History Buffs: The Death of Stalin

[@samcnut]

Stalins son enters the room Literally everyone: Oh no This movie is gold

[@rangarolls6018]

SamCnut

[@CertifieLoverBoy]

movie name plz

[@bubbeleld8751]

BEAHAPPYLOVE MV literally in the title of this yt video

[@CertifieLoverBoy]

@@bubbeleld8751 damn I sorry for asking a question....

[@Roma_eterna]

SamCnut “ you’re not even a person! You’re a testicle!”

[@Dlúith]

“She stormed off, locked herself in her room, and shot herself in the head” “Svetlana would inherit her mothers gentle nature”

[@pocket_historian1807]

Yes

[@marcusgarvey8388]

Seems legit

[@SheepDog-hj4jx]

Don't make me laugh bro *silently chuckles in the corners*

[@doctadeath2020]

It's commonly presumed she didn't shoot herself in the head. Stalin had a soldier go to her room and do it for her.

[@Luke-ho9xi]

@@pocket_historian1807 hungry. 4t nba. B

[@jonp72]

I also found it funny that Steve Buscemi's natural Brooklyn accent resonated perfectly with his portrayal of Khrushchev's boorishness and lack of refinement.

[@thearea51raidwasboring]

Steve Buscemi really made Khrushchev for me. Movie wouldn't be the same without him.

[@nathanielleack4842]

I mean with only three years of formal schooling what can you expect?

[@jjturner4424]

I find it refreshing in a history pic, given that they always use English accents for historical characters. Khrushchev didn’t speak with an English accent, and the film is a fictional account anyhow, so why should he not speak in a Brooklyn accent.

[@nemrody7828]

@@jjturner4424 if it were to be fully historical they would all speak Russian. But to be honest their specific English accents are the perfect counterparts to the real life accents of the characters involved, reflecting their background

[@iblame_darian]

@@nemrody7828 It be funny if Stalin spoke in a Southern Accent, ya know, 'cause Georgia

[@aidancristoforo5530]

Berria's death, begging for his life in tears and screams of fear, is one of the most cathartic scenes ive witnessed. Knowing this evil man, who imposed evil everywhere he went, was reduced to worse dishonor than many of his victims (some may have not begged for their lives but stood by their decisions and faced their sentence with equanimity)

[@KnifeWoundGirl]

Unfortunately for you, that isn’t true he was put on trial, found guilty and executed (idk if it’s in the video or not been a while since I’ve watched it

[@zer-zd4gc]

​@@KnifeWoundGirl Actually stories of berias execution basically all mention the fact he begged for his life just before his execution

[@KnifeWoundGirl]

@@zer-zd4gc interesting, thank you!

[@thejason755]

@@zer-zd4gcand wasn’t his trial in the movie basically barely exaggerated from his actual show-trial?

[@brucefreadrich1188]

@@thejason755 In the movie his trial is a bunch of politicians and military men shouting (justified) abuse and accusations at him in a barn before taking him outside (barely clear of the door) and shooting him unceremoniously in the head.

[@Frserthegreenengine]

She: "Come over!" Stalin: "I can't, I'm sending people to gulag!" She: "My parents aren't home" Stalin: "I know!"

[@Grandpa_72]

Damn Lmao

[@okok...ok.]

Holy fuck

[@Turntapp]

Not original

[@pranishchhetri777]

It's said *Our* parents in communist Russia

[@thebigs6405]

OMG it took me a while to get your joke but when I finally realized I fucking laughed so much I actually spit out my Horchata! XD LMAO

[@ray.shoesmith]

One inaccuracy you didn't mention was that Zhukov's uniform actually has fewer decorations on it in the movie than it did in real life

[@jacklucas5908]

If they had dared to put on the actual amount of medals they gave him, people would have laughed it off for being so "unrealistic".

[@GrosvnerMcaffrey]

​@Jack Lucas that happens alot Hacksaw ridge toned down how many people Doss saved because it seems "unrealistic" people need to learn truth is often stranger than fiction

[@iamsinistar8971]

​@@jacklucas5908 Imagine having so many military decorations that people would think it's unrealistic if you showed them all on film.

[@sergeityrrellp3496]

Zhukov wearing his parade uniform everywhere around the clock is much bigger inaccuracy and nobody seem to care about.

[@occam7382]

@@iamsinistar8971, that's how much of a badass Zhukov was.

[@Liam-ly8rv]

One man who Stalin was worried about killing was Marshall Zhukov. While Stalin had him stripped of his command later in 1946, he wasn't brave enough to kill him. Zhukov was incredibly popular in the USSR and abroad. Stalin was in awe and jealous of him. And Zhukov had no problems argue with Stalin openly. Even Stalin had his limits.

[@danzetterstrom7917]

Well he did fuck Germany. Pretty sure he could take a flesh lump in a fucking waistcoat as well.

[@peterf.229]

@@danzetterstrom7917 ha. he could do that blindfolded and hogtied. Zhukov was brilliant on the field. he fought in the northern tier first and then later went south for the southern army. His armies killed more Nazis than anyone else's.

[@somerandomguyfromthebeyond1821]

funny thing is Zhukov became a master in using Stalin's mode, usually by observing Stalin smoking habits at the moment

[@MultiB2D]

You are correct, Zhukov is incredibly popular in little old Mongolia, Zhukov oversaw the Battle of Khalkhin Gol, A battle where the Japanese attacked Mongolia.

[@NinjaAO42]

@@peterf.229 I'd say Zhukov is arguably overrated and there is some discussion as to whether Operation Bagration was a success because Zhukov had minimal involvement in the planning phase. But I don't disagree that he is a badass at heart

[@jaykaufman9782]

One reason "The Death of Stalin" is such a delight is because almost all the cast members are elderly or middle-aged actors -- they are old pros having the time of their lives with the material. Not only does every look, every line turn to gold at their touch, but I get the feeling they were having so much fun, their pure joy comes through as well! And could you imagine how good "The Death of Stalin" would be as a stage production, with these same actors playing their roles night after night, playing with their parts, changing their pace, delivery, emphasis, playing off one another's tiny changes?

[@kenoliver8913]

It was, of course, an award winning stage production originally. In fact if there is one criticism of the film it would be that it LOOKS "stagey". But who cares? Yeah, it looks as though all involved in the film had a good time (none more so than Jason Isaacs), as live stage productions tend to do for their cast for the reasons you said. There's reasons why many famous film actors go back to the stage long after they need the work.

[@jaykaufman9782]

@@kenoliver8913 Thanks, I didn't know this!

[@Helios8170]

Number one line from the movie: "You're not even human! You're a *testicle!* "

[@nothingtoseeheremovealong598]

poor testicle man

[@Baelor-Breakspear]

How old are you? Your not even a person! Your a testicle. 😂 Like what?

[@holdenmcgroin5003]

@@Baelor-Breakspear "you're made mostly of hair!"

[@mrmakrin21]

“HOW OLD ARE YOU?!” “I’m...old” “YOU’RE NOT OLD!” “YOU’RE NOT EVEN A PERSON; YOU’RE A TESTICLE!” “YOU’RE MADE MOSTLY OF HAIR!” Best scene in all of cinema history

[@devynescatell8302]

Stalins son enters the room Literally everyone: Oh no This movie is gold

[@termit5274]

Stalin: Dies. literally everyone in the soviet union: *S V E T L A N A !*

[@BurgiM]

@Alexander Leonard da tovarish!

[@creativename2683]

@Alexander Leonard nice

[@Bruh-hq1hx]

@Alexander Leonard oh huh why?

[@herryis4392]

"How can you plot and running at the same "

[@drartemisa21]

The race begins!

[@MrIgorkap]

My great grandfather actually was a researcher at a university in the USSR who was sent on a research expedition for two weeks. When he came back he found his whole department had been purged and he avoided it only by not being there.

[@PrincessLockette]

What happend to him after that?

[@omarfannoun417]

What happened to him after that event?

[@TheDukeOfDallas]

@@omarfannoun417 probably went on a "life-long research expedition" outside of the USSR.

[@jordanjoestar-turniptruck]

What was his field of study?

[@TheWolfElder]

@@jordanjoestar-turniptruck A field not in Russia.

[@MrHeavy466]

Jason Isaac's Zukhov was such a delight in this movie; he quickly became one of my favorite movie characters in recent memory.

[@davidsigalow7349]

Jason Isaac is a great actor with an incredibly broad range.

[@bakist5540]

great acting although much of his portrayel is innacurate. particularly them saying he was the "head of the soviet army" right after stalins death this was not true as stalin had sent him to a far off post

[@ayelmao1224]

I think that slight inaccuracy is worth it to get the character

[@bakist5540]

@@ayelmao1224 well also his mannerisms aswell are uh very inaccurate. His family was utterly pissed when they saw how he was portrayed in the movie

[@jessmorgan6732]

@@bakist5540 Did anyone ever think of him as anything other than the head of the Red Army after the war?

[@percussionfellow6168]

I'm reminded of the quote, "In Russia, every ten years everything changes, and nothing changes in 200 years."

[@gastonbell108]

Tell a Russian that and get a pile of poorly-translated SUKA BLYAT in reply. Or a fist, if you're in person. Putin has made that country more thuggish, poor and stupid than it was at the falling of the Iron Curtain. As you say, some things never change; Russia is too big and too poor to ever be truly democratic.

[@mwnciboo]

@@gastonbell108 They love suffering, and they love a strong man.

[@Alf763]

@@gastonbell108 democracy just means more tyrants with less accountability

[@kapitan19969838]

In Poland we have something along the lines of: "How incredibly much must things change for everything to stay the same"

[@efxnews4776]

@@kapitan19969838 in Brazil we have a similar quote too: "Brazil is the country of the future and always will be..."

[@samjohnson3287]

"HOW OLD ARE YOU?" "I'm.. Old." "YOU'RE NOT OLD!"

[@3dheadcreeps87]

Sam Johnson “You’re not even a person. You’re a testicle”

[@bingusborgus24us]

Nevermind the fact he looks like he's 20

[@peterf.229]

being honest that guy looked like he was in middle school haha

[@bigpenny3509]

"You're made almost entirely of hair"

[@thesupertsar4473]

@@bigpenny3509 *mostly

[@KC-up7hf]

"You're not a person! You're a testicle!" 10/10 best quote

[@turmuthoer]

Nah, best quote was "That fucker thinks he can take on the red army? I fucked Germany, I think I can take a flesh lump in a fookin' waistcoat."

[@Jsay18]

"HERE'S YOUR FUCKING HARMONY!"

[@rynemcgriffin1752]

K California *”SIT DOWN! DO NOT DEFY ME! SIT YOUR ASS DOWN!”*

[@weldonwin]

"What does a war hero have to do to get some lubrication around here?"

[@shurik121]

@@turmuthoer Basically, every second of Jason Isaacs' Zhukov on screen is comedy gold.

[@americanuscaesar]

Interesting story about Svetlana and Beria. When Stalin was at a meeting, and heard that Beria was alone at his residence with Svetlana, he raced home in his car and threatened to kill Beria if he ever got near Svetlana again (due to his reputation).

[@liliesaregoodfortheliver2954]

Another party member had a similar encounter regarding his daughter and Beria.

[@ob2kenobi388]

_...Based Stalin???_

[@PandaMonium92827]

The fact Stalin even let him stay alive to receive the threat is telling enough. Usually he'd just kill you.

[@joelthorstensson2772]

And, when the guards got to Stalin's house, they found Beria in the room that was literally as far away from Svetlana as humanly possible.

[@ZsuzsannaRednik]

And with a very good reason. Beria was notorious also for carrying out torture in his own home, and then killing the victims or having them killed in his basement. Shortly after the collapse of the USSR, in the early '90s, remains of some seven women and two children were found in the basement of his house, all buried naked (no traces of clothing, or buttons, or zips whatsoever). Beria would often stalk the streets of Moscow in his office car, out to spot young women or children who he found attractive, or had his men do the same for him so he could save the time and effort of acquiring his next victims.

[@NoGamertag11]

Nikita Khrushchev "I’ve been picking out funeral cushions with slim Hitler over there"

[@blatherskite3009]

Classic line in a very funny film :)

[@kylefitz.2639]

"You... you invited the bishops? Who else are we friends with now, did you invite any old Nazis?"

[@MaxwellAerialPhotography]

Ordinary Productions “why in gods ass did you invite the bishops Nikita?” -says a man who once quested for the holy grail.

[@Frostaltered]

I love that the babushka was saying how she lived through Stalin’s reign and the movie wasnt at all offensive to her

[@PandaMonium92827]

I feel most of the people complaining about it are the opposite of her. Nobody was there so they are extra ashamed for some reason. My plumber is about her age from Soviet Ukraine and he thought the movie was brilliant, and he actually lost family members to Cannibal Island!

[@alessiodelcastillo1613]

I'm asking for a Prequel: The Death of Lenin Stalin vs Trotsky

[@stanarian5238]

HighburyAFCSoul That would actually be quite good

[@alessiodelcastillo1613]

Yarn Agnates fr

[@sjsbviufvibwvuspi]

Party memeber: "wheres trotsky, its lenins funeral" Stalin:"I gave that fucker the wrong date"

[@wolfumz]

I've read up on Soviet history, frankly, the political intrigue that went on from 1929-1940 is the most fascinating. Stalin forced his political opponents to willfully concede their power and publicly prostrate themselves before stalin at the seventeenth party Congress in 1932... and even so, he still had like 80% of the congresses delegates murdered. Then, he had his most loyal followers, (the ones who carried out the purge) executed as traitors and terrorists. Reading about what it was like in that era is straight up the most horrifying shit I've ever read.

[@alessiodelcastillo1613]

@@wolfumz Very cool

[@SamButler22]

I love that Jason Isaacs decided to use a Yorkshire accent because Zhukov was known to talk back to Stalin, and Isaacs thought Yorkshiremen were the bluntest people he could think of

[@loyalpiper]

Anyone who's seen sharpe can agree

[@davidberrell4725]

Off t gulag fo thee love, int that bad? Bit like Butlins😂

[@scottvelez3154]

He would talk back to Stalin? I wonder how he managed to fight in war, while carrying around big steel balls.

[@letsburn00]

It's also a case of the accent is "working class" and matched mentally the cultural perspective. Stalin himself had a fairly intense accent, even while running the USSR.

[@filipnielsen1000]

@@scottvelez3154Zhukov was also known to be one of the few people Stalin truly feared. As in he feared even killing him

[@SmoothOperator739]

“HOW OLD ARE YOU” “I’m old.”

[@pocket_historian1807]

You not old your not even a person your a testicle

[@ghazghkullthraka9714]

YOU’RE DEAD!

[@hoangho6781]

Lol

[@kayzeaza]

I love how he’s so quick to say it

[@winterknight4307]

"YOU'RE NOT OLD! YOU'RE NOT EVEN A PERSON! YOU'RE A TESTICLE!"

[@billrhodes5603]

"It takes a brave man to be a coward in the Red Army" -Stalin

[@theguythatcould]

Ironic, given that he was the biggest coward of all.

[@Caesar88888]

@@theguythatcould no Stalin wasnt coward, he used to rob banks in imperial Russia

[@nothingtoseeheremovealong598]

AjitaDas399 what an honorable man he was

[@Caesar88888]

@@nothingtoseeheremovealong598 he wasnt good man, but he definetely had balls of steel

[@michaelkaminski1166]

@@theguythatcould When the Germans were approaching Moscow, Stalin refused to flee the city.

[@leprechaunbutreallyjustamidget]

It warms my heart knowing that Stalin died alone and scared in a puddle of his own making.

[@gazelle8431]

He died in a pool of indignity

[@rynemcgriffin1752]

Just like his victims, now that’s irony

[@carteriffic1681]

Lol.

[@BenHopkins1000]

Superman just gave him the laser eye…

[@rynemcgriffin1752]

@@BenHopkins1000 Naw that’s too quick

[@Rex-qf7en]

The best line in the movie is where Zhukov tells his men to shoot the guy who just walks in the room as a joke. It empitomized the film as a whole.

[@pinchevulpes]

*”oh for fucks sake!”* 💀

[@ilikecheese4518]

the best part that you may have overlooked is those guys are the same guys he was talking to during his introduction scene. the guy who he said he would ride raw if he was stuck in a frock

[@cmurphy0707]

That was a deleted scene but man I wish they kept it.

[@lonestarbug]

Nikolai Bulganin, Minister of Defense.

[@bananawaltz8807]

I haven’t see a comment for this so here it goes: Stalin knew of Beria’s many rape accounts, and was once horrified to realize his daughter was with Beria. When he realized it, he immediately phoned her to never be alone with him. Stalin was afraid of someone (but mostly because he doesn’t want his daughter raped).

[@MyH3ntaiGirl]

@Dmitry Terek even a thief ain't dumb enough to steal right next to a police officer

[@theplaybunnyarcade3375]

@Dmitry Terek to be fair, there's a bit of a difference between "my daughter is willingly being a slut" and "some creep cornered her and raped her" It's slightly odd to me that you didn't see the difference already?

[@makisxatzimixas2372]

@@theplaybunnyarcade3375 Both of which he answered to. Are you sure you ain't low-key virtue signaling?

[@meh92082]

Stalin was afraid of nearly everybody. He was paranoid everyone was out to get him so he killed everyone for no reason.

[@Alf763]

My favourite Stalin quote was to Hitler “you have Himmler, we have Beria”

[@drby0788]

"All those in favor?!." "Carried?." "U....nanimously, great!."

[@drartemisa21]

My stomach hurt so much during that scene from laughing

[@MichaelBrodie68]

Studied Soviet economic history at Uni. Yes, this scene in particular absolutely cracked me up. Very funny film. And, knowing the history, very dark humour.

[@alecduquette7500]

"You're not even a person, you're a testicle!"... I've found my new favorite insult

[@mistressmozart]

one of my favourite moments in the film!

[@yanivgalmor1747]

@Floyd1504 its not suopposed to be

[@drakashrakenburgproduction5369]

@Floyd1504 pretentious loser

[@SwfanredLotr]

"Like a testicle with teeth" - Wade Wilson

[@peterbockholm3176]

I read the book "20 letters to a friend" by Svetlana Alliluyeva (Stalin's daughter) some months before the film came out. I haven't seen anything that indicates that the writers based the script on her book, but they sure did read it and took a lot of notes. Her book backs up most of what happens in the movie. She also speaks fondly of her father as a parent, that came as quite a surprise to me. The book also gives an inside look at Beria, whom she hated intensely. Not only because he was pure evil but also because in the last ten years or so of Stalin's life he manipulated Stalin for his own agenda. There have been some years since then but I remember being amazed about how accurate the film actually was, and still being a great comedy.

[@scottvelez3154]

He manipulated Stalin? Dude either had balls as big as Russia itself or Stalin was losing his marbles.

[@chrislane8466]

Thank you. I'll take this as a recommendation, it's on my list.

[@peterbockholm3176]

@@scottvelez3154 Both, it's quite clear in the book. She hated Beria not only for being a disgusting human being but also for how he manipulated her aging and weakened father for personal gains. Stalin wasn't the man that he used to be in the years before his death

[@EvaEstera]

That reminds me of the urban legend from my country "The black ambulance" witch apparently steals children to take they'r organs. It used to terrify me as a child. I still find it creepy..

[@peterbockholm3176]

@@EvaEstera I can understand that, any child would be terrified and few of them would be able to really let it go. Many of them, especially men, would claim to have done it but deep inside, in their dreams? Would you mind sharing which country it is? I'm very interested in urban legends, history and politics and this is a scenario where they all may come together so I would like to learn more.

[@JamesBond-ir1yj]

*Crash Noise*, Stalin falls to floor First Officer: Should we investigate Second Officer: You better STFU before you get us both killed! Clearly a Darth Vader and Palpatine style of leadership here

[@gastonbell108]

It's like the King Midas myth. "Aw shit! I really need those doctors now, can I un-kill them?"

[@Kaarl_Mills]

"you guys are busy, I'll come back"

[@pheresy1367]

Yeah.... we all know who these people are. You can see them coming from a mile away.... It's the same playbook over and over again. But still, they rise to power... could happen even in the USA.... so I've realized from watching recent events.

[@mr.mangles8730]

@@pheresy1367 ehh idk it could for sure but most of the time even with trump americans still vehemently disavow any military actions that try to control the people hell a bunch of lunatics just stormed the Capitol over some dumb shit imagine how nuts they would go over someone trying to take their guns away and aslong as americans have guns I dont see anyone rising to having the powers of a dictator they would have to win the hearts of the people and with almost always near half the population disliking the current president whether they're Democrat or Republican it would have to be through a civil war which I dont see anytime in the near future

[@koreratman329]

"do you hear that screaming? Think we should check up?" "Unless you want to be zapped with force lightning shut the fug up"

[@howlingdin9332]

One death is a tragedy, A million deaths are a statistic, Stalin's death is friggin' hilarious.

[@SpinningTurtle66]

That quote is just generally wrong and stupid.

[@chat3087]

Why is it wrong and stupid?

[@SpinningTurtle66]

Chatnawat Narakol A single person dies, you get upset. A single death affects a family. And its still a statistic. Millions of deaths are a bigger tragedy, yet still affect people and is a statistic. The idea that one death is different to millions in any way other than number of deaths is stupid. Keep in mind this quote is from a mass murdering psychopath.

[@engagementengagement8836]

Shadow Of Light no

[@dreadpirateroberts4764]

@@SpinningTurtle66 The death of Julius Ceasar was such a tragedy it shaped the direction of the entire rest of the western world. How many people can you remember died in Ceasars conquest of Gaul off the top of your head?

[@WindFireAllThatKindOfThing]

"Dark Humor is like Food. Not everyone gets it." - Stalin

[@raphuscucullatus7845]

Ahahahaha.... _where did my rations go_

[@axcelmartinez1122]

Underrated comment

[@ze_rubenator]

@ThatOneAsianBroChick The USA is currently starving Yemen, nobody seems to care.

[@ze_rubenator]

@ThatOneAsianBroChick I don't hate you, just your government and your foreign policy. Just like I don't hate the people of Palestine or Israel, in spite of the major clusterfuck that is that whole region. I have yet to meet an American who isn't excessively nice and obnoxiously loud. You're a special bunch, but you're alright. The US and UK governments have been aiding Saudi Arabia in a total embargo of Yemen, as well as targeted attacks against agricultural land, food industry and water treatment plants, that has lead to widespread famine and an outbreak of cholera. 60 000 children have died of starvation alone in the last few years. This war is being waged against civilians, and is in blatant violation of the Geneva Convention, human rights and common decency.

[@nguyenduyphuc3924]

Ze Rubenator I mean, they been doing that since the 60’s and I don’t think anyone care at all.

[@shawnmiller4781]

Fun fact: There is pretty good evidence that the first westerner to learn of Stalins Death was a 21 year old US Air Force Sergeant stationed in Germany who was tasked with monitoring Soviet radio channels. His name was J R Cash.The Air Force wouldn’t let him enlist with initials as his name so he enlisted as James Ray Cash the names being the ones his parents couldn’t decide on when he was born so they used just the initials. He ended up getting out of the Air Force and becoming a pretty famous singer/songwriter

[@ob2kenobi388]

Wait-Johnny Cash!? Small world, I suppose!

[@Carpediem357]

@@ob2kenobi388yep Johnny Cash I had to look it up.

[@tomjones5650]

No Shit Cool.

[@RendallRen]

And then everybody clapped and cheered

[@james_fisch]

@@RendallRen And that Stalin's name? Albert Einstein

[@WJINTL]

*NKVD executing officers after cover up operations* "I couldn't find any evidence that this happened" ...isn't that the point?

[@wormswithteeth]

*gottem*

[@julymagnus493]

Not sure if this is a joke comment but just in case. Cover up operations can still leave behind evidence and as a general rule you should scale your belief in something to the facts. This means that a lot of history wont be neat and have easy answers but that's life.

[@JewTube001]

executing your own junior officers just makes things harder to cover up because now you cover up them as well, and without the help you were getting before because you just killed them.

[@JohnKobaRuddy]

Not one word any of you have said is true

[@Sakattack2023]

@@julymagnus493 yeah but when known propagandists and murders say they didn’t Murder a group of people that don’t exist anymore. I’m skeptical. And the fact you aren’t tells me you weren’t suited to survival.

[@landscapedetective4064]

I was an 'extra' on The Death of Stalin. Spent several very hot days during the summer of 2016 in The Mansion House, London (Stalin, lying in state) and in Shoreditch Town Hall (the hastily reassembled concert). Because we were doing a summer-for-winter shoot, all the extras had to wear heavy clothing...and we sweated like pigs. During the 'Stalin lying in State' scene, we all had cool packs under our clothes to stop us from overheating under the lights. I even had one under my cloth cap. We entered that hall, shuffled past the coffin, then left by a rear door (grabbed a quick drink of water) and joined the queue again...then back into the hall for another round of the same. Two extras actually fainted from the heat! Aye...it's a tough job, but someone's got to do it! LOL

[@royblekman8186]

landscape detective thats awesome! Hope it was worth it, i myself love the movie.

[@adis4320]

[X]

[@Michael-yu2yk]

@Billy The Banini r/ihavereddit

[@neine999]

@Billy The Banini r/itmostdefinitelyisarealsubreddithereisthelink www.reddit.com/r/ihavereddit/

[@stevenb450]

Billy The Banini how is that a r/quityourbullshit? He was an extra in a movie that has a TON of extras and it’s not like this is the only movie with extras to exist.

[@rosemarygrabowska9949]

True story: there is an epic painting of Stalin and his "favourites" that was delayed for *years* because Stalin kept killing/exiling/gulaging the others in the painting while the artist was working on it.

[@llamaryder1]

Do you have a source for this I could read? It kinda just sounds like propaganda but I could be wrong

[@rosemarygrabowska9949]

I saw the painting in 2005 when I was doing a study abroad in Russia, but it was the museum guide who told me the story, so I must admit I don't know that there's any evidence to support it. But it seemed like something that would happen in Stalinist Russia

[@neal2399]

That’s the most in-character thing I’ve ever heard about Stalin. Like a darker version of that “Friendship ended with MUDASIR; now SALMAN is my best friend” meme

[@ViquelOoste]

@@llamaryder1 there were indeed painting of him with his collaborators, compared with later versions where they were removed one by one along the years, but didn't knew a painting was delayed

[@MayPastel]

Can I please know what's it called?

[@Synthetic-Rabbit]

The guards just ignoring him when he collapses after he's spent his entire life consolidating his power and making sure he's secure in his bubble is poetic justice if I've ever seen it before.

[@hullutsuhna]

fun fact: Stalin had ordered his guards not to enter without permission & then he tested their obedience by faking a medical emergency, when the guards entered to check on him, he had them shot.

[@Vanishingink4]

They were told to never enter his room under fear of being sent to the gulag. He would randomly scream and if they went in there he’d execute them or send them to the gula.

[@Synthetic-Rabbit]

@@Vanishingink4 I know - that's why it's ironic and funny. They know what's going on but because of his own bullshit - they can't help.

[@mr.s2005]

the brilliance of Stalin.....getting rid of the doctors and making his own people so scared they waited to even see if he was okay.

[@FilipCordas]

But let's be honest we have to remember that the 'historical accounts' are accounts by people that survived de-Stalinization process the 'good guy' in the movie old boy Niki did, am not saying Stalin was not horrible just that Khrushchev was just as bad.

[@darkomarkovic9323]

@@FilipCordas Khrushchev was not anywhere near as smart and ruthless as Stalin, compared to Stalin he was a nice guy, Stalin for all his faults was genius, Khrushchev was not, but yeah he was also not where near as bad as Stalin was

[@TemplarOnHigh]

@@FilipCordas Nikita was no saint, but relative to the level of terror that the Party imparted under Stalin and in the '20's, pressure was greatly reduced. We have incompetence, death, war, and danger throughout the rest of the USSR's history - but there aren't waves of terror where millions of people died in a given year on account of internal purges and cleansing. The GULAG remains open, but it never regains the maw of slave labor it trapped (is that the right word?). With Stalin no longer claiming the worker were more effective than they would have been had they been free and Beria dead, the system starts to look more "normal." Could "A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" have been published in *Но́вый Ми́р* of all places under Stalin? Hell no. Now did they crack down after the reforms went too far? Sure and sure Stalin's dead body made a great straw man onto which Niki tried to paint all the crimes of the past, but that doesn't mean that Stalin wasn't responsible for a great deal of them.

[@animamundii]

Karma bit him in the ass.

[@FilipCordas]

@@TemplarOnHigh Yee I don't like this western communist rewriting of history. O it was only Stalin and Beria that where the problem if only Trocki took power none of the terrible stuff would have happened. Everyone in that system is to blame for all that not just one man and that includes Niki. What was happening during the purges is that all the party members saw an opportunity to get rid of people they didn't like or had a political rivalry. And afterwards Nikita made up stories how it was all just Stalins doing and the western media ,Hollywood and academia started pushing that because a lot of them where financed by the SSSR. Same thing you see with China today with Vinny Xi Pooh and Froggy Zemin.

[@sethleoric2598]

Russian man: *gets sent to Gulag Russian man: *gets drafted Russian man: *gets taken to concentration camp Russian man: ah shit, here we go again

[@lsd-rickb-1728]

Lol

[@Dragonblaster1]

Russian man: *gets released from concentration camp Russian man: *gets sent back to Gulag

[@sethleoric2598]

@@Dragonblaster1 "Honey! I'm back from vacation!"

[@beyondprogressive370]

It builds strong character

[@sethleoric2598]

@@beyondprogressive370 "honey I'm going on a business trip!"

[@MikeFromOz]

Jason Isaacs as Zhukov ruled this movie.

[@TheAngelobarker]

Mike FromOz so surprised the Russians hated him in it he's such a badass

[@itsmedik8628]

Really? He was my favourive part of the film.

[@scr3aming3agle83]

"Alright whats a war hero got to do to get some lube around here" 😂😂😂😂 Hes the perfect zhukov

[@weldonwin]

"I may be smiling but I am VERY fuckin' angry"

[@Cancoillotteman]

I admit he was great, perfect entrance by the way ^^

[@giacomoromano8842]

As always, "the difference between fiction and reality is that fiction has to make sense." Never truer words were spoken, considering this movie.

[@stevenhall8027]

Even though this movie appears to be outlandish, it is probably closer to the truth than most so called historical movies. What a circus it must have been !

[@lillyie]

Imagine being Stalin's mother wanting him to be a priest and turned up to be the dictator of your country

[@PrincessLockette]

She was probably dissapointed in him

[@fifa4lifeunknow795]

I mean If i was her i would be more proud but his actions Maybi not

[@dkupke]

True story: he rarely saw her after taking power-he was probably afraid of her. During her final months, knowing her health was failing, he built himself up to visit her. At one point he asked her “Why did you beat me so much?” She told him “That’s why you turned out so well,” and at the end she asked him “Just what are you now?” He told her “Well I’m sort of like the tsar.” She grumbled “You’d have been better off as a priest.”

[@Bestnightcoreofalltime]

Maybe he should have tried to sign up at an art school 🌚

[@mijoepa]

Same could be said about Hitler and him being a painter lol

[@OzymandiasWasRight]

Georgy zhukov needs a spin-off series. I could watch an episode of him grocery shopping and laugh my ass off.

[@KR4FTW3RK]

I just skipped over his biography on wikipedia... there'd be tons of material. He participated in pretty much all soviet conflicts between 1914 and past WW2.

[@SlyBlu7]

The portrayal of Zhukov was freakin amazing. He was the perfect straight man to all the insane politicking, but also the most over-the-top action-hero trope, which fits perfectly with his image among the Russian people. The bit where you don't see Zhukov, but just see Vassily's face when he recognizes him and has just enough time and presence to shout 'Medic!' before getting laid out by one punch - comedy gold

[@rick-potts]

@@SlyBlu7 Isaacs' performance is superb. Steals every scene he is in.

[@ghazghkullthraka9714]

Vasili: exists Zhukov: Hi kids, do you like violence Honestly, I be the same around a guy like Visili

[@cmd31220]

Agreed. That entrance is freaking gold. Like, Irons probably improvised the jacket flip and the director thought "yeah, that's the most pimp thing I've ever seen. Let's do it in slow motion

[@revertrevertz5438]

Beriya kept a list of his sexual victims. This was so well known that even Stalin advised Svetlana to stay away from him. The American staff at the Embassy were also aware of this since they saw him continuously bring women and teen age girls into his house (they resided near each other). He kept the list in case any of the women would speak. He would imprison or kill them (sometimes at his own hands, later to bury them in his wife’s garden). He had the list destroyed fearing it’d become a liability, but his assistant decided to keep a handwritten copy of it. The Russian government acknowledged the existence of such list in the early 00’s, but the names of the victims are to be made public in 2028.

[@revertrevertz5438]

Another thing, General Zhukhov really hated the man. Beriya imprisoned and tortured some of Zhukhov’s subordinates during WW2. He was trying to topple him, but only one of Zhukhov’s men testified against him. Later accused him of collecting war trophies (something he actually did). When he knew about the plot against Beriya he was the one to arrest him, like in the film, he just wanted Beriya dead. He was one of the members of the tribunal. Seriously you have to be a piece of work if even your communists heroes want you dead.

[@Zombiewithabowtie]

Am I also correct in the detail (I was told this second hand, and so can't vouch for it's veracity) that in the film, Beriya is seen sending one of the girls he's abused away with a white flower. The flowers were a code; any sent away without them would be identified by agents waiting outside as having not satisfied him, and were later arrested and executed.

[@vollsticks]

@@revertrevertz5438 Yup, Beriya was a huge piece of shit. Evil.

[@angloempire6935]

Made public 9 years in the future

[@maximsavage]

@@angloempire6935 Read it again, he didn't say the names *were* to be made public in 2028, he said they *are* to be made public in 2028.

[@mikeor-]

My grandparents all lived under Stalin. To my paternal grandfather, who was eighteen years old when he died, Stalin was a god. He was living in Ukraine when he heard the news about the leader's death. His friend came to his house and told him: "Stalin is gone." To this, my grandfather said: "How can our fatherland survive now?" His friend simply replied with a quote from Stalin: "Life has become better, comrade. Life has become happier."

[@mattevans4377]

Now that's how you throw shade, lol.

[@michaellynes3540]

There was another historical inaccuracy you missed. At the end of the movie, Khrushchev sent Svetlana away to Vienna. In real life, Svetlana never left the Soviet Union until her defection to the United States in 1967, which was a serious propaganda blow to the Soviets, but returned to the Soviet Union in the 1980s during Gorbachev's glasnost and perestroika.

[@andrewwigglesworth3030]

Try to find a historical accuracy, other than the names of the characters.

[@sskspartan]

​@@andrewwigglesworth3030 did you watch the video? Most if it is absolutely true, just a bit condensed

[@andrewwigglesworth3030]

@@sskspartan Pull the other one, it's got bells on. This is just the normal anti-communist propaganda crap from those who wish to defence capitalist imperialism and it's depredations. So, no.

[@sarahjessicafarter7383]

@@sskspartan Did you watch the video? Riddled with inaccuracies. Huge and important inaccuracies, such as doubling the upper estimate of Holodomor victims. To disinform on such an immense historical tragedy as the Holodomor is shameful.

[@marianotorrespico2975]

@@sarahjessicafarter7383 --- FIND A WINDOW . . . or get over that drama.

[@maceface2892]

I don't feel bad at all for laughing at his death. It was what he did while alive that depresses me

[@lucavalerio3336]

True.

[@ConnorNotyerbidness]

Stalin probably wanted to die like a hero Justice had him die lying in his own piss, without help due to how he alienated and subjugated all around him Thats hilarious.

[@Ragagaraga69]

I Don't feel even close to bad laughing about Stalins death. I am from eastern Europe.

[@Helmutlozzi]

Communism IS depressing. But Stalins death was a flicker of joy in the long tragic story of communism.

[@APrairieDog]

@@Helmutlozzi Cringe

[@jacob4920]

"The Death of Stalin" might actually be the single most brilliant piece of historical fiction ever put to screen. Not only in how LITTLE of it was actually falsified, but also in how the comedy was so brilliantly performed, by all actors/actresses, to accurately, if not buffoonishly, portray each Soviet figure. This film was hilarious AND educational! That is a hard accomplishment to actually make, but this film pulls it off, by God!

[@gjmac7247]

One of the funniest film's I've seen, also one of the most frightening knowing how close to the truth it is.

[@ButHerMama]

You ever watched jojo rabbit? It reminds me of that movie

[@Malt454]

Unfortunately, it's one of the least accurate "historical" movies I've seen in quite some time - and it's painful to see/hear how many people now feel "informed" about this period when it's so far from the truth. It's decent satire, but poor history.

[@Definitelydusky]

Would’ve been better with realistic accents, don’t know why Russians are speaking with British accents

[@arnoldbowling7904]

100% agree. historically not bad funny as hell.

[@ayelmao1224]

“Hands up or I’ll shoot you in the fookin face” -Field Marshall Georgy Zhukov, probably

[@johnjamele]

Beria is referred to in an almost throw-away line in the James Bond film "The Living Daylights" to describe the "death to spies" operation Bond is investigating, and as a history student at the time I was enormously impressed that the writers didn't dumb it down to "Stalinist operation," not concerned that 99.9 percent of the audience would have no idea what a "Beria Operation" might mean.

[@TheBurgerkrieg]

one of the wildest things about the movie is that they toned down how horrible Beria was, specifically when it came to rape and paedophilia. One of the few times Stalin was reportedly terrified is when he found out Beria was at a dacha with Svetlana. Beria's drives around town "browsing" for rape victims from his car actually spawned the urban legend of the Black Volga, which was the car he tended to be driven around in. You can find variations of it all over the former Soviet states.

[@VoiceOfTheEmperor]

Yeah. Beria would have given a lot of SS a run for their money.

[@vibovitold]

i'm not sure if black Volga can be linked to Beria specifically. it was pretty much THE car driven by communist party officials in general. this urban legend - which i confirm was a thing, and not just in former Soviet states (if you mean USSR republics), also in satellite states, such as Poland - seems to have been invented at some point in the 1960s, somewhat later than Beria's terror.

[@PandaMonium92827]

They didn't need to show it in order for us to put it together and that's what movies need to go back to doing when it comes to SA. Someone I know interviewed a girl who survived one of his attacks....they ended up not using most of it because of what she described. But he would bring up fake charges on people just so he could abuse them. Having his men troll the streets for his "types" in a blacked out Volga. Men having to watch him do horrid things to their female family members to get them to confess to false charges. Women rounded up from gulag and spat back put like scraps....he'd go as far as to promise them freedom if they survived what he did to them just to send them back or to a worse gulag. Safe to say the gunshot was too merciful.

[@Chewberto]

Honestly, as someone who knew nothing about this period, I legitimately thought they were trying to portray Beria as a "redeemed antagonist" due to his attempts to reform/release prisoners and his consoling of Svetlana. Now knowing what he actually did IRL, it's safe to say they went a little too easy on him in the movie. I suppose you could argue that his infamy preceded him and should've informed my opinion from the get-go, as it would with a portrayal of Hitler or Himmler, but his name isn't especially well known beyond those who are specifically interested in Soviet history, whereas nearly everyone west of Asia knows about Hitler.

[@panaitteodor9982]

From what I know from my dad and graddad black Volga brand cars were used by the secret police, so if you saw one parked in your neighborhood it ment someone was getting disappeared.

[@nqinadlamini]

"You are not even a man. You are a testicle". Good grief that was hilarious. Thank you, I will look this movie up. LOL

[@piggypoo]

the moment I heard that line in the video I paused and came to scoll down the comments.

[@Lethgar_Smith]

I watched it on a plane coming back from England. Lady sitting next to me wondered what the hell I was laughing so hard at.

[@Psycorde]

Stalin's son in the movie is hilarious in general

[@JayLeePoe]

Leave his brain alone! How old are you? Doctor: I'm old You're not old! You're not even a person! You're a testicle! [cut] You're made mostly of hair!

[@edithmaclarky8955]

piggypoo I was at the exact same moment when I saw the comment

[@cerambyx-8]

Thanks for talking about this, and I don't think people fully understand the details of Stalins regime of terror. My grandfather, his 4 siblings and parents had their properties and land taken away (they were slaztcha- petty nobility) by Stalin's de-kulakization regime and ended up in a gulag in Arkhangelsk, until 1941 when a deal was made with the polish government (which was exiled in London) for a release of prisoners, and luckily my family were in the group they did release. My grandfather was too young to fight. My great grandfather fought with Polish II Corps, in the Battle of Monte Cassino. My great uncle Piotr fought with the Polish 1st Armoured Division, in Normandy, and died in 1944 due friendly fire in the Battle of Falaise. He is buried in a french military cemetery in Graville Langennerie, near Falaise. The women released from the gulags were sent to Polish ran camps in Tanzania which is where my grandfather's sisters met my grandmother to be, before coming to the UK.

[@the_DarkSoul]

Stalins son: HOW OLD ARE YOU? Poor dude: IM..... OLD Stalins son: YOU'RE NOT OLD Stalins son: AND YOU ARE NOT EVEN A PERSON, YOU ARE A TESTICLE Poor testicle dude: "scared for his life"

[@Mate-vg2ft]

The Dark Soul that's *nuts*

[@kubikkuratko188]

Stalins son: YOURE MOSTLY MADE OF HAIR!

[@patrioticamerican6414]

The Dark Soul what time stamp is that

[@AtomicLobster69]

i lost it when I watched that part

[@kuyakyel324]

Stalin son: yeah but they have the machine filled with American lies.

[@yugom488mmmauser2]

"YOU'RE NOT EVEN A PERSON; YOU'RE A TESTICLE!" aaaaaaaaaaaah that still makes me crack up

[@job3rg]

How old are you? I'm twenty.... nine.

[@stillsalty947]

I liked the scene, where he spit on himself

[@CorbCorbin]

For some fundamentalist Christians, a testicle is the place where billions of souls await placement.

[@KingCrayon420]

I got a kick out of that as well.

[@eval_is_evil]

Lol ikr ? In my country (Slovenia) ,in our southern dialect there is a word(insult) "kojon/kujon" which derives from the italian word "coglione" which literally means testicle. It denotes someone being a moron ,being pathetic,being a coward... Maybe russians use a similar insult for pathetic/scared men and they translated it directly? I love it though because it is hilarious.

[@Mwraf]

This movie like a rated R version of The Office it’s funny as hell.

[@MaxwellAerialPhotography]

The director of this movie did a series called in the thick of it, which follows a British governmental department and the prime ministers enforcer, the legendary Malcolm Tucker. It’s basically R-rated Office.

[@distilledwill]

I do wonder if they weren't suggesting that Molotov didn't love his wife, but rather that he was so tied up in the ruse of denouncing her (and then that conflicted with her release (and so forgiveness??)) that he couldn't get the line straight, and so he would flip between denouncing her and showing effusive love for her. Kind of like double-think.

[@gkys111]

That was my interpretation as well

[@Ben-zs5vd]

Hippty hoppity your farm is now S T A T E P R O P E R T Y

[@adrianenterprise5829]

Soviet anthem rolls in

[@praeposter]

Hippity Hoppity ABOLISH PRIVATE PROPERTY

[@connarcomstock161]

STAY AWAY FROM MY TOOTHBRUSH!

[@templar8811]

Peoples property*

[@sethleoric2598]

Hippity Hoppity Ukraine is our property -Russia 2010s

[@pjdiver3]

Steve Buscemi can't be made to look like anyone other than Steve Buscemi...but he's always a great choice for a movie

[@georgekosko5124]

Who? That fucking animal Blundetto?

[@MASTEROFEVIL]

He played a very convincing teenager

[@keaixiaomeinv]

@@MASTEROFEVIL how do you do, fellow comrade?

[@kylekonop4801]

I remember someone saying that they couldn't get around Nikita Kruschev "sounding like a shoe salesman from the Bronx." I don't know the history, but based on this video I'm guessing he absolutely sounded like a shoe salesman from Moscow.

[@lumpyfishgravy]

Kinda funny-looking guy.

[@d.s.parentsr6502]

The accents don't bother me at all. Just like in 'Amadeus' it allows the actors to focus more on their characters. Moreover, Steve Buscemi, Jeffrey Tambor and Michael (f**king) Palin? This is a movie that I have to see!

[@d.s.parentsr6502]

Bought it. Watched it. LOVED IT!

[@SalinaMoonfall]

All star cast hands down

[@edwardzero9275]

Same, I especially loved Zhukov and Nikita

[@jonL88]

Or Valkyrie! People keep complaining Tom Cruise and co. should have spoken in a German accent

[@Quallenkrauler]

Yeah, I started watching this video without having seen the movie, stopped watching in the middle because I decided that I HAD to see see it first. And then Michael Palin shows up. Needless to say, I had a blast. Buscemi, Isaacs and Palin were amazing! The rest of the cast too, of course, but I loved those three. Especially Isaac's "Fuck you, I'm an untouchable war hero, I can just punch Stalin's son and get away with it!" attitude. :D

[@philipscalf9147]

“You’re not even a person, you’re a testicle” has to be one of the best lines in cinema

[@wolfjedisamuel]

*History Buff:* _"The Soviet Union fizzled away..."_ *Later* _"Russian Cinema is raided by police for screening "Death of Stalin"_ *Me:* _Still a bit of cinder left..._

[@miguelgamez8251]

Underrated comment

[@liamweaver2944]

wolfjedisamuel Well, if we’re talking fire here, even if a flame fizzles away, there is still a chance of reignition. It’s why firefighters go through with poles and hooks, looking through ashes to find potential ignition sources.

[@wolflord8117]

Holy shit. Wasn't aware you made comments. Btw a big fan of your work.

[@drartemisa21]

Best boy, best comment.

[@gastonbell108]

Cultures don't really change; they evolve somewhat, but the customs and norms of the population largely stay the same. In Russia today, you're liable to get punched in the face on a public street for criticizing Putin, and nobody will care and nobody will get arrested. That's just how Russia has always been, and it's how it'll always be. The idea that you can control a society without secret police and heavy restrictions on speech is like crazy talk to them. You can strap a veneer of democracy on a grim, autocratic 3rd world dystopia and it'll still be a grim, autocratic 3rd world dystopia.

[@DarkArtistKaiser]

I do admit. I like the movies portrayal of Berias death more than the graphic novels. In the GN, he dies rather dignified with a last inner monologue leading to the end of the comic which I took to possibly mean this is is a unreliable narrator situation. In the movie, he seemed to have died more or less like the sniveling coward of a man he truly was in real life. As a certain heroic robot once said. "You, who are without mercy, now plead for it? I thought you were made of sterner stuff!"

[@ghazghkullthraka9714]

Who’s the robot?

[@DarkArtistKaiser]

@@ghazghkullthraka9714 Optimus Prime from the Transformers movie. Its my favorite line to quote whenever a really dispeciable character has the gull to cry for mercy when they denied so many it.

[@chrishill9197]

I very much appreciate the use of that classic G1 Optimus Prime quote, it's all too fitting for Berias death scene. And as you can see, I'm a huge Transformers fan and I have watched the 1986 Transformers movie many times.

[@liamweaver2944]

“NO YOU DON’T MEGATRON!”

[@knoxwatson5360]

"Publicly condemn Stalin, in what would be known as the secret speech" lol

[@thebalticmarxist-leninist1333]

Perhaps the most fraudulent and historically illiterate piece of propaganda ever known to man.

[@tdubya97]

@@thebalticmarxist-leninist1333 HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA

[@Yautah]

Soviet Russia is complicated.

[@snorf525]

Yautah no it’s not, here’s one word to describe it: bad

[@thebalticmarxist-leninist1333]

@Buttrape Bill Yup, he wasn't.

[@florinpurice415]

Eastern guy here. This is a good comedy. The terror and horror are mixed in with the absurdity of it all while also marking key moments and avenues for all that to happen in a real way. Great movie , great writing.

[@thefalcromshow3428]

dictator of Yugoslavia Tito might have killed Stalin because Stalin kept sending assassin to killed him and send him the letter regards Tito's letter in Stalin's office read: 'Stop sending people to kill me. We've already captured five of them, one of them with a bomb and another with a rifle... If you don't stop sending killers, I'll send one to Moscow, and I won't have to send a second.'

[@Ballin4Vengeance]

Tito leading guerilla warfare against the nazis, becoming ruler of Yugoslavia, holding 9 nationality state together, not simping for USSR or USA and just doing his own communism thing AND finding time to send sick burns to Stalin himself like the total chad of a man he was

[@LeeRenthlei]

Tito's message is legit the most badass quote in history.

[@Idras74]

When Josef Motherfucking Stalin is sending assassins at you there's really not much for you to lose.

[@qwertyqwerty-ek7dy]

@@LeeRenthlei It's defenitely in the top 10.

[@Mr47CRO]

Tito was an evil dictator and for someone who lived in Yugoslavia I find his celebration disgusting as one should with evil dictators.

[@wublesmoop6125]

I'm surprised there aren't more historical comedies like Death of Stalin. Sometimes you can't make up this shit, sometimes the history is hilarious simply as it is

[@blondbraid7986]

Exactly. I also hate this mindset that history should only ever be portrayed as a bunch of super serious guys with constipated facial expressions and everything was grey and brown. Sure, history has it's fair share of tragedy, but there are also so many weird and awesome things that's been unfairly ignored, like "Mad Jack" Churchill, who brought a broadsword to WW2 battlefields, or Cecilia Vasa, who was a princess and leader of a big pirate fleet. Why can't people like them get their own movies?

[@HisameArtwork]

I'll probably watch a comedy with my grand kids of the 2016 American election some day.

[@Usammityduzntafraidofanythin]

History is full of comedy, both tragic and weird.

[@creativeusername6453]

A comedy about the first crusades would be amazing. Shit reads like a Monty Python movie

[@Clos93]

Anybody interested in comedic historical stories, ought to check out drunk history, pretty hilarious show that comes on comedy central.

[@tagtraumen]

“I f*cked Germany, I think I can take a flesh-lump in a f*ckin waistcoat” 😂 Jason Isaacs *makes* this movie 👌🏻

[@RuralProgressive]

Oh yeah yeah

[@501ststormtrooper9]

*”HERE WE GO AGAIN.”*

[@timovangalen1589]

"Jesus Christ. Did Coco Chanel take a shit on your head?"

[@Jaystarzgaming]

Yeetus Maximus talks about Boners when he just sayed Flesh-lump.

[@spazzyshortgirl23]

the cape flip as he enters the film is fucking epic

[@keith_root]

I waited months to watch this video, until I found time to watch the movie. I'm glad I did. It gave remarkable context to the story you came here to tell. Thank you.

[@oogityboogity6644]

The unanimous voting scene is scary realistic on how that type of peer pressure works

[@CHFafard]

"Carried... u..." Everyone slowly raises their hands "Nan... im... ous... ly..."

[@zetetick395]

Ring the bell the dogs will salivate

[@alexpotts6520]

Well, peer pressure plus living for decades in a totally paranoid society where saying the wrong thing could get you killed...

[@marsultor6131]

It was also quite common, once a majority seemed to have formed, the rest voted along with them. Even Erich Honecker (Dicator of the GDR) voted for his own dismissal.

[@Abysalss]

Also pretty accurate for how Stalinism worked, where when you were the dissent you voted with the majority after it was clear which was which so there was no “factionalism”

[@HierophanticRose]

I was told a story by a cab driver when I visited Moscow, do not know if it is true, but here it goes; Khrushchev, in one of his addresses to the party assembly, starts talking about how Stalin was an awful leader, and killed the revolution in its crib, a voice is heard in the back saying "Why did you not say these when he was alive then!"... Khrushchev asks who said that. After a few moments of silence, Khrushchev adds "Because of this very reason..."

[@martinmortyry7444]

That's based on a popular joke. You can see its "prequel" here, in Kajetan Sokolnicki's comment.

[@erickolb8581]

"Because of this very reason..." XD Good job Stalin, f***ing idiot!

[@xxxdumbwordstupidnumberxxx4844]

Arshan From the version of this I heard, it was Khrushchev giving a speech, pretty much saying the same thing, and after the speech concluded, someone got a note passed up asking, "why didn't you oppose him?" Khrushchev asked the crowd, "who said that," and when there was silence, he said, "there is your answer!"

[@HierophanticRose]

xXXDumbWordStupidNumberXXx Wonder if the story is true then since it appears to be widespread

[@xxxdumbwordstupidnumberxxx4844]

@@HierophanticRose Well, overtime, generally the actual story of something gets lost, so both versions could be based on an actual event. Kinda like how camels don't actually store water in their humps, rather they store fat that they can turn into water, like a sober Jesus.

[@Dan_Ben_Michael]

I think the scene where Beria's men liquidate the staff and then the agents that carried it out was to illustrate the ruthlessness of Beria as well as the almost comedic policy of killing all witnesses.

[@wee4567]

I went into this loving the movie, and came out seeing just how true it was. Not because of the historical accuracies, more so the reaction of the current Russian government mirroring the oppressive actions of the former Soviet government in response to the movie satirizing said government. You can’t write this stuff

[@gabi4248]

The fact that everything went just as ridiculously (and even more so) as it did in the movie is absolutely beautiful.

[@XenoJehuty84]

I got a 360 Christmas 2006, and then 'upgraded' to an 'Elite' which supposedly had better cooling chips as well as the HDMI support. On a road trip in 2008, my damn console red ringed and I wasn't able to do anything about it until I got back home. Pissed me the f*ck off let me tell you, and if not for my bevy of friends on Xbox-live I might have never bothered getting another, and once the slims came out I got one of those on their guarantee of having dealt with the red ring issue. I actually felt sad when I traded my 360 Slim in as it was the Halo Reach edition console and it still purred like a kitten when I finally got a Xbone to rejoin my pals on Xbox-Live.

[@justhere4637]

​​@XenoJehuty84 Why are you talking about your xbox 360? Also, sorry to hear about the console red ringing.

[@XenoJehuty84]

@@justhere4637 That's... weird this post was supposed to be in another video. In fact it was.... WTF youtube?!

[@proceedproceed7494]

@@XenoJehuty84 its been 1 month but im sorry for your xbox 360

[@Carpediem357]

@@XenoJehuty84😂😂😂 KZbin got drunk again I see

[@ramprire]

40:13 Fun fact: this wasn't the first time. The Khodynka Tragedy in 1896 where the Tsar (brilliantly) planned to give out gifts to the people (who were mostly starving) attracted a crowd so large it caused problems. When rumors began that there wouldn't be enough, a stampede occurred and almost 1,400 died.

[@lewiegan216]

To add to this ironically the tsar wanted to step out and try to calm the crowd but was convinced against and the press shredded him for just adding to the separation from the common people to royal family and added to anger of the peasants

[@protonjones54]

The movie is banned in Russia? Despite the events of the film taking place 65 years ago? _Touched a nerve._

[@protonjones54]

@BlackDeadWatch That's the retarded Russian government for you, still run by tyrants, albeit to a lesser extreme than the ones before.

[@lukaspivka6297]

So if i did a comedy movie about your 9/11 it would be propagated in America? No.

[@lukaspivka6297]

Lukas Moczek Yes, but as 9/11 is considered a national tragedy in America so is for some death of Stalin in russia and other slavic countries. Here in my village a lot of people still mourn for Stalin.

[@protonjones54]

@@lukaspivka6297 If you made a shitty 9/11 comedy and released it in America you would not only be free to do so because of the freedom of expression in the US but it would also sell so miserably you'd be begging the government for welfare checks just to make up the difference thereafter lol

[@mik3pif782]

@@protonjones54 ah america the land of the free. Remind me a little about the slave trade because i forgot about it.

[@robynsnest8668]

Side note of History - the USA Military had an eavesdropping radio unit in West Germany and was the first western knowledge of the Death of Stalin. Soldier on the headphones that night? Johnny Cash. Yes, the Man in Black was the first Western person to know that Stalin had died.

[@erentheca]

"The fact that almost everyone keeps their native accents actually makes sense to me. After all, the Soviet Union was an enormous landmass with hundreds of unique regional accents, so representing them with a variety of English-speaking ones is rather fitting." So, applying that principle to Alexander, the thick Irish and Scottish accents from the Macedonian characters in that film are completely appropriate creatively as they serve to effectively simulate the panoply of Greek accents in that time period.

[@andy2550]

I think there was a reason for that. From what I remember of that film, all the Macedonian characters in "Alexander", had Irish accents including Alexander himself played by Colin Farrell, while all the Greek characters (Alexander's teacher Aristotle, and his wrestling trainer) all had English accents. I think this was done to distinguish the Macedonians from the Greeks.

[@1987MartinT]

Exactly. He even points out, in his review of Alexander, that criticising Colin Farrell's Irish accent is pointless.

[@thebitgamer2425]

The director went on to say that he had the actors maintain their voices so it would appeal to UK audiences (hence all the British accents) as well as other European and American audiences. And with that in mind, I think it kinda makes sense

[@EVO6-]

I've hated that Alexander film for that. It's like Hollywood is terrified of having a film full of middle Eastern and Mediterranean accents because it's not marketable, artistic merit be damned.

[@beorntwit711]

These complaints about accents are pointless: no one is going through trouble of teaching actors historical languages, so it has to be English. Adding modern accents (aristocratic vs poor, provincialvs capital) makes sense, especially if you are consistent about it; like Irish/Macedon, BEnglish/Greek. This makes sense and is practical. People complain because they think they look smart if they are pedantic.

[@dmitritelvanni4068]

Zhukov made the movie. Granted Buscemi did a phenomenal kruschev, but goddamn. You could just feel the aura of competence every time he walked into a scene.

[@dc4lcorkscrewpatdaGIGA]

Steve buscemi was in this?

[@dmitritelvanni4068]

@@dc4lcorkscrewpatdaGIGA yeah he was kruschev. Nailed it too. Have you not seen it? Definitely watch it if not lol. I regret waiting to see It as long as I did. It's nothing like most modern mediocre movies. S tier comedy.

[@alexpotts6520]

I feel like the guy who played Beria is super underrated. Granted Zhukov is the most fun character, but the guy who plays Beria puts in the most stomach-churningly evil performance I think I've ever seen in a movie.

[@dmitritelvanni4068]

@@alexpotts6520 fair point. He did do the role justice lol.

[@pete8420]

Dimitri Petrenko was one of the bravest men I had ever known...He fought by my side from the Siege of Stalingrad to the fall of Berlin. The wounds he sustained ensuring our victory should have earned him a hero's welcome to Russia... But Stalin had little need for heroes...

[@onearazvanflorin9955]

Now I see what you did there... bo1... great game ;)

[@renel8964]

VORKUTA...

[@pete8420]

@mPky1 whatever makes you happy.

[@whenthemusicsover6028]

+rene L Step 1?

[@elfoontheshelfo1851]

is that A Cod world at war reference?

[@duketranslucent3rd]

Brilliant as always, Nick. Surprised, though, that among the inaccuracies you didn't point out that in real life Beria got a trial (albeit a show trial) whereas in the film he very much didn't.

[@scyobiempire4450]

and also a lot of the ministers had different (or no) positions irl, and the whole trains thing didn’t happen still a good movie either way

[@aburnoutfailurewithsomemem3085]

"Have a plan to kill everyone you meet."~The Sniper-TF2

[@gastonbell108]

Also all of their families, friends, co-workers, neighbors, former bosses, former teachers....

[@nielk.]

"professionals have standards" -The Sniper

[@annalieff-saxby568]

That's spooky.

[@thegreatswordmaster6485]

"Today we will be having a laugh at the death of Stalin" KGB: Hol' up

[@eustache_dauger]

The NKVD wants to know your location

[@kgb5979]

NKVD was in the Time of Stalin comrade. But still tho we gonna have to "ask him some questions"

[@WD-zk6fg]

FSB: ... MSS: ... Kim Jung IL: I'm so ronery!

[@AHersheyHere]

Russia: "This movie shows our country in a bad, oppresive light!" Also Russia: "Send police to shut down a theater for showing the movie." Stalin is long dead but, his shadow lives on in Russia.

[@PanzerIVAE]

The reasons behind the ban seems to lie deeper than it shining a bad light upon the Soviet days of Russia. Another KZbinr named The Cynical Historian did his own historical analysis of the movie a while back and he explained pretty well on reasons why Russia would ban it

[@johnwills1748]

Just let them do what they do. It's an irrelevant topic as to why they banned the movie a country should have such authority and not be lambasted for it. Not like they're being kept in the dark from the atrocities either it's all still very attainable information.

[@Saiyan_Goku]

Andrew Hershberger lol

[@Oddricm]

@@PanzerIVAE Personally, I think it's less the Soviet days of Russia and more a bad light on Russian leaders in general. If you can mock Stalin, you can mock Putin.

[@tigermunky]

The communist party is quite small in Russia, but they make a huge amount of noise. They kicked off massively over the film. The film was actually allowed by the government's film board, but so many people got butt hurt about the film's existence that they caved in at the last moment and pulled the film. Stalin's legacy is something of a tricky issue for the Russian government. There are still a great many people in Russia who grew up under Stalinism and who think that Stalin was the greatest man on Earth. The government doesn't want to alienate these people by outright saying that Stalin was a dick. Khrushchev did that and it earned him a fair amount of ire. So instead, the government just leaves the whole topic alone, bringing it up when it suits them. Allowing this film to be shown simply wasn't worth the hassle they were going to get from the hardcore Stalin fans in Russia, so it was easier to ban it. As I mentioned before, the government actually initially allowed this film to be shown. It was only after complaints from certain members of the public that they banned it.

[@jonahfalcon1970]

The line that always kills me: "Fuck me, Georgy's eyes really do follow you around the crapper. It's weird."

[@arthurjones127]

"You can't just kill all of your enemys" "That's were your wrong kido"

[@martinmortyry7444]

You can't just kill all your enemies and allies and close friends and random people

[@ShortArmOfGod]

"You can't just use poor grammar." "That's where your wrong, kiddo."

[@ShrekStoliosis]

“we can’t just use you’re, the correct tense” “That’s where you’re wrong kiddo”

[@SaltyWound]

@Spencer Proctor His grammar isn't much better.........

[@sniper_rifle_3009]

*you’re

[@andrewsniegowski8335]

Love your video series! FYI: Sound on this video drops out from 15:49 to 16:20.

[@Jsay18]

someone doesn't want what he says there said out loud.

[@andrewsniegowski8335]

@@Jsay18 I guess someone else mentioned it in an older comment: KZbin censors went crazy over some background music. Figures....

[@allthingsonline4214]

Yeah I thought it was there before. I never noticed

[@1blackice1]

Andrew Sniegowski KZbin algorithm is a stalinist.

[@MoltenPlastic]

No sir, the video is perfect. Don't know what you're talking about. No failure at all

[@mikereger1186]

I watched the movie purely after being reminded of it by this video. It’s a toss up between Steve Buscemi or Jason Isaacs who made me smile most. Might even get a hardcopy :)

[@seamus4393]

Jason Isaacs' entrance is glorious.

[@LordWhatever]

I laugh so hard with those two (Buscemi and Isaac).

[@Grandizer8989]

Isaacs delivery in all of his lines was epic

[@Csp499]

When thinking about the Russian perspective on and response to The Death of Stalin, one thing that came to mind was "what if someone made a satirical comedy about 9/11? Wouldn't I, as an American, find that offensive?". Then I remembered that's basically what Team America: World Police was, and on top of that, it was satirizing an event that was actively unfolding, rather than something that happened several decades before. And yet, at the time it was some of the funniest shit we'd seen, even as it made light of an issue we'd spend the better part of the next two decades grappling with (even if we didn't know it then).

[@alexpotts6520]

It's worth remembering that when people say "Russians find this offensive" what they really mean is "the Russian *government* finds this offensive."

[@what8562]

Are you out of your mind!? How is the death of a brutal dictator anything close to 9/11!? Aside from Stalinist, both Russians and Rossiyans love the movie

[@A_Haunted_Pancake]

@@what8562 Yeah, comparing those two things are as bananas, as saying "Team America" was about 9/11.

[@IphigeniaAtAulis]

Film Actors Guild.

[@robertlombardo8437]

Uh no. The comparison isn't there. There's a difference between satirizing a culture of paranoia and violence caused by the death of the brutal dictator that started it, and 9/11. Not to mention, it was based quite authentically on a variety of actual events and people. Also, it annoys me to this day that people can no longer spell America with a fucking 'A' like educated human beings anymore. Needles in my ears every damn time.

[@TWOCOWS1]

We are lucky that Svetlana found refuge in the US, married and settled in New Jersey (changed name to "Lana Peters", became a born again Christian, ended up in an elderly home in Milwaukee where she died in 2011!! We KNOW SO MUCH about Stalin through Svetlana. You should buy and read her memoirs.

[@user-jn7if5cv5s]

His granddaughter is still in … Portland

[@TWOCOWS1]

@@user-jn7if5cv5s wow. thanks for the info. do you know any more about her? do tell

[@williamerazo3921]

🤔

[@erraticonteuse]

@@TWOCOWS1 She owns an antique store and she dresses like Tank Girl.

[@erraticonteuse]

@@TWOCOWS1 I'm talking about Svetlana's daughter in Portland, Chrese Evans

[@zoidsfan12]

Now this is how you deal with dark and depressing subject matter. I have always found that the best way to work through complex emotions is to just laugh and realize the absurdity. This film so well encapsulates the paranoia and showcases it's rediculousness.

[@JackToeRip]

The world and Russia had been in absolute terror of one man for so long. It's honestly funny.

[@heretyk_1337]

There is an old joke in my country, regarding Stalin: Old woman is shown a picture of Stalin, and she asks, "who dat?". - What are you talking about, comerade(i forgot female version of it in english. If there even is one...)?! This is Comerade Stalin! He chased Germans out of Poland! - Oh, i see...- says woman, and falls silent, thinking, sitting still for a moment.- Well, God willing, he`ll chase Russians away too... Maybe laugh is a way to approach the matter, but i know one thing: there is not enough blood in Russia, China and North Korea put together, that ex- communost countreis would like to spill, to "thank" Russia for Soviet Union, "equality" brought on the bayonets of Mosins and all that was associated with it. Try to make joke out of that...

[@gregoryfilin8040]

The whole thing with the Dacha is viable. See, in the movie, the NKVD, and soldiers would have troubles. The army was always under Stalin. The NKVD was under Berya. Berya, even though he was no longer head, still had massive sway and called the shots. Berya wanted everything on that Dacha and for him to seize power. So his NKVD and the army would start taking everything, and his NKVD would shoot and kill off army personnel and have the NKVD take their former place. This was well known and is part of why Zhukov so happily was against the Berya. This type of infighting was all part of the regime.

[@lindgrenland]

Zhukov VS The Berya Great wrestling

[@rdallas81]

Beria

[@zhukie]

Difficult not to be against Beria when he was a serial rapist of children

[@michaelpadgettactor]

From 15:51 - 16:20, the sound drops out. Copywrittrn song? Sound issues?

[@scotch4890]

Marshall Zhukov was a very interesting person and the story of how Stalin pitted him against his rival Marshall to take the Reichstag in Berlin is quite the riveting tale.

[@Bringmeoneofthosechickens]

General George Washington > Zhukov

[@scotch4890]

@@Bringmeoneofthosechickens debatable=your comment

[@Bringmeoneofthosechickens]

@@scotch4890 Hmm George Washington = founded the most powerful nation on earth. Zhukov the Borscht boy = died for the FAILED USSR

[@siroutlaw7466]

Anyone noticing now the audio is muted from 15:49-16:20? Is that a glitch or did KZbin cut the audio?

[@bladenight23]

I think KZbin cut the audio

[@Reiver666]

What was the name of the song that was muted?

[@bladenight23]

​@@Reiver666 I think I found it. It's called Varshavianka

[@carterdc3576]

I think the audio was copyright stricken and the simplest solution for him was to delete the audio

[@bobsaggat]

That awkward moment when a communist song slaps you for violating intellectual property

[@TheNN]

Nick, I personally expected this video to be out sooner than this. Don't tell me that you were... Stalin.

[@tomazou2010]

Booooooo

[@BrickmanJ]

He should have been Russian to get this out.

[@NerevarOfficialReal]

Get out.

[@maelgugi]

He was in the gulag

[@marloyorkrodriguez9975]

To the gulag you go

[@Druzica18]

JUST saw this! The history is fascinating, thank you for making this video :D

[@batuhantuncdemir5384]

Very good review as always! but one note on order 227, it did not instruct officers to shoot retreating soldiers or it was never applied to fire on an assaulting unit when it could not break enemy resistance and came back (unlike shown in Enemy at the Gates). It was an order that specifically aimed at generals and officers who retreated from their positions without approval. And in practice, it was even not applied everytime an officer retreated. There are many examples when russian generals fell back when they thought they were surrounded and not condemned. Order 227 was applied when a general was given a specific order to stand and fight but instead he choose to fall back. Even then, death was not always the penalty. Also when you read it, order 227 does not say "shoot the soldiers who retreat" but it instructs to stop commanders from retreating when ordered to hold their ground. Doesn't change the evilness level of Stalin, but just a note to show that he was not a mad psychopath who wanted to kill "all" his fighting soldiers...

[@AlanGonzalez-gb4yv]

Thank you for this comment! I still can't believe how many people take as the truth what Enemy at the Gates showed us, I mean, even History Buffs used it to illustrate what the was saying about it in the video. In general good video, and of course I think that today, everybody knows about Stalin's crimes.

[@andrewwigglesworth3030]

Since it is a propaganda film full of lies, you'd expect them to lie about order 227 as well. You mention "Enemy at the Gate" too. A film that is a stain on the record (and honour) of all those involved. It is one of the most disgusting propaganda films I have ever seen.

[@carlmagrath6389]

So out of the 3 million POW's that were sent back to the USSR after WW2, how many of his "fighting soldiers" returned to civilian life?

[@user-py7hh5vo3l]

Huh seems like the Russian Army is currently missing the fine points of order 227 since they currently practice it in Ukraine just as described in the video.

[@iplaygames8090]

​@@user-py7hh5vo3l realy? I have seen russians pull grenades on themselves in order to avoid capture, i have seen ukranians machine gun surrendered russians, i have seen russians decapitate a ukranian captive but i haven yet seen russian solidiers gunning down retreating russiam solidiers, ukranians executing a deserting ukranian? Yes. Wagner doing Wagner shit and smashing a deserters head in woth a hammer? Yes. But not regular russian army units.

[@zebaguettefromfrance1287]

History buff: *Laugh at "the death of Stalin"* The internet: "You have been found guilty of anti-soviet behavior and are sentenced to be shot

[@livethefuture2492]

Khrushchev: you have been found sympathizing with Stalinist supporters and are sentenced to exile in Cuba.

[@konstantin3374]

@@livethefuture2492 for any soviet citizen exile in Cuba would be long desired vacation with hot latinas, cheap rum and NO SNOW.

[@savageshot3723]

@@konstantin3374 Hahaha!

[@jjturner4424]

While there may be an interest among people in the revolutionaries, I think the majority of the left(myself included) are horrified by the crimes of Mao and Stalin.

[@grahamhill676]

@@jjturner4424 how brave

[@Fungamerplays]

43:31 imagine just driving your car listening to the radio when suddenly the hosts start fighting on air

[@paulaquilacapili4636]

watches a video essay* sees a guy getting executed 6 minutes and 44 seconds into the video

[@TroubleToby3040]

Uhm... SPOILER ALERT?!🤦‍♂😂🤣😂