# data[].attributes.body
Stalin killed around 6 million people on purpose, a figure that rises to 9 million when expected deaths as a result of policies are factored in.

# data[].attributes.body
Despite Stalin's ruthless time as a dictator, propaganda portrayed him as a fatherly figure who devoted everything in his life to the his career and his people of the Soviet Union.

He rarely ever made a public appearance but when he did, applause followed every time he stopped talking because the citizens knew they were all in danger of being taken away and silenced by the NKVD if they even stopped clapping first.

His genius was hailed in the media and his portrait decorated the walls of every office, schools and even most homes. His personality gained such a cultish following that when he died in 1953, millions publicly mourned his death because they believed a truly good leader had died. Or perhaps they were acting to stay out of the NKVD's way.

# data[].attributes.body
During and after WWII Stalin had many spies collecting information for him in countries all around the world. The information gathered  would then be used by Stalin when he saw a need to use it.

# data[].attributes.body
"20 million citizens were sent to the gulags or executed."

# data[].attributes.body
Stalin was paranoid that someone would try to take away his position of power. In Stalin's mind this could have been by destroying his party from the inside (this is why he killed so many Communist Party members in the 30s), making people question his authority, trying to take over (like the Bolsheviks did originally), or even trying to kill him.

Stalin had made himself this powerful dictactor, and cult-like figure in the Soviet Union, he had a huge target on his back and knew people resented, even hated, him.

Stalin was willing to do anything to keep his position of power, and in his mind, it was necessary to exteriminate anything and anyone who seemed like they could pose a threat to him and his position of power.

# data[].attributes.body
Stain death left an unmanageable legacy, economically and in terms of security. Billington spoke of the need for Russia and the world to face up to the horrors of the Stalin regime.

# data[].attributes.body
There were 2 people who ruled after him. These people were Georgi Malenkov, and Nikita Khrushchev. Georgi started a series of reforms that are known as the THAW. This reform series was including the Soviet Union foreign policy to a peaceful cooperation with the West. They would then destroy the GULAG systems which would then release thousands of political prisoners who were sentenced by Stalin. This was known as "Destalinization" and it continued after Nikita Khrushchev became the Prime Minister in 1958.

# data[].attributes.body
Not many people who were actually VERY close to him didn't betray him, because they probably knew better. He was notorious for sending people to be executed or into labour camps in Siberia, which expanded significantly under Stalin's rule.

When around six million Red Army soldiers were taken by Germany after the Great Patriotic War, Stalin demanded they be returned. Despite it, only four million were returned.

Even so, the returned people were forced into camps where they were interrogated by the NKVD in order to ensure that they weren't secretly working for Germany or other countries in betrayal of Stalin.

Because even the very act of being captured was betrayal enough in Stalin's eyes, Stalin even refused to cut a deal to free his own son who was captured.

# data[].attributes.body
Stalin was paranoid about the people around him. He is afraid that someone close to him is plotting on killing him and taking the role of leader. This is why he purged officers and other members of his party. Even then, he couldn't get rid of his paranoia. He also tortured his doctor in fear that he is poisoning him. Stalin was a very mentally unstable person. He developed most of his problems because of the difficulty he faced in his early life.

# data[].attributes.body
Diplomats, high-ranking officials, artists, and sportsmen could flee to the West.

# data[].attributes.body
After Stalin death, Nikita Khrushchev stopped all NKVD purges, and all the victims that were effected had their rights restored and were rehabilitated

# data[].attributes.body
Ekaterina Svanidze was Stalin's first wife and mother to his oldest son. They got married in 1906 which she was not forced to do and she died soon after their son was born in 1907. Stalin mourned her death and attempted suicide multiple times. Stalin was married a second time in 1919 to Nadezhda Alliluyeva. She was only 18 while Stalin was 40 they had 2 children which Stalin wanted Nadezhda to stay home and take care of the children whilst she wanted a career and education. This made Stalin angry and they fought a lot especially since she didn't agree with many of his policies and Stalin cheated on her multiple times and she tried to leave him but he didn't let her. Eventually, she killed herself in 1932.

# data[].attributes.body
After Stalin died, the Gulags started to weaken. In a very short amount of time after he had passed, millions of prisoners were able to be released. Some of the Gulags were still used after his death to hold criminals, democratics and people against the Soviet Union.
In 1987 the Gulags were starting to be completely taken down. This was done by Mikhail Gorbachev who's grandparents were Gulag victims.
https://www.history.com/topics/russia/gulag

# data[].attributes.body
Until Khrushchev's well-known "secret" speech to a Party Congress in 1956, in which Stalin's excesses, at least as far as power grabs within the Party itself, were criticised, he remained a hero to his people.

# data[].attributes.body
It very much is possible. A man in such power as him likely would be doing such things at the time or at least agreeing with it. Otherwise his men would not be allowed to do such things and would be punished harshly.

# data[].attributes.body
Considering how many people came to his funeral, I think there were still some loyal Stalinists even though he did truly terrible things. However, some of those people could have been attending out of fear.

# data[].attributes.body
There is nothing to suggest that Britain and the US knew Stalin was killing his people. If they did, they would most likely do something about it or at least cut themselves out of their alliance with him. After the Holocaust, they would be on edge and very worried about such horrors happening again, so they wouldn't just allow it if they knew.

# data[].attributes.body
Khrushchev wasn't able to remove Stalin's fear policies without angering people still loyal to Stalin and his Stalinist ways. He was able to remove them from power by getting rid of Stalin's old supporters within the Communist Party, however they were still angry from the change in leadership and losing their power and influence.

# data[].attributes.body
After reading about his personal life, and relationships, it did not seem that Stalin's wives were forced to marry him. However, the ones who had affairs with him were afraid of him, and couldn't say no to him in fear that he may ruin their career.  He also was accused of manipulating young women to having affairs with him during his exile. He never acknowledged them ever since he returned to Russia

# data[].attributes.body
It is estimated that up to six million people were imprisoned in the camps and a million or more of these died

# data[].attributes.body
Destalinization has impacted other countries around Russia. It caused unrest and uprisings in the Soviet Satellites states of Poland and Hungary. Khrushchev's military force had to be used to put and end to the uprisings.

# data[].attributes.body
While industrialization and collectivization was supposed to stop after the announcement at the 19th Communist Party Congress that the "grain problem had been solved." there are still certain aspects of the system that continued after Stalin's death. In March 1954, a plan for extensive agriculture was proposed, Khrushchev said that it would be "relatively inexpensive means to increase agriculture output".

Khrushchev was a big supporter of industrialization and preferred a dominance of heavy industry, these ideas came from Stalin and even if Stalin was dead and denounced at this point, his ideas still lived on, even in the men that resented him.

# data[].attributes.body
Khrushchev's Thaw loosened Soviet society to the point where foreign films, novels, artwork, and entertainment were permitted. As official Soviet censorship rules altered, certain earlier prohibited authors and musicians, were reintroduced to public life.

# data[].attributes.body
Khrushchev implemented an open policy to some extent. He recognized a certain degree of freedom in the arts and allowed Soviet citizens to tour abroad and foreign tourists to the Soviet Union. Relations with the United States also entered a temporary thaw.