, next building, biographer of, you know, writes three, six volumes, a new biography of Stalin. We focused on that in that New York Public Library debate, and that's the big problem of how to reach Stalinism. Can…

…York Public Library debate, and that's the big problem of how to reach Stalinism. Can we really say if there had been no Stalin, someone else would have done it. So as if there was a general necessity of someone like Stalin, so if not Stalin, another…

…there had been no Stalin, someone else would have done it. So as if there was a general necessity of someone like Stalin, so if not Stalin, another guy would have played this role. Or is it that Stalin's personality, his contingent personality, played…

…Stalin, someone else would have done it. So as if there was a general necessity of someone like Stalin, so if not Stalin, another guy would have played this role. Or is it that Stalin's personality, his contingent personality, played such a strong role…

…would have played this role. Or is it that Stalin's personality, his contingent personality, played such a strong role that if not Stalin, then at least it would have been much different. It's interesting how, although this guy caught him, you see, this is…

…redeeming points. One is that he accepts, rather surprisingly for an anti-communist, the second version. He thinks that without Stalin, probably a much more technocratic, almost pro-Gorbachev line would have prevailed, because as we know in last years, Lenin,…

…it's the imposition of a brutal Western program of modernization, and if anything there are good elements for this. What Stalin drives with forced collectivization, etc., is precisely to do an extremely accelerated modernization. But what I... Okay, I already…

…doesn't matter when you said the limit. For some it's already late Engels, his companion, for others it's Lenin, for yet others it's Stalin and so on. But I think that you cannot play this game so easily. There has to be something already in Marx…

…For them it was the idea, you know. So now comes the question. I think I already mentioned this even to you. When Stalin was asked in 1929, can he define the figure of ideal Bolshevik? Maybe I already used this here, I'm sorry. You know what…

…couple of words about what I tried to do and then the questions. So it's kind of silly to write yet another book about Stalin. Don't we already know the story? Don't we already have as many Stalin books as we need? After all, I understand from Tony…

…it's kind of silly to write yet another book about Stalin. Don't we already know the story? Don't we already have as many Stalin books as we need? After all, I understand from Tony Marks that there are limits to the storage under Bryant Park. And some…

…a little bit, to open up to the full sweep of history, Russian history and global history. So this is not a book about Stalin in history. This is actually a book about history or about Russian power in the world and then Stalin's power in Russia. So,…

…Russian power in the world and then Stalin's power in Russia. So, for example, there's a full chapter on World War I, but Stalin didn't do anything in World War I. But without World War I, he could have never gotten anywhere near the seat of power.…

…Second point, I'm really honored to be here with you because That's the type of book I think we, who are all fascinated by Stalin, were waiting for. First, I would like to begin, if I may improvise a little bit, with the feature you mentioned at the…

…address this obvious big question, was the so-called Stalinist system a deeper, I hate this terminology, orthodox Marxist, historical necessity with Stalin, but if not Stalin, then there could have been another guy, or And if to what extent it was something…

…question, was the so-called Stalinist system a deeper, I hate this terminology, orthodox Marxist, historical necessity with Stalin, but if not Stalin, then there could have been another guy, or And if to what extent it was something the Stalin system, we…

…necessity with Stalin, but if not Stalin, then there could have been another guy, or And if to what extent it was something the Stalin system, we know, that depended on the contingent fact that Stalin was the one who took over. Now, on the one hand, I…

…been another guy, or And if to what extent it was something the Stalin system, we know, that depended on the contingent fact that Stalin was the one who took over. Now, on the one hand, I hope you would agree We cannot put everything on Stalin because…

…fact that Stalin was the one who took over. Now, on the one hand, I hope you would agree We cannot put everything on Stalin because if nothing else, there must have been a certain structure of power so that it was possible for a guy like Stalin to…

…Stalin because if nothing else, there must have been a certain structure of power so that it was possible for a guy like Stalin to take over in the first place. But then I always distrusted this simplistic view shared by some Trotskyists and others that…

…exclusively based upon those things because many factors are at play here. State to state relations, geopolitics, the international system. So Stalin had the idea that small countries that had used to have been part of the Russian Empire were not sovereign.…

…Stalin's desk and that he marked with his blue or red pencil. So that's a big factor. And we can't explain the Stalin phenomenon, we can't explain Russia today without the geopolitics. And then, of course, there was the fact that they were communists,…

…capitalism. It was Aufhebung, transcendence of capitalism. And they believed this. It's clear from the internal documents that, yes, Stalin was concerned about power, yes, his personal power was critically important, but not alone. He was a true believer,…

…would know as the Swedish social democratic model or the European social democratic model. This was not Lenin and this was not Stalin. They were playing for keeps and that mattered. But the final point to answer your question, after you take into account…

…they thought it would be a catastrophe if he tried. And it was a catastrophe. They were correct. The critics of Stalin before he launched collectivization, which is where volume one ends, predicted disaster and their predictions came true. In fact, it was…

…volume one ends, predicted disaster and their predictions came true. In fact, it was worse than their predictions. But the thing about Stalin that differentiated him from the others What made Stalin different was that he did it. He went all the way to the…

…came true. In fact, it was worse than their predictions. But the thing about Stalin that differentiated him from the others What made Stalin different was that he did it. He went all the way to the end. Famine, 5 to 7 million dead from starvation, 40…

…foreign policy, sharing Stalin's views on communism. I don't think somebody else could have done this. And so in a way, Stalin was, it's never necessary to kill tens of millions of people. It's never necessary. That's a criminal act. And progress doesn't…

…millions of people. It's never necessary. That's a criminal act. And progress doesn't come from murder, especially on the scale that Stalin engaged in. But from the communist point of view, there was no other way to eliminate capitalism, markets, and private…

…way to eliminate capitalism, markets, and private property in the countryside. You see, because voluntary collectivization, as of 1928, the year Stalin made his decision, was 1% of the arable land. It was only the peasants who couldn't farm at all who…

…markets and private property, which didn't happen in very many places, and nobody thought it was going to happen here, and Stalin, unfortunately, saw it through. So in that sense, his contribution is colossal. He couldn't have done it without the Communist…

…In what sense? The way you describe it now, it's just that we had this background of communist ideology shared by all, and Stalin was just... going to the end in will and so on yes so okay let's play this counterfactual game without stalin or let's…

…you. It's the sheer stupidity of Trotsky. How, you know, how do you call it? The ground beneath him was cut, Stalin taking over, and Trotsky just arrogantly waiting for the... He really believed in himself. He thought, let that small, stupid Georgian…

…stupid Georgian bureaucrat do his job with one big speech, I'm the hero of civil war. So, again... What would have happened without Stalin? I know it's a stupid question, but it has a certain weight, I think. I don't think it's a stupid question at all.…

…others to your side, reducing your enemies by dividing them, many talents that he proved not to have in the struggle with Stalin. I'll also say that Stalin was a better Leninist than Trotsky. What do we define Leninism here? So Stalin had flexibility.…

…your enemies by dividing them, many talents that he proved not to have in the struggle with Stalin. I'll also say that Stalin was a better Leninist than Trotsky. What do we define Leninism here? So Stalin had flexibility. Lenin was very extreme in his…

…struggle with Stalin. I'll also say that Stalin was a better Leninist than Trotsky. What do we define Leninism here? So Stalin had flexibility. Lenin was very extreme in his principles. He would not compromise his principles except when he needed to…

…flexible, in pursuit of the goals that he would never yield on. Trotsky lacked that type of pragmatism and flexibility. Stalin learned it from Lenin. He was Lenin's pupil, not just in self-styling, but actual, in fact. Moreover, Trotsky constantly tried…

…pamphlets after 1917, after the seizure of power, recalling how he had corrected Lenin when they had had arguments. And Stalin would write pamphlets instead about how he was Lenin's pupil, Lenin's heir, and would faithfully execute everything that Lenin had…

…to Lenin's equal or Lenin's better, and this ability to retreat, tactically retreat, or go sideways when the frontal path was closed, Stalin learned, as I said, this kind of tactics from Lenin, and therefore, in a way, Stalin was a better Leninist than…

…sideways when the frontal path was closed, Stalin learned, as I said, this kind of tactics from Lenin, and therefore, in a way, Stalin was a better Leninist than Trotsky was. But what would have happened had Stalin died or had there been no Stalin? the…

…tactics from Lenin, and therefore, in a way, Stalin was a better Leninist than Trotsky was. But what would have happened had Stalin died or had there been no Stalin? the regime as it was in the nineteen twenties was a single-party dictatorship industry…

…a way, Stalin was a better Leninist than Trotsky was. But what would have happened had Stalin died or had there been no Stalin? the regime as it was in the nineteen twenties was a single-party dictatorship industry was owned by the state And in the…

…They vanished. And so this problem of the regime's fate, the revolution's fate in the 1920s was clear to them all. Now, Stalin built a personal dictatorship within the dictatorship. This was an act of unbelievable skill that the book devotes a great deal…

…dictatorship within the dictatorship. This was an act of unbelievable skill that the book devotes a great deal of attention to. Now, Stalin was no genius. He made many mistakes. He had no understanding of fascism, for example, which was a big thing to get…

…inherited that position after Lenin died in January 1924. He was a very powerful, effective manager and a smart politician. And Stalin relied on him to run the economy all throughout the 20s. And Rykov was not removed, even though Bukharin was removed.…

…relied on him to run the economy all throughout the 20s. And Rykov was not removed, even though Bukharin was removed. Stalin still had to rely on Rykov. Rykov chaired the Politburo meetings because the head of the government, by tradition from Lenin,…