I believe in socialism, but I feel Stalin shouldn’t be idolised due to things like the Gulag.
I would like more people to become socialist, but I feel not condemning Stalin doesn’t help the cause.
I’ve tried to have a constructieve conversation about this, but I basically get angry comments calling me stupid for believing he did atrocious things.
That’s not how you win someone over.
I struggle to believe the Gulag etc. Never happened, and if it happened I firmly believe Stalin should be condemned.
You specifically said that him resigning was something you wanted him to do. He tried 4 times. Would you have had him abandon his post? Absurd. You can’t have your cake and eat it too here, either resigning doesn’t actually matter to you or you would have rather had him put people in danger by abandoning his post and going AWOL.
Secondly, he tried to have his position eliminated. He was of the belief that it was superfluous, and that too was rejected. When his resignation was rejected several times, he countered with the idea of eliminating his position altogether, citing previous times where no such position was in place. This, too, was rejected. Read the transcript of December 19, 1927, where Stalin makes the case of its redundancy as opportunism and opposition had already been weeded out in his eyes, and specifically states that his power can be spread to those under him and nothing would fundamentally change other than a removal of what he calls “distortions.”
We have archival evidence that what you proposed he could have done, but didn’t, was actually tried by him and rejected. He wasn’t a dictator with absolute control, but an elected official. He was no saint, but the idea that he didn’t hate his position flies in the face of him outright telling everyone that he lacked the strength to continue and would rather live out the rest of his days in a quiet part of the country doing menial party work. Either you reject the archival evidence, or you reframe your thinking.
At the end of the day of course the solution to forming the most accurate opinion of Stalin is to study Stalin.
I’ll point though that apparently my stance has some merit since Stalin himself with his “What was I to do?” is at the very least considering his situation as problematic.
As a last contribution to the discussion, which I’ve been glad to take part of and that I’m grateful you invested time and effort in, even in recent time we have instances of head of states that ultimately grow exhausted with their role and honestly desire to step down. That’s not always possible, especially when so much of the state is directly tied to their person (kings, for example), and does not prove they previously chased, and/or held, that position with selfless disposition.
Thanks again for the thoughtful and well sourced contribution.