Soviet Russia and China were nominally a democracies, but both were controlled by individuals without checks. Stallin and Mau respectively. Again, what history books are you reading that is saying otherwise?

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 6 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Soviet Russia and China were nominally a democracies, but both were controlled by individuals without checks.

Do you have any proof of this? Historical evidence is much the opposite, as the sources I have linked show you.

Stallin and Mau respectively.

Stalin was not without checks, nor did he control the entire USSR, according to historical evidence including internal CIA memos. Mao was forced out of power due to his failures with the Cultural Revolution, directly proving that checks not only existed, but were used.

Again, what history books are you reading that is saying otherwise?

The ones I have linked.

[–] JohnDClay@sh.itjust.works -1 points 2 months ago

Do you agree that Mau and Stallin extensively purged political opponent?

[–] JohnDClay@sh.itjust.works -4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

The book you linked seemed to be a explicitly Communist reexamining. I wouldn't really go to that for unbiased history. But anyway.

Do you agree that Stalin and Mau created cults of personality?

[–] OurToothbrush@lemmy.ml 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

There is no such thing as unbiased

[–] JohnDClay@sh.itjust.works -3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Do you agree that Stalin and Mau created cults of personality?

[–] OurToothbrush@lemmy.ml 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Wikipedia has a capitalism supporting bias and says this

Like Lenin, Stalin acted modestly and unassumingly in public. John Gunther in 1940 described the politeness and good manners to visitors of "the most powerful single human being in the world".[6] In the 1930s Stalin made several speeches that diminished the importance of individual leaders and disparaged the cult forming around him, painting such a cult as un-Bolshevik; instead, he emphasized the importance of broader social forces, such as the working class.[33][34] Stalin's public actions seemed to support his professed disdain of the cult: Stalin often edited reports of Kremlin receptions, cutting applause and praise aimed at him and adding applause for other Soviet leaders.[33] Walter Duranty stated that Stalin edited a phrase in a draft of an interview by him of the dictator from "inheritor of the mantle of Lenin" to "faithful servant of Lenin".[6]

A banner in 1934 was to feature Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin, but Stalin had his name removed from it, yet by 1938 he was more than comfortable with the banner featuring his name.[35] Still, in 1936, Stalin banned renaming places after him.[36] In some memoirs Molotov claimed that Stalin had resisted the cult of personality, but soon came to be comfortable with it.[37]

The Finnish communist Arvo Tuominen reported a sarcastic toast proposed by Stalin himself at a New Year's Party in 1935, in which he said: "Comrades! I want to propose a toast to our patriarch, life and sun, liberator of nations, architect of socialism [he rattled off all the appellations applied to him in those days] – Josef Vissarionovich Stalin, and I hope this is the first and last speech made to that genius this evening."[38] In the beginning of 1938, Nikolai Yezhov proposed renaming Moscow to "Stalinodar".[39] The question was raised at a session of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet. Stalin, however, reacted entirely negatively to this idea and, for this reason, the city retained the name Moscow.[39]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Stalin%27s_cult_of_personality#:~:text=Stalin's%20opinion%20of%20his%20cult,-Like%20Lenin%2C%20Stalin&text=In%20the%201930s%20Stalin%20made,such%20as%20the%20working%20class.

[–] JohnDClay@sh.itjust.works -1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Those are all Stalin's public statements. It looks good to downplay your cult. But he still undoubtedly had one.

Lennan for example seemed to pretty strongly oppose a cult of personality forming around him. But Stallin didn't, just some humble public statements.

[–] OurToothbrush@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Oh, do you have private statements or writings where he was secretly supportive of it? Or are you operating entirely divorced from historical research?

Also:

Stalin often edited reports of Kremlin receptions, cutting applause and praise aimed at him and adding applause for other Soviet leaders.[33]

Ignoring this bit i see

[–] Alsephina@lemmy.ml 6 points 2 months ago

controlled by individuals without checks

Other than the sources Cowbee linked, @Awoo@hexbear.net and @Alaskaball@hexbear.net also compiled a list of transcripts of times Stalin tried to resign from his post.