Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union for over three decades, remains one of the most controversial figures in 20th-century history. His name is synonymous with brutal repression, mass starvation, and a pervasive culture of fear. One of the most frequently asked questions about this dictator is stark and chilling: How Many People Did Stalin Kill? While pinpointing an exact number remains a challenge for historians, the consensus points to a death toll in the millions, potentially tens of millions. New perspectives, such as those presented in historian Norman Naimark’s book Stalin’s Genocides, argue that Stalin’s actions should be categorized as genocide, broadening our understanding of the scale and nature of his atrocities.
Stalin’s Reign of Terror: A Numbers Overview
Estimating the precise number of Stalin’s victims is a complex and politically charged task. Soviet archives, while now more accessible, were long shrouded in secrecy, and the regime itself actively falsified records. Furthermore, deaths resulted from a variety of causes under Stalin’s rule, including:
- Executions: Direct orders for execution were commonplace, particularly during the Great Purge of the late 1930s. Order No. 00447, mentioned by Naimark, targeted “socially harmful elements” and led to mass executions.
- Forced Labor Camps (Gulags): Millions were sent to the Gulag system, where brutal conditions, starvation, and disease led to countless deaths.
- Famines: Stalin’s policies of forced collectivization, particularly in Ukraine, resulted in devastating famines, such as the Holodomor, causing millions of deaths from starvation.
- Deportations and Massacres: Entire populations were forcibly deported, and massacres were carried out against perceived enemies of the state.
Historians have offered various estimates of the total death toll under Stalin, ranging from around 10 million to significantly higher figures exceeding 20 million. Some estimates even reach 40 million or more when considering indirect deaths due to long-term hardship and reduced birth rates. It is crucial to understand that these figures are estimates, but they consistently point to a catastrophe of immense proportions.
Alt text: A somber image from the 1930s depicting a kulak family dispossessed and standing outside their home in Ukraine, highlighting the human cost of Stalin’s collectivization policies.
Genocide Beyond Definition: Naimark’s Argument for Stalin’s Crimes
Norman Naimark, a respected historian of Eastern Europe, argues in Stalin’s Genocides that Stalin’s actions constitute genocide, even when considering the traditional definition. The 1948 UN Convention on Genocide, shaped by the Holocaust, defines genocide as acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. Naimark contends that this definition is too narrow and should be expanded to include social and political groups, which were explicitly targeted by Stalin.
Naimark focuses on several key episodes under Stalin’s rule to support his argument:
- Dekulakization: The campaign against the kulaks, wealthier peasants, aimed to eliminate them as a social class. This involved mass killings, deportations, and dispossession, directly targeting a social group.
- The Holodomor: The Ukrainian famine of the early 1930s, while affecting all Ukrainian peasants, is argued by Naimark to have genocidal aspects due to the deliberate policies that exacerbated the famine and prevented aid, targeting Ukrainians as a distinct group.
- Order No. 00447: This order authorized the mass execution and exile of “socially harmful elements” and “enemies of the people,” which Naimark identifies as targeting political and social categories.
Naimark emphasizes that these events should not be seen as isolated incidents but as part of a systematic and purposeful campaign of elimination against specific social and political groups. He argues that Stalin intended to destroy these groups, fitting a broader definition of genocide.
The Scale of the Atrocities: Comparing Stalin to Hitler
Naimark draws a significant parallel between Stalin and Hitler, labeling both as “genocidaires.” While Hitler’s genocide against Jews is widely recognized and documented, Naimark argues that Stalin’s atrocities, though often less discussed in genocidal terms, were comparable in their scale and systematic nature.
Both leaders employed ideologies that dehumanized and demonized entire groups of people, labeling them as enemies to be eradicated for the sake of a utopian vision. Both regimes utilized vast state apparatuses to carry out mass killings, deportations, and repression. While the specific groups targeted differed, the underlying intent to eliminate perceived enemies and reshape society through violence was tragically similar.
Alt text: A chilling photograph from 1932 Ukraine showing grain being shipped away from a collective farm during the Holodomor, symbolizing the state-orchestrated famine and its devastating impact on the rural population.
Why Does the Death Toll Matter? Legacy and Remembrance
Understanding how many people Stalin killed is not just an academic exercise in historical accounting. It is crucial for several reasons:
- Honoring the Victims: Acknowledging the immense scale of suffering under Stalin’s regime is essential to honor the memory of the victims and their families.
- Historical Reckoning: Facing the truth about Stalin’s crimes is necessary for Russia and other post-Soviet states to come to terms with their past and build healthier national identities. Naimark contrasts Germany’s open acknowledgment of Nazi crimes with Turkey’s denial of the Armenian Genocide, suggesting the German model as a better path.
- Preventing Future Atrocities: Understanding the mechanisms and ideologies that enabled Stalin’s mass killings can help prevent similar atrocities from happening again. Recognizing genocide in its broader forms, as Naimark advocates, is crucial for vigilance and prevention.
While we may never know the exact number of Stalin’s victims, the available evidence and historical analysis, including Naimark’s compelling arguments, paint a picture of a regime responsible for the deaths of millions. Acknowledging this immense human cost and the potential genocidal nature of Stalin’s actions is a vital step in understanding 20th-century history and safeguarding against future horrors.
Alt text: Portrait of historian Norman Naimark, author of “Stalin’s Genocides,” a book that re-examines Stalin’s atrocities through the lens of genocide studies and broader definitions of the term.
