... Joseph Stalin, as dictator of the USSR from the 1930's to 1952, presented an iron facade of brutal repression . His successor, Nikita Khrushchev, showed himself to be a more accessible, even jovial head of state. Yet many saw this more human face of Communism as a front covering an aggressive and dangerous desire for world domination.
He could turn these two faces on and off like a light switch. He was the peaceful old Grandpa, one minute, and the crazy Bolshevik killer, the next. He selected his image to fit the effect he wanted to have on his audience. He was a masterful actor.
ReplyDeletePutin is a two-bit ham, by comparison.