Stalin's rise to power | Vejas Liulevicius and Lex Fridman

[@LexClips]

Lex Fridman Podcast full episode: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qWLShXtqiM-psMk Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: lexfridman.com/sponsors/cv7961-sa See below for guest bio, links, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. *GUEST BIO:* Vejas Liulevicius is a historian specializing in Germany and Eastern Europe, who has lectured extensively on Marxism and the rise, the reign, and the fall of Communism. *CONTACT LEX:* *Feedback* - give feedback to Lex: lexfridman.com/survey *AMA* - submit questions, videos or call-in: lexfridman.com/ama *Hiring* - join our team: lexfridman.com/hiring *Other* - other ways to get in touch: lexfridman.com/contact *EPISODE LINKS:* Vejas's Courses: www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/vejas-gabriel-liulevicius Vejas's Books: amzn.to/4e3R1rz Vejas's Audible: adbl.co/4esRrHt *SPONSORS:* To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts: *AG1:* All-in-one daily nutrition drinks. Go to lexfridman.com/s/ag1-cv7961-sa *BetterHelp:* Online therapy and counseling. Go to lexfridman.com/s/betterhelp-cv7961-sa *Notion:* Note-taking and team collaboration. Go to lexfridman.com/s/notion-cv7961-sa *LMNT:* Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix. Go to lexfridman.com/s/lmnt-cv7961-sa *Eight Sleep:* Temp-controlled smart mattress. Go to lexfridman.com/s/eight_sleep-cv7961-sa *PODCAST LINKS:* - Podcast Website: lexfridman.com/podcast - Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2lwqZIr - Spotify: spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 - RSS: lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ - Podcast Playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4 - Clips Channel: kzbin.info *SOCIAL LINKS:* - X: x.com/lexfridman - Instagram: instagram.com/lexfridman - TikTok: tiktok.com/@lexfridman - LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lexfridman - Facebook: facebook.com/lexfridman - Patreon: patreon.com/lexfridman - Telegram: t.me/lexfridman - Reddit: reddit.com/r/lexfridman

[@dvsxavier]

When Khrushchev stepped down, he wrote a letter to his successor and told them to blame him for the failures in domestic and foreign policy. And he gave them one piece of advice, if things went sour write a letter to their successor and tell them the same thing.

[@djsltx4378]

I think it's also important to point out that Stalin was Georgian and not Russian, which was a factor in how he ruled.

[@PeterJordansonn]

Erdogan is also ethnically Georgian. So what?

[@leobatard]

Stalin was born in the Russian empire. By defaut He was a Russian. Ethnic Georgian and Ossetian. You do not have to be a East Slavic to Be Russian. One the geeat Russian Goalkeeper Rinat Dassev is ethnic Tatar.

[@unknownsoldier452]

Stalin was a Russian nationalist to the degree that it would have Alenxader II blush. Seems counter-intuitive but Anglo-American notions of identity and race don't apply to Eurasia. Identity is a choice and Stalin garbed himself in the mythos of great Russian rulers.

[@JorgeM270]

He talked about this point right before the clip starts

[@TerryStewart32]

Napoleon wasn’t French he was Corsican and Hitler wasn’t German he was Austrian. These distinction are absurd as they were not independent countries and was all governed under the same umbrella empire

[@bpaajcisna5595]

I would love to read Stalin's annotations of Machiavelli. Wow. Talk about something fascinating.

[@selenaclarke]

I never imagined this video being of interest to me but Vejas's girth of knowledge & his art of expression had me sitting on the edge of my seat. Thankyou Lex

[@elzach0]

Just watched The Death of Stalin.. highly recommend!!

[@philsturm4685]

Communists also simply pointed to the atrocities of the monarchists and such and said, "Look, if the King can do these things in the name of governance, so can we, and if you object, you are merely a hypocrite."

[@rokarnus85]

Isn't most USA farming today run by big companies, not small farmers?

[@scottlaux6934]

Yes but this was in the 1920s.

[@autoclearanceuk7191]

Is it ?

[@TheVigilantEye77]

Tragically, yes

[@DibbzTV]

Ooooh I only know this cuz I took a Russian History class in college. Stalin was ruthlessly efficient with his rise to power

[@Cody-r7r]

Homie cut his way through the line to the death bed of Lenin

[@Mark-v9y8w]

Get one thing straight: Stalin wasn't incompetent. He had a high work ethic Maybe drank, but as someone said, he was the CEO of the Soviet Union. He saw himself as the CEO, so he couldn't be bribed.

[@qcsorter4626]

Hard to bribe someone who has ultimate power!

[@purpplekushh]

Do you understand that Soviet Union was like North Korea? Kim is hard working too lol

[@tylermiron6854]

Stalin was incompetent that's why he did so many purges

[@Zapper-kq1zg]

@@purpplekushh hahahaha proofs?

[@purpplekushh]

@@Zapper-kq1zg about what exactly you need proof? That Kim works hard? Pyongyang isn't that bad. Or that Soviet Union had also pioneers like NK today still has? Or that people couldn't leave that easy or travel outside of Soviet Union like in NK?

[@TheVigilantEye77]

To this day, farmers are treated with contempt

[@davissae]

He gives great analysis of the Soviet conception of agriculture and their total lack of understanding

[@stubbbbbs]

To what degree is Lex using “too what degree” too much?

[@austinxaiver8429]

Any First Law fans out there? The Age of Madness trilogy really gave me a look into how the terror would be experienced. Wisdom of Crowds is where "The Great Change" kicks off.

[@StephenElk]

Brilliant, absolutely brilliant! As always well done Lex.

[@DanAber-v9c]

As a young man Stalin attended a seminary Stalin, preparing for the priesthood. Around that time he read Das Kapital and discovered it to be a new bible in which to believe in. Stalin was not only a Marxist true believer but later used his unshaken belief in Marxism as justifying all his actions as upholding his new found faith.

[@Zadrigo]

Right wingers like you dont understand that leftists have no bible. Das Kapital is simply a book that criticized what was going on in that era, its not a holy scripture. Merely a step in the good direction, and probably full of faults which will be addressed and corrected in time.

[@Zadrigo]

The thing that puzzles me about Stalin is how could he be so merciful towards the Germans. They waged a war of total annihilation, killed 27 million Soviets, raped their women for 4 years, destroyed all cities they could, killed so many in concentration camp...and yet, they were not reciprocated. If Stalin really was that cruel, I would expect such cruelty to manifest upon his greatest enemies.

[@purpplekushh]

Maybe because your missed peace is that, Soviets had military parades with Germans, even after they invaded Poland together, in Brest, Belarus, Hitler even lived there sometimes.

[@TheMerryPrangster]

That was so fascinating. Thanks for sharing

[@danielrumling4766]

I think he was almost forced to by the US. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalin:_The_Court_of_the_Red_Tsar good read, Also there was so much human and economic capital in Germany that shouldn't be destroyed as a Machiavellian pragmatist 😄

[@CamFrmThaLakes074]

​@@purpplekushhStalin tried to warn the west about Hitler and enter into military pacts and was refused. He entered into an agreement with Germany to prevent invasion of the USSR. Hitler used a false flag to invade Poland triggering the clause which forced the USSR to aid their military allies against what was being sold as an invasion of Poland by Germany. They were always national and ideological enemies, the failure of the west to hear Stalin out caused a military pact that is now used by idiots to claim these 2 were ever anything like ideological cousins. It's a shame

[@erikalesi7603]

Its important to remember that in his testament right before he died, Lenin was harshly critical of Stalin, and did not endorse him. He ascribed some positive attributes to him but did not believe he was fit to succeed.

[@_b_x_b_1063]

Its fake

[@tylermiron6854]

​@_b_x_b_1063 your wrong Stalin was denounced by Lenin on his death bed

[@TheMerryPrangster]

That was so fascinating. Thanks for sharing

[@erikalesi7603]

@@TheMerryPrangster OMG you’re so welcome, thank you so much.

[@Markov16]

Stalin surely would succeed, the time he never left Russia when Lenin did. When he almost die escaping in the Arctic circle, the time where Trotsky keep getting him down about the military situation in the civil war. Lenin surely knows Stalin must be around that his office is well placed to be just next into Stalin.

[@კ.ა.ხ.ა]

Fake, why don't you invite someone who will speak by facts and not reciting some novels?

[@freedomworks3976]

Hey Joe !!! Where is the omelet ???

[@user-rl3iv2jk9q]

Thur 7 Nov 2024 : Respect .

[@montycobra]

Fascinating - this guy doesn't know anything about RE and USSR. He thinks it was like every other country with some little differences. O.M.G.

[@mazamatov]

Lex can you please interview professor Andrey Fursov?

[@TheMerryPrangster]

That was so fascinating. Thanks for sharing

[@hat4273]

To many ads.

[@kyledammann4284]

Really good

[@Art36839]

I think prof Kotkin is a bit better on these topics tbh

[@juancarlosvacio4414]

Power!!!!

[@TheVigilantEye77]

See the Netherlands TODAY

[@dvsxavier]

So, even though Stalin who was trained to be a priest, had some religious knowledge of morality, of right from wrong, dispels that myth of ethical standard. Because Stalin ordered and did commit crimes against humanity even after the second world war with political purges and ethnic cleansings. However, this is the most important part, because Stalin "won" the war he got to decide who was good and evil.

[@CamFrmThaLakes074]

Stalin didn't just win, he tore the guts out of the fascist war machine, liberated jews slavs and Roma in eastern Europe and dismantled demilitarized and partitioned an entire empire of Germany. The holocaust perpetrators were the evil, intellectually I don't think there's a question about it.

[@jeff-hh9mc]

A true democrat

[@alessandrosimas3977]

This Guy spews the same old trotskyist propaganda that Stalin was intellectually limited... And Lex doesn't say a word...

[@Ki11Th3mA11Kid]

I don't think Stalin was as "dumb" as many historians try to make him seem since his comeuppance was as a street thug being the muscle doing the dirty work but he clearly was smart enough to Maneuver himself to the top playing his cards right. At the same time dude was not the brightest crayon in the box by any means. His stupidity in believing Hitler wouldn't back stab him after he seen Hitler do it repeatedly is astonishing and it Cosy tens of millions of Russians thier lives not preparing for that invasion on any level all while Stalin locked himself away for days refusing to speak letting shit fall apart and leaving his generals terrified to make a solid plan or move worrying if it doesn't work it's thier head getting chopped off at any small failures.

[@mjbranch2109]

He was a street thug and not from the group university educated communists that instigated the revolution

[@purpplekushh]

Everything was done by Chekists, under Stalin, Lenin, and also Putin.

[@tylermiron6854]

Stalin wasn't very bright and it showed in how he ran the Soviet union

[@Markov16]

​@@Ki11Th3mA11Kid Nahh Stalin in fact fought this Axis group from Spain to Manchuria. Hitler didnt backstabbed him, Stalin cut the supply cord and thats why Hitler just gave all of his strength to atleast get more after Stalin is acting more neutral by just cutting the border trade exchanges especially war materials. Stalin literally turned Brest-Litovsk to a sudden magic advantage that even Germany cant do.

[@zachwallace8274]

Or, hear me out here, communism/Marxism doesn't work as an economic model.

[@SteveMG500]

In "Darkness at Noon", the protagonist Rubashov is arrested and accused of being an enemy of the state. Or something; it's not clear what crime he is accused of committing. He's been a loyal Party member all of is life. He was arrested and tortured by the Nazis but never broke. He's carried out every order given to him. He is innocent. In his jail cell he goes over what he's done, what the Party has done. They've killed millions, tortured and suppressed millions more but are no closer to the Marxist utopia than when they started. Again, he is innocent. But the *logic* of Marxism, of the Party requires that he confess. The Party is leading the people to History, to this utopian end and is never wrong. Can never be wrong. So he stands up in Court and confesses to these imaginary crimes. Because History requires it.

[@No-liberal-no-democrat]

Democrats imitating and love of Stalin is apparent and appalling

[@qcsorter4626]

Yeah - Democrats always love their 'strong men' leaders who brook no opposition. Look at all the people who Biden has cast aside in his presidency. Unlike Trump, who tolerates dissent and welcomes alternative views in the party . . . . NOT!!

[@autoclearanceuk7191]

Winnowed means : to reduce a large number of people or things to a much smaller number by judging their quality. Cambridge dictionary.

[@TheVigilantEye77]

Stalin looked at people the way Netanyahu does

[@beatle1956]

He looks like he needs a nap

[@atheistbushman]

DEI - mediocrity is awarded

[@austinraypuffpaff]

what he was saying about trotsky at the end there… “re-configure” people? sounds an awful lot like gender-transitioning to me

[@rosesoulis1840]

Mao was a homosexual also

[@DiplodocusHippopotamus]

Giver, taker or both? How did Mao get plowed?

[@hithisisnotpaul]

Was he any good?

[@MrImaghost]

Sounds A LOT like what Kamala Harris wants to do‼️ And what’s been happening under Biden‼️

[@j.s3300]

Breathe

[@AngusRobert]

Go outside and touch grass

[@joshuanartey5822]

You are delusional

[@15walkingaway]

Lmao. Trump tried to steal the election and is a wannabe dictator. Try again.

[@MrImaghost]

@@j.s3300 censorship,manipulation of statistic,jailing people who oppose, farmers being punished...Catch up son.

[@savagelizard420]

First to comment let's go!

[@rosesoulis1840]

BIDEN.....THE RAINBOW WARRIOR AT 81YEARS OLD.......LOL.....

[@davissae]

Kremlin Trump troll

[@rosesoulis1840]

@@davissae Putin ENDORSED KAMALA

[@JohnDoe-iq9bz]

​@@davissaeYou're a bot🤖🤖🤖

[@davissae]

@@JohnDoe-iq9bz 4 inches to the left. Close but no cigar, sadly

[@rosesoulis1840]

@@davissae PUTIN ENDORSED KAMALA