Thanks! I’ll look into that. I apologize for using BBC as a source. As a recovering liberal, it was one of the few news sources I had access to that wasn’t Fox News and I’m finding it hard to find better sources in the US. I’m finding Ground News is helpful, but even that app doesn’t really include any communist sources, just a bunch of US news sources

This is why I posted this question! I had no idea my sources were basically sponsored by the CIA. I appreciate the book recommendations. I realize that 50’s Cuba and WW2 USSR are fundamentally different due to almost every aspect from time to culture, I was just confused as to why it seemed like Stalin is exalted while nobody mentions Fidel when (due to bad and/or misinformed information) Stalin seemed like a more brutal…dictator? Is that the right word? I’ll definitely read those books, thanks again

This is a link to a BBC article about potential election tampering in Russia. There is a video of people stuffing ballot boxes with papers, but I ran out of time to find it. Can you explain and maybe share a source on the coup and following civil war in Ukraine?

I now know those numbers were wrong. Like most other internet historians, I used Wikipedia and didn’t have time to double check those numbers as I was in the bathroom at work (always poop on the clock ;) ). That’s on me. Even Wikipedia has largely differing numbers on that matter. One said 1.8 million, another said 14, and I think it’ll be almost impossible to get right numbers because of the secrecy the USSR had during that time (especially during the Cold War). I know he did great things, but I truly believe that those are far overshadowed by the shady and cruel things he did. Another specific example would be his infamous Order 227. I acknowledge that he did a great job of mobilizing the economy and industry to help defeat the Nazis while being in an active invasion. That being said, I believe we can find better communist leaders that didn’t kill at least 700,000 of his political opponents to maintain power, with some sources estimating between 650,000 and 1.2 million. That last link is directed to a PDF from the Jackson School of International Studies. Like I said, I know he did great things, and we should draw a light to those actions, but we shouldn’t blindly say he was great. I think we have different people in history that set a much better example, like Fidel Castro for one. None of this was meant as a personal attack, just trying to back up my points of view and explain why part of my post was just numskullery :)