Dictators are always awful. To forcefully take control of a country and murder your political opponents is quite a commitment. So from a conqueror notorious for his rape and murder, to a man who killed up to 70 million people. This is a list of the most nefarious dictators of all time.
5) Stalin:
Stalin used to priest, if you can believe that
Stalin would arrest or kill someone for something as trivial as taking time off work. He made any breaks or time offof work illegal. The deaths caused by Stalin are estimated to be between 2.6million, and 10 million. Stalin started a campaign called the great purge, where he killed any one who opposed him. This included the murder of anyone intellectual, whether they were currently opposing him or not. He also created a five year economic plan which failed completely and caused a mass famine leading to the deaths of millions, many due to starvation. If anyone opposed him or didn’t want to follow his regime, they were killed or sent to Nazi concentration camps. Overall Stalin was responsible for 23 million deaths.
4) Genghis Khan:
All 2000 of his funeral guests were killed, to keep the location of his grave secret
Genghis Khan owned one of the biggest empires known to man, measuring 12 million square miles. It was the largest continuous empire in history. He was believed to be an invincible god, by his followers, before he died. Nobody knows exactly how he died. Genghis Khan slaughtered an enormous amount of enemies, killing 11% of the world’s population at the time. He would kill anyone without remorse, including woman, and children. It’s estimated he cause 40 million deaths. If a conquered city ever disobeyed his orders every single person it would be slaughtered.
3) Leopold II of Belgium:
Leopold reigned as a dictator for 44 years.
Leopold was responsible for 2-12 million deaths while in power. He became King of Belgium, and established the “Congo free state”. Leopold claimed he was the rightful king of the Congo and should therefore be king, and 14 countries including the USA agreed with him, on the premise that he would treat his citizens well. He completely ignored this, and forced them into labour. Leopold became immensely rich during his reign because of slave labour, and his dealings in rubber and ivory. Effective enslavement of the native population, beatings, widespread killing, and mutilation were just some of the methods he used to keep people in line.
2) Hitler:
It has been discovered that Hitler was on a multitude of class A drugs while giving his speeches
Hitler is the world’s most famous racist, killing 17 million people. He is known for instigating World War II, the worst the war to ever take place. Hitler gained power through dubious means. He first tried to take it through force, and when that failed, he gained it through Political means. Hitler had complete control over Germany, with spies every. These spies were known as little Hitlers. German citizens daren’t say a word against Hitler, or fascism even among friends because they couldn’t trust anyone. If you said something as simple as “I’m not so sure about Hitlers latest policy” You could find yourself being awoken in the night by the Gestapo. Hitler is famous for the holocaust, where he killed six million Jews, in an attempt to kill them all, this was known as the final solution.
1) Mao Zedong:
Mao with his fourth wife
Mao has killed more people than anyone ever. His death count is estimated to be between 49-78 million deaths. Mao was the head of a communist party who took power, and created the People’s Republic of China. Mao turned China into one of the world’s most powerful countries, and many people still respect him for this. Mao was willing to get his way by any means necessary, and used violence whenever he deemed it necessary. Mao had many failed campaigns, one being the hundred flower campaign, where he let people express their opinions on his policies, and then imprisoned anyone who didn’t like his policies. An even bigger failure was the great leap forward campaign, where he attempted to make a century’s worth of advancement in only a few decades. This backfired and a huge famine took place killing 40 million citizens. Mao lost after this, for a while, and then regained through support from young people. Young citizens weren’t old enough to remember the mass famine that had taken place. After taking power he got his young supporters to star a red army, and kill all the “undesirables” in the country. Causing the death of yet more millions.