86: The Mass Murderer Nobody Talks About: Joseph Stalin Part 1 | Dark History with Bailey Sarian
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This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

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So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24-7, 365 days a year, so you're protected no matter what. Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive.

Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customer surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations. This is an ad by BetterHelp. What are your self-care non-negotiables? The things you know make you feel better even when it's impossible to make time for them.

Like that workout you try to squeeze in between kids' activities, work, and everything else you have going on, and before you know it, it gets pushed to tomorrow. Sound familiar? But it's the moments when you feel like you have no time for yourself when those non-negotiables are more important than ever. Those are the things that keep you strong, healthy, motivated, and prepared to take on everything life demands of you. So why not make therapy one of them?

BetterHelp Online Therapy makes it easy to get started with affordable phone, video, or live chat sessions you can do from anywhere, and the option to message your therapist between sessions if anything comes up. Never skip therapy day with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com slash darkhistory today to get 10% off your first month. That's betterhelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash darkhistory.

Hi, friends. I hope you're having a wonderful day today. My name is Bailey Sarian, and I'd like to welcome you to my study and to my podcast, Dark History. Now, this is a chance to tell the story like it is and to share the history of stuff that...

many of us would just never think about. So that's where you can rely on me because I'm up every single night Googling stuff that I have no business Googling, you know? So all you have to do is sit back, relax, and let's talk about that hot, juicy history goss.

Oh yeah, baby. So about two years ago, I got really into Russian literature. Don't ask why, I just did. One of my favorites was Dostoevsky. If I said that correctly. Don't come for me, thank you. But one of my favorites was Crime and Punishment. Wow!

That was so good. It was dark. I liked it. And then I kind of kept reading different Russian literature pieces and it was like the style of their literature is very dark, blunt, morbid, and over descriptive. And I was like, this is my shit. I loved it. And then as I got further into more and more books by different authors, another one caught my attention. It's called The Master and Margarita.

Now this book, another fave, wild. It's wild. It's about all sorts of things, but essentially, I guess it's about Stalin, essentially, okay? Who I sort of like kind of remembered from high school history class. I knew he was a dictator and people didn't like him, but honestly that was really about it, right? So when I don't understand something, I run right towards it. And baby, I got myself a Stalin biography.

I got this biography. I was like, okay, I'm gonna learn about Stalin. I wanna know what he did. And while reading this book, I got real confused because it was coming across as a very pro-Stalin book. Like, I think it was. Throughout the book, the author was like, Stalin, he wasn't a bad guy. He just loved playing jokes on people. And then I read this whole chapter about how Stalin liked having fun, playing hide and seek, joke with his friends. And I was like, oh,

"So you mean to tell me this whole thing was one big joke?" "My bad." You know, like, "Of course. Stalin, you prankster, you. Silly." And then I shut the book because obviously that's probably not the full truth, right? They seem to skip a lot of shit. I mean, it's history, right? Everybody has their opinions as to what happened. But one thing I knew for sure was that Stalin killed a bunch of people. But to this day, there's tons of Russians who still love him.

and even say that he saved them from Hitler. So I was like, "What the fuck? I still don't get it." So I did my own digging and I wanted to figure out who was this Joseph Stalin guy? I mean, what did he get up to during his time as the leader of the Soviet Union?

Which Soviet Union kind of it was like kind of confusing. So here's a little inside tip. Russia and 14 other countries, including Ukraine, Armenia and Georgia, weren't independent countries at this time. They were a part of one big ass country called the Soviet Union. And this ended in 1991. So in today's story, if I say Soviet Union, think Russia.

Okay. Anyway, after my deep dive, I gotta tell ya, Stalin's story, it was a lot. It's definitely a rags-to-dictator type of tale. And get this, Stalin, he was deadlier than Hitler.

Facts! They weren't lying. He really was. Isn't that wild? First things first, Stalin was actually his stage name. Yeah, I was surprised by that. I guess he chose it himself. And then guess what it means? Man of Steel.

Now, when I heard this, it actually unleashed like a forgotten memory I had deep down. One time I dated this guy and he named his lower region Stalin. Yeah, like his dick. And that was weird, obviously. And now it kind of makes sense. Man of steel? I mean...

I see it now. Good for him. So besides all that, I hope that guy's dick is doing well. Stalin's real name, and get ready, friends, I'm definitely gonna butcher this. Yosef Vissarionovich Zhugashvili. How'd I do, Joan?

Okay, great. She said I nailed it, so I must have done. I just must have nailed it then. Now, just based off of that, I can kind of understand why he changed his name. It's just a bit of a mouthful, you know? Doesn't really roll off the tongue that easily. And good for him. So Yosef, aka Stalin, well, he was born on December 18th, 1878. I know he's a Sag. Boo. But he was born in the Soviet Union and...

He had a pretty rough growing up. I mean, Stalin's family was poor. Both of his siblings, they had died as babies. It was sad. And on top of that, Stalin had a, um, he had a webbed foot. So, you know, he's probably feeling insecure about it. Stalin's mom, well, she worked as a housekeeper and his dad was a poor shoemaker. There were actually rumors that Stalin's mom was, you know,

Like, uh, doing her own thing. She was a little promiscuous. And people said that she slept around on the job, including at churches she worked at. In fact, many people out there have argued that Stalin's real daddy was most likely a priest. Mm-hmm. Messy! I mean, in the Lord's name? Ugh! Tee.

So this alone kind of says a lot and it really sets the stage for the rest of his life. I mean, you think this is messy. Mm, buckle in. Of course, like these were the good old days before paternity tests existed. So honestly, nobody will probably really know who Stalin's dad was.

I don't think it matters at this point. But what I'm getting at is this may have been a source of trouble for Stalin himself because, you know, he had daddy issues growing up, probably all his life, actually. So when Stalin was only five years old, his dad left the family to go work in a factory. And it really wasn't a choice of his. His dad was thrown out of town by the cops.

And this turned out to be maybe the best option because Stalin's dad was actually a raging alcoholic and I guess he would get pretty violent. Before he left the family, he would regularly beat his wife and young Stalin. So yeah, not ideal from the start. And the cherry on top of this crap Sunday is that around the same time, little Stalin, he caught fire.

Now, smallpox is usually a serious and deadly infection back then. Yeah, if you got smallpox, it was like a death sentence, really. And I don't know, maybe it was Stalin's name, but, you know, he ends up surviving, and he's left with scars all over his face and body. So when Stalin goes back to school...

You know, instead of the kids being like, wow, you survived. Holy shit. Way to go. Instead, his classmates, they end up bullying him, you know, calling him Pocky because he had pock scars all over his face. So I feel like Stalin really didn't have a safe place to go. Everywhere he went, it was just bullying and toxic.

Honestly, those people shouldn't have been bullying him because look what he becomes, a dictator. So I hope they feel good about themselves, those little asshole kids. So from a young age, Stalin is being raised by a virtually single mother who coddled him, but also she would beat him too, like pretty badly. And apparently Stalin's mother was obsessed

with her son becoming a priest. This was because being a priest could lead to you becoming a bishop. I mean, not only did they have major clout in the religious community, but they also had a lot of political influence. So this was essentially like a fast track to becoming a household name, even if you came from nothing like Stalin. So his mom is like, "Fuck yeah, do it." And honestly, I really didn't see this next part coming.

And I guess neither did he, actually. At the age of seven years old, little Stalin gets hit by a horse-drawn carriage. Yeah, and get this, not just once, but on two different occasions. And I was sitting there like, damn, how does that even happen? You know, because you would hear it coming, right?

Okay, well, maybe he needed glasses, I don't know. But because he got hit not once but twice, Stalin had suffered injuries to his legs and his left arm, and they never fully recovered. For the rest of his life, he would never be able to lift or hold items straight, which is a bummer, you know? Now, if you ever look up pictures of Stalin as an adult, you always see him with his arm tucked into the front of his jacket. He's always like this.

And honestly, I was like, "Oh, that's just what a man in power does, I guess."

You know, whatever. But he actually did it because it was the arm that was injured and he was like really insecure about it. So he's just trying to hide it. Little fun fact, huh? He got hit by a horse and carriage and this is his pose now. It's a lot, right? On top of having a webbed foot, two dead siblings, a lame arm, a scarred face, an MIA alcoholic daddy, a helicopter mom, and a whole bunch of bullies,

On top of all this, Stalin was also small for his age and he would never grow past five foot four. You know, it's just like, I guess this is the combination of how to make a dictator. This is it. Sugar, spice, and nothing nice. This is the combination to make a dictator. Oh, and a mustache.

Throw that in there. Him being 5'4", more than anything else, really got to Stalin. You know? Very insecure. And as he got older, he would start wearing platform shoes, like lifts in his shoes, to make himself just seem a little bit taller. And I mean, honestly, I get it, you know? Stalin must have felt like he was dealt a shitty hand. And as an adult, he wanted to prove everyone was fucking wrong. He was the man of frickin' steel, goddamnit.

Damn. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

It's easy and you can save money by doing it from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner and more.

So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24-7, 365 days a year, so you're protected no matter what. Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive.

This is an ad by BetterHelp. What?

What are your self-care non-negotiables? The things you know make you feel better, even when it's impossible to make time for them. Like that workout you try to squeeze in between kids' activities, work, and everything else you have going on, and before you know it, it gets pushed to tomorrow.

Sound familiar? But it's the moments when you feel like you have no time for yourself when those non-negotiables are more important than ever. Those are the things that keep you strong, healthy, motivated, and prepared to take on everything life demands of you. So why not make therapy one of them?

BetterHelp Online Therapy makes it easy to get started with affordable phone, video, or live chat sessions you can do from anywhere, and the option to message your therapist between sessions if anything comes up. Never skip therapy day with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com slash darkhistory today to get 10% off your first month. That's betterhelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash darkhistory.

Well, at age 16, this is when things really shift for Stalin. He goes full circle from being bullied to now being the one who's doing the bullying. I mean, he wasn't gonna let anyone walk all over him any longer. And this is when he starts getting into trouble with school authorities. And his classmates obviously weren't a big fan of him either.

because he was bossy and rude to everyone. But despite this, Stalin's grades were good enough to graduate at the top of his class in July of 1893, and everyone just kind of overlooked his red flags. And then Stalin decides to make his mommy's wish come true by getting into Tiflis Theological Seminary School, where he even got a scholarship. Now this was huge for Mommy Dearest, okay? She was like, "Oh my God, it's happening.

So she starts working overtime to help him pay for the rest of his education. And Stalin also does his part by working as a choir boy on the side, you know, to make a little bit of coin. And another little fun fact here, I guess Stalin, apparently he had a really great voice and he was a really good singer. I mean, so much so that he even sang at weddings. Yeah.

Could you imagine? Like, could you imagine being at like a wedding or realizing later in life that Stalin was your wedding singer? You're like, honey, did you know? Yeah.

Like, oh wow. I wonder if there are pictures of him out there singing at a wedding. Let me know down below in the comment section. I wanna see. I guess he crushed it at this choir boy gig and it paid five rubles a month. It doesn't sound like a lot, but in today's money, that's like $900. I know, I'm like, damn, I'll be a choir boy. I mean, they're only allowed to be 16, but I'll figure it out. $900, $900.

Anyhow, when you're 16 years old, which Stalin was at the time, you know, $900 is a lot of money for a 16 year old. So he's like, he's doing good. Anyhow, I guess Stalin's real dad somehow got word that his son was making some serious money. So his dad would show up to Stalin's school and like harass him, which oddly enough, I guess he did this pretty often. His dad didn't want his son to get an education,

So he'd just show up and be like, "Boo, you suck." I know, I was like, okay, these people are fucked. Well, one day Daddy Dearest showed up outside of Stalin's school and demanded that Stalin give him money. And it's like, why Daddy, why? Well, Stalin's dad felt like it was owed to him. I guess his dad had the mentality of like, "Hey, I brought you into this world, so you owe me money."

But teen Stalin was like, "Shut up, dad!" And told him to leave before he ended up calling the school police, which he ended up doing. And they got him removed, his dad. And good for him, right? Stand up against that shithead father of yours. So going to this Tiflis school honestly changed Stalin's life in ways that you probably aren't thinking. I mean, for starters,

It was very well known, so it drew in a lot of the wealthy kids. And for the first time in his life, Stalin was rubbing shoulders with elite, well-educated people and was being introduced to, you know, fads and stuff, like communism.

Yeah, he's like, "What's that? I don't know." Communism is the idea that there should be no class distinctions between people and that everything, meaning money, food, land, should be shared between everyone equally. Attaching himself to communism at this time was a big middle finger to the system, but also it was extremely dangerous because Russia was still a monarchy and had a czar.

In other words, like a king sitting on the throne. Still, Stalin was indeed the man of steel. Honestly, he did not give a shit what anyone thought. So a couple of years into seminary school, Stalin's rebellious nature starts to get the best of him. Instead of studying scripture like he was supposed to,

he gets his hand on a little book called The Communist Manifesto. This book was written by a guy named Karl Marx, who constantly challenged capitalism and the idea of kings, saying that they were not good for the people. Now, at the time, this was such a hot take that it became illegal and forbidden to even read this book. Now, this had a huge impact on Stalin, and it showed him that like, hey, wait a minute,

communism kind of slaps. You know, he's like, fuck yeah, I'm in. Now all this new insight led Stalin to question his religion. And he ends up joining a local communist group and starts devoting more and more of his time to the revolutionary movement, which was plotting to overthrow the government at the time.

And Stalin's all in. He's like, "Fuck yeah, let's fucking rage, bro." You know? So he goes out, he's starting to protest, he's rioting, he's getting arrested, and he's like a certified bad boy for life at this point. He is all in. Also, it was a great way to get a criminal record, which

Stalin did. In 1899, the seminary school was just fed up with Stalin and they decided to kick him out. Or at least that's what Stalin would tell people. Many historians say that he just didn't go back. Either way, he was done with school. So this is where things really take a turn, you know? And Stalin ends up getting a job and you won't believe what kind of job he gets. He gets a job as a meteorologist.

I know I was like what? In other words he was the local weatherman. Isn't that funny? It's not but like it kind of is. Stalin as a weatherman? Hmm this is how I picture it happening. I mean he drops out of school, he's probably on cloud nine and then it hits him. Like he's not gonna be getting those $900 checks anymore. I mean he's got bills to pay, potatoes to buy, you know he needs

He needs money. So he panics and he's looking for work everywhere. And the good old observatory is like, hey, we have a job opening, but you gotta be the local weatherman. Can you do it? And Stalin is like, oh my God, yeah, I love weather. It's my favorite. Stalin seemed to be a jack of all trades, really. He's a weatherman. He's a singer. What else is he? He's a lot of things. And to add another thing on the list of

things. Thank you. He was also an aspiring poet. Yeah. I mean, before he started professionally murdering people, you know, he was a poet. And he published them under the pen name Sosolo. And his poems were quite surprising. It was nothing I'd ever expect. It was a whole lot of blossoming flowers and glimmering clouds. Like, it was so beautiful and quite emo. He was very in his feelings. Mm-hmm.

Anywho, this observatory job turns out to be a really great gig for him, mainly because the observatory happens to be the perfect place for illegal Marxist meetings that Stalin starts holding there. I mean, it was a great place to hide his growing collection of forbidden literature as well. Nobody would know.

It was all a secret. Well, by the next year, Stalin is a huge part of the communist underground movement. I mean, he's given speeches to hundreds of people in the working class. He's urging them to go on strike and fight for their rights. And then Stalin starts taking it a little too far.

Okay? He organizes protests, but at these protests, he pushes the people to engage in bloody, violent clashes with the police, which this kind of freaks out some of his fellow Marxists. They're like, "Come on, bro. I thought we were just protesting, you know? Chill." They thought he was getting a little too extreme. So at this point, a lot of them ended up stepping away and backing off. In 1901, just a year later, the observatory gets raided by the Russian police.

They caught on. Stalin, he manages to escape and doesn't get arrested. But because of this, he ends up losing his job. And it's at this point that he decides to go all in. He's like, you know what? I'm going to become a professional revolutionary, which I didn't even know was a job title, you know? It's like, do you still have to pay taxes with that job title? No.

Whatever. But he ended up doing this by writing articles about politics and organizing rallies. But he pissed off a ton of leaders along the way because he was the source of a lot of bloodshed. When he started to feel like he was no longer welcome, he was kind of like, eh, whatever.

and he would just pick up and move to another town and just start all over. Nobody was stopping this guy. You see, Stalin's main goal was to be a revolutionary force who represented the everyday person. I mean, screw the upper class, right? He's like, "Hey, you guys, screw those snooty bitches."

bitches. And everyone's like, yeah. And he had the same plan over and over again to get rid of the people in power. And this is when Stalin shows up on their radar. And because people in power, you know, they know likey overthrow. They don't want that. Who is this guy? They're keeping an eye on him. On March 9th, 1902, Stalin helped organize a demonstration that got

you know, let's say a little out of hand. Here's a little background. There were 400 workers who were abruptly fired by a petroleum company. The company said the cause for the firing was that these people were participating in revolutionary activities and this company wanted to stay in good graces of the king.

So the workers demanded to not only be rehired, but now they wanted more pay and fewer working hours, among some other stuff. These people are outside this big petroleum company just protesting and making all sorts of noise. Stalin initially was getting all involved by secretly printing and like passing out pamphlets, just really stirring that pot.

But then he got more bold with his actions, getting nearby railroad and dock workers to come support the protest. Eventually, Stalin was able to get about 6,000 people to come out and support the workers. Which, like, when you hear it, you're like, oh good, like, they deserve more money, good for them, right? But I mean, this really goes to show how Stalin's power could have gone in two different directions. I mean, he could have been amazing for the world with all this power, right?

Or he could just be fucking evil. It's like, which way are you going to go, bro? I think we know, but either way, he must have been charismatic as hell because he convinced thousands of people to just rage against the authorities. So the police and Marxists were just at each other's throat.

And this is when the military is called in for support. Of course, they're on the side of the police and tension. It just is building up. It's escalating. All thanks to Stalin, who by then was now leading the march. Now he's getting people all riled up and ready to fight. And we've seen how this goes down. It only takes one person throwing a rock before a shot is fired. And pretty soon there was indeed a rock thrown, leading to complete chaos.

Everyone went crazy. Now, what was supposed to be a protest for workers' rights turned...

Freaking deadly. Lethal force was unleashed to suppress the mob. Bullets were flying everywhere. And eventually, when it all came to an end, 15 people were dead in the street and 54 more were left wounded. Somehow, this man of steel, Stalin, managed to dodge the bullets. But his fellow Marxists were horrified by how the event had gone down and also just how Stalin had behaved in general. But little did they know, this would only be the beginning of his long,

blood-soaked trip. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

It's easy and you can save money by doing it from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner and more.

So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24-7, 365 days a year, so you're protected no matter what. Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive.

Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customer surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations. This is an ad by BetterHelp. What are your self-care non-negotiables? The things you know make you feel better even when it's impossible to make time for them.

Like that workout you try to squeeze in between kids' activities, work, and everything else you have going on, and before you know it, it gets pushed to tomorrow. Sound familiar? But it's the moments when you feel like you have no time for yourself when those non-negotiables are more important than ever. Those are the things that keep you strong, healthy, motivated, and prepared to take on everything life demands of you. So why not make therapy one of them?

BetterHelp Online Therapy makes it easy to get started with affordable phone, video, or live chat sessions you can do from anywhere. And the option to message your therapist between sessions if anything comes up. Never skip therapy day with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com slash Dark History today to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash Dark History. Liquid IV dot com.

So these 15 deaths, they were blamed on Stalin, who then was arrested and sentenced to exile in Siberia in 1902. Now Siberia is above Russia. It's like the Arctic. I'm talking North Pole level. It's a huge barren tundra. And my mind

Instantly went to like that moment in Aladdin, you know, where he's in like the sand dunes and there's just like nothing around and he gets left there by Jafar. Yeah, you know. And as a kid, I was like, oh my God, Aladdin, how are you going to get out? Oh my God. Sometimes exile literally meant that they would just drop you off in the middle of nowhere with nothing. Like no coats, no mittens, just you against nothing.

the elements. And then when they drop you off, they're like, "Hey, good luck not dying. See ya!" Sometimes when you were sent to exile, you would be sent to work at a camp and forced to do hard labor for about a year or more. So what I'm getting at

is making it out of Siberia was pretty rare. And to most people, exile really just meant it was a death sentence. But of course, not for the man of fricking steel. Jeez, this guy. Stalin gets to Siberia, right? They drop him off. And after just one month, he's like,

It sucks here. And he starts plotting his escape. First of all, he knew that he would need more clothes because he was left there with just the ones on his back and it's freezing as hell. Well, hell is not freezing, but you get it. It's cold as fuck. So he manages to get a letter sent out to his mom asking for help. Yeah. He's like, mommy, please, can you send me a jacket? I'm freezing. And he sends it off. It takes a minute, but she actually comes through and boom, phase one complete. Check, done.

Got it. Then Stalin's like, okay, well now I need to find a way out. Maybe a driver of some sort, not for a car of course, a driver for something called a sledge. A sledge is a sled pulled by horses that many use for transportation. So Stalin found himself some, you know, grizzled Russian driver who could drive him out of there hopefully. And he wanted to be paid in vodka.

I mean, what a fricking bargain, right? Great. Coat, check. Driver, check. Stalin's like, "Okay, well, the only way I could really escape was to have some kind of disguise, you know, 'cause maybe he'll get recognized." I mean, at this point, he was pretty well known. The authorities knew about him, and also it didn't help that he had a pretty distinct look to him. I mean, his skin, the arm, 5'4", he just kind of stuck out like a sore thumb. So he made it a point to travel.

and disguise. Pretty smart. Now, not a lot is known about like what disguise he chose or how he disguised himself. But in my mind, you know, I just picture him wearing those glasses, those glasses that have the nose and mustache attached.

And he's probably thinking to himself, Stalin, you freaking son of a bitch, you've really done it this time, okay? No one will suspect a thing. So with his toasty jacket from his mom, a disguise, and his trusty drunk driver, Stalin rides to freedom and he actually escapes from Siberia.

Now here's the craziest part: this wasn't a one-time event. Between April 1902 and March of 1913, Stalin was exiled to Siberia not once, not twice, but eight different times. Yeah. All because of his revolutionary activities. And

Each time, I'm talking eight different times, he somehow managed to escape. I'm telling you, this guy, you could not stop him. For some reason, he never got into serious trouble or was even punished for this. For all the things working against him, I mean, he would not give up.

I mean, deep down, he knew he had bigger plans to achieve. And he was like, I am going after my dreams in life, okay? No one's gonna stop me. 1905 was a big year for Stalin because he makes an important friend and also what he would consider his mentor. Now, this guy's name was Lenin, as in Vladimir Lenin. Now, if you don't know who this guy is,

He was essentially, he was big time in Russia. He was an influential writer, thinker, and politician. In fact, Lenin was the star of the extremist political group at the time, the Bolshevik Party. It's kind of similar to the extreme right or extreme left like we have in America. The Bolsheviks believed that their party should be exclusively made up of

"ride or die professional revolutionaries." And around this time, Stalin joins the Bolsheviks. But when Stalin gets there, he's involved, he's like, "Mm, these guys, they're pretty extreme." I like it!

Yeah, I mean they were focused on seizing power by any means necessary and Stalin loved that shit. Because the Bolsheviks were an up-and-coming group, they really needed money and turned to crime in order to finance it. Stalin did not shy away from this idea and he took over running the Bolshevik newspaper where he wrote articles rallying the people against the king. Again, this was like very dangerous territory here, you know?

And then he gets some major street cred by helping out his mentor, Lenin. You see, Lenin, he was actually wanted by the Russian government and Stalin was there to help him escape. I mean, at this point, he was pretty much an expert at escaping. You know, I think we can believe that.

You know when you have like one of those moments where you bond with your friend? It's just something, you just have that moment of like, bondation, where you're like, "Oh my God, we're gonna be like best friends forever." Well, this was the moment with Lennon. Like Stalin and Lennon were like, "Oh my God, besties, should we make bracelets?"

From that point on, they were glued at the hip. Lenin's like, "Hey, you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours." And he ends up giving Stalin a powerful leadership role within the Bolshevik party. Ooh, yes he does. A little too much power. Now,

In the Soviet Union, a perfect storm was a bruin in 1917 because millions of men got sent to fight in World War I. And I mean, no one was back home doing the farming. And in turn, this resulted in a major food shortage. On top of that, people across Russia were going hungry. There was just not a lot of food available.

available and if there was it wasn't like good food you know well that's when lenin and stalin see the perfect opportunity to take advantage of the situation so they start going up to the people saying like hey aren't you guys mad aren't you hungry the king is starving you you should be mad at the king just getting everybody all riled up and all the people are just like yeah

I am hungry. Fuck that gut. Fuck that king. So it's working, right? Everybody's just, tensions are building, baby. And then finally, everything boils over and the pressure cooker explodes. On the night of October 25th, 1917, everything would change for Russia forever. Essentially, Lenin kind of like

gets on Twitter and orders an attack on the Royal Winter Palace. I mean, I'm just kidding. He didn't get on Twitter, but it was kind of similar to Twitter, you know? But let's just say it was giving January 6th, 2021 vibes. It was very much that. Remember, the

The Bolsheviks are next level and they are ride or die for Lenin. So when he tells them to go storm the palace, these people showed up, okay? All of them with like pitchforks and torches in hand. Do you remember the movie Anastasia, the cartoon? Well, maybe you can guess what happens next because it's in the movie. Oh, I know. I love that movie. The soundtrack.

It's a banger. So the mob of angry Bolsheviks and hungry peasants, they stampede through the royal guards and they end up taking that palace by force. An American named John Reed actually traveled to Moscow as a journalist to cover like what was happening. And because of this, we have firsthand account of this very night.

John wrote, quote, "Like a black river filling the street, we poured through the red arch of the palace. One man was strutting around with a bronze clock perched on his shoulder. Another found a plume of ostrich feathers, which he stuck in his hat. The looting was just beginning." End quote. What's up with the guy with the clock on his back?

Okay, get that clock, sir. Sure. The Bolshevik leaders were more worried about the insurrectionists getting drunk off of the royal booze. Yeah, they were very protective of their booze. So they ordered that all of the wine barrels, they be shot and destroyed by...

by putting holes in them, right? So a ton of red wine just flowed through the streets and into the drains, which is kind of a creepy image, you know? If you didn't know it was wine, people actually thought it was gallons and gallons of blood filling the streets. Could you imagine? That would be very scary. But it was just like Cabernet, you know? You'd probably find me in like the corner with a straw.

If I'm getting murdered, I'm going to go out drunk, okay? Leave me alone with my straw. Unfortunately, many people didn't even know about the real blood. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking.

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The royal family, the Romanovs, had already been moved to Siberia and were essentially put under house arrest. King Nicholas was deposed, in other words, overthrown by the Bolsheviks. And this was made pretty much final when he and his whole family were secretly and illegally executed by a firing squad in the basement.

Seriously. The revolutionaries, they had dragged the whole family out of bed one night, told them, you know, we're just relocating you guys for safety. But then they put them in the basement, locked all of the doors, and then proceeded to open fire. I think it went a little too far, don't you guys? Maybe. I don't know. Stolen locker.

Even Lenin and other Bolshevik leaders ordered the murder to happen in the basement specifically so that no one could escape and no one could hear the gunshots. Apparently, the shooting started so quickly that the king's wife and the oldest daughter tried to say a prayer, but the shooting started before they could even finish. Nicholas was killed immediately with multiple bullets to the chest, and his wife died quickly from a shot to the head.

But the five Romanov children, who were between the ages of 13 and 22, were still alive. The room was filled with so much smoke and dust that no one could see anything for a few minutes. And I mean, of course, they're screaming and crying. And the Bolshevik commanders are getting kind of nervous about all the noise that's happening. Because, I mean, what if someone hears and it gives them away? A revolutionary named Alexei Khabanov

comes down and orders that the rest of the family and even their dog be finished off and do it quickly. But this was easier said than done because the royal family had diamonds. I'm talking literal diamonds that they had smuggled out of the castle, but they were sewn into their clothes. And I was asking like, why? Well...

It's essentially like the world's most expensive bulletproof vest. Diamonds. Yeah, it could save you from a bullet. So Stalin's men are shooting at the royal kids and stabbing at them with their bayonets. Long story short, it's a long, painful, drawn-out death for all of them. Apparently, Anastasia and her sister Maria were the last ones alive. And they huddled together in a corner until they were dead.

shot in the head, leaving them dead. So horrible. When it was all said and done, the whole royal family and their servants were stripped naked and

and mutilated to prevent anyone from discovering who they were after they were buried in an unmarked grave. 70 bullets were fired in total, and the murder took around 20 minutes, which must have felt like hours. The Bolsheviks tried to keep the murder of the Romanovs quiet and only announced to the public that Nicholas was dead at first.

It wasn't until years later in 1989 that the truth was revealed when the graves of all the royal family members were found. Yeah, no, that's some dark, sad shit right there, huh? The end, do we need more? It goes on. So yeah, that's how the monarchy that had ruled Russia for about 300 years came to an end in one night.

Wow, ain't that some shit. I mean, that alone should tell you how powerful Lenin and Stalin's following was. I mean, they orchestrated what would become known as the Russian Revolution. And I mean, baby, it was only the tip of the dang iceberg, okay? The revolution plunges the country into a bloody civil war that goes on and on

on for the next four years. Historians believe that between all of the fighting, the starvation, and the lack of any protection from authorities, up to 12 million people were killed.

12 million people were killed. Bitch. Hmm? What? Yeah, 12 million. And now with the King dead, I mean, the whole country was up for grabs. There was no one in charge. There was no leader. Anarchy, baby. And some people, like the revolutionaries, felt like this made Russia the freest country in the world because no one was in power to enforce any laws.

So like if you wanted to rob a bank, there would not be any consequences. And all of this kicked the door wide open for Stalin to step into the spotlight, baby. It's my moment. I'm a star. And baby girl Lisa, that star, it shone bright. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

In 1922, Stalin, he got a big promotion and was elected to the position of Secretary General of the Communist Party. I know, it's like, what does that even mean? I don't know. This was the position that provided Stalin all the power he needed to become president.

A dictator, aw shit, you know? But even though he was in this high up position, people still underestimated him. He was so anti-academic that his colleagues looked down on him and they were like, "Dude, shut up, you're dumb." You know?

He's like, "I'm not listening to that noise. I don't need you. Shut up." He really thought of himself as a man of the people. And this is what seems to be the secret sauce of getting into power, you know? Convincing the people that, "Hey, I'm just like you. I go to the store too. I walk my dog." You know? I was kind of thinking about it and I was like, "He's giving me Andrew Jackson of his time." Do you remember the Andrew Jackson episode? He was like, "I'm for the people." And then he went psychotic.

I don't know, just think about it a little bit. You don't have to agree, but okay, moving on. When he was in the position of Secretary General, Lenin relied on Stalin more and more. And this is because it turned out that Stalin was kind of a genius when it came to managing and inspiring big groups of people. And not only that, Stalin knew in his little mind that if he controlled the people under him, like the workers,

he could, most likely would, control the whole organization. So let me tell you, there was a strategy behind his madness. He was pretty smart. So Stalin starts placing people in certain areas to really benefit him and only him. And because of this,

it gave him more power and more control. You know, he was just playing chess with these people, like, hmm, if I move my guy here, then that guy can't come here. You know? So, if you were one of the guys that got placed in, like, a higher position by Stalin, many of them were like, wow, thanks, man. You know, I

I definitely got your back." It was like a compliment. And pretty soon he had a bunch of loyal people under him who felt like they owed something to him. So if Stalin told them to jump, they said, "Baby, how high?"

You know, nobody asked questions. So it wouldn't take long for the Bolshevik party to realize what was really going on under their nose. They were realizing that Stalin, maybe he was holding way too much power over their party. And once they truly realized this,

Ugh, it was too late. I mean, Stalin already had his loyal people in place, which meant that his power was set in stone. In 1922, Lenin realizes that Stalin could actually be more of a problem than he was help. Lenin warned the party to remove Stalin from his position, or he could easily lead the country down a very dangerous path. So Lenin, he's basically like turning on his bestie.

Okay. And he's like, you know, I love him, right? We all love him. But real talk, maybe he has like too much power. But I love him. We all love him. You know, a little scared. Everyone's kind of afraid of Stalin. You don't want to piss people off and think you're talking crap on Stalin because everybody had his fucking back. Oh, it was a trap.

What is Lenin gonna do? Sadly, Lenin suffered a stroke in 1923 and this stroke left him completely unable to speak. So now Lenin couldn't even like warn people, right? And then just a year later, Lenin dies. Dammit, you know? And like once again, Stalin, he's like, "Hey baby."

And there's an opportunity here for me to take full control. So other people, you know, they also want in Lenin's position, of course. So to get ahead of it, Stalin launches a huge campaign against his competitors. So he goes off just trashing their reputation and openly says that they aren't being faithful to Leninism, making it seem like, you know, they were disrespecting their leader who had literally just died, you guys.

He just died. Be respectful. Thoughts and prayers. And because Stalin is real good at stirring that pot, you know, he's getting people to see his side of things. And everyone again is like, oh my God. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking.

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By 1927, Stalin, this guy who came from like very humble beginnings, has now fully taken over the country. Wow. Stalin is now the undisputed leader with the ability to do whatever he wants, whenever he wants. There's a lot of photos floating around of Stalin. You know, you can easily find him if you Google him. Honestly, he's kind of attractive. Oh my God, I'm sorry for saying that, but he kind of, I,

I have a thing for facial hair, so I was like, "Oh no, I kind of think he's hot, no." But he's dead and all that. So look, don't come for me. You look at the picture, you know? He's kind of cute. Anyways, that's not the point of the story. He's horrible. But also if you Google the pictures,

You're gonna be like, "Bailey, uh, I thought you said he had bad skin. Why are you making fun of him? He looks great!" Well, guess what? I love this for us. Guess what? Stalin, he was the queen of Facetune before Facetune was a thing. I know, right?

hell? He literally had all, all of his pictures retouched professionally. And he did so because he was so insecure about his appearance. But this was really shocking to me because I didn't even think that was a thing yet, right? Ugh.

Well, he did it and Stalin just wanted to put his best face forward, we can say. So once he had his headshot all glammed up, he was ready to get his hands dirty. First of all, Stalin was convinced another war was just around the corner.

And honestly, he wasn't wrong. And given how bad the country performed in World War I, Stalin knew that they had to get creative if they were going to survive another war. Which brought me to this theory that kept popping up over and over in my head. The theory was that Stalin wanted to create an unbreakable army to help him maintain his power during the war. Right?

Right? Unbreakable army. Okay? So I'm thinking like buff guys. I don't know. Right? You know, an army that no other country could compete with.

So what does Stalin do? Stalin, he turned to a scientist that the Soviet Union loved. They loved this guy. His name was Ilya Ivanov. He was literally a mad scientist. He was a famous Russian biologist. He was famous for inventing something called artificial insemination.

You know, right? His artificial insemination technology was mind-blowing to them. I mean, people were obsessed with Ilya. He used it for breeding different types of farm animals, like, you know, dogs and birds. But he became most famous for breeding prized horses. So people with money, they loved his creations. But...

This scientist, you know, his dreams were bigger than shooting horse sperm from a turkey baster. He wanted more. He wanted to take humans to the next level. So the Soviet Union leaders, like Stalin, made sure Ilya had money for his passion projects. And his biggest one at the time, this man wanted to create a human-ape hybrid project.

Human-ape hybrid. Not lying. Like some real Planet of the Apes shit. He was working on it. So Ilya was using his artificial insemination techniques to combine the sperm of humans and different types of chimpanzees. I guess he did some experiments where he would artificially inseminate female chimps with human sperm.

Okay, hot. And the Soviet Union leaders thought, once again, this was an opportunity for them. If they took these ape men creations, right, and trained them to carry a gun, ooh, they could become soldiers in their army.

In their mind, these ape human soldiers would be much better than regular human soldiers because they wouldn't complain about food, first of all. They could probably work longer. And most importantly, they wouldn't have brains to rebel against Stalin. And worst case scenario, if they die, they

They could just create more. Great idea. Now, to be clear, there aren't any written records of Stalin asking Ilya to create an army based on his jizz experiments. But, you know, okay, come on.

Anything that happened within Soviet Russia during this time did not happen without Stalin knowing. Thankfully, the experiments never worked. And even though it was all just a theory, I mean, it kind of makes sense that it's something Stalin would have wanted, especially because what he planned next would go a lot smoother if he had soldiers who didn't have human emotions.

The same year Stalin takes power, he kicks off something called his five-year plan. Stalin was kind of one of those doomsday preppers, you know? I mean, he was sure that the next world war was right around the corner. And this time, he was like, listen, this time Russia is gonna be ready, bitches. They were going to have weapons, factories. They were going to be a world power on the same level as England and the USA.

you

I mean, that's the goal. And since World War I was still fresh on everyone's minds, Stalin's fear tactics really convinced the people to just trust him. Stalin himself even said, quote, we are 50 to 100 years behind advanced countries. So either we do it or they will crush us. So I mean, the people, they trusted him. I mean, these were really scary times. And if he's telling them, hey, if you follow my plan, we're gonna make it out alive. So many of them followed.

Right? They trusted him. He's the man of the people. In order to make this happen, Stalin really needs to bring Russia up to date. So millions of people became industrial workers and the country needed giant farms like the ones in the US to accomplish this.

So independent landowners were now considered a threat by Stalin because he wanted their land, okay? And they were in his way. So there was a class of people in Russia called the kulaks, and they were, you know, well-off, well-respected farmers in the area. But in order to achieve that five-year plan Stalin wanted, he announced to the people that it was time to do something drastic.

Stalin essentially tells everyone, look, either we destroy the kulaks as a class or they are going to destroy us. Whose side are you on? I mean, bitch, he was coming for their throats. In the summer of 1929, Stalin sent 25,000 Bolsheviks into the country to take the kulaks' land. Obviously, the kulaks resisted. They're like, hey,

"Uh, fuck you." And the farmers decided, "You know what? No, you're not having my land. You're not having my livestock, nothing. I would rather slaughter my own livestock and eat them instead of giving it over to Stalin's men." And guess what? That's exactly what many of them did. That's kind of fun. That is a big middle finger. It's kind of funny. So when Stalin's men came to take their land, the kulaks,

ate all their food, the livestock, ate them, slaughtered them, whatever. And also they armed themselves and fired at Stalin's men. And when it was all said and done, over 1,000 of Stalin's men were killed. As you can imagine, Stalin was a

pissed. To punish them for standing up to his authority, millions of farmers were either deported, sent to those brutal Siberian work camps, some were arrested, and some were just freaking murdered. The rest of the world at this time was dealing with the Great Depression, and Stalin was taking a moment to brag to the rest of the world that our

economy is booming. You know, he's like flexing to everybody that, hey, we're doing really well over here. Look at us. We're building canals, highways, dams. We are thriving, baby. But at this time, I mean, it wasn't true. What he was hiding from the rest of the world was that his country was paying a very big cost for this, you know, grand five year plan of his.

After all of that livestock was slaughtered, Stalin arrested millions of farmers across the Soviet Union. This would ensure that Stalin could indeed have his men take over their land, you know, without any resistance from the people. And Stalin did something else that changed the Soviet Union forever. Something so evil, it makes you wonder, like,

Who in the hell thought that was a good idea? What in the world? Now, this all occurred in an area of the Soviet Union that is now modern day Ukraine. Okay, got it? Good. Stalin didn't just arrest the farmers and like take over their land.

In 1932, the Soviet Union leaders, they forced small villages to farm food and then turn it over to the government or else. These villagers, they worked themselves to the bone to farm enough food for not only themselves, but also now like the rest of the freaking country.

And then I was thinking, like, what were they doing with all this food, you know? Well, Stalin was taking it and giving it to the factory workers who were considered more important than the rest of the country. And this created one of the worst man-made famines in human history. It was something called Holodomor, which is often referred to as the Ukrainian Holocaust.

For someone who started out as being all about, you know, power to the people, all for one and one for all. Stalin, he had completely flipped. I mean, he wasn't playing games anymore. He was here to send a message. If I don't have the power, then I'm going to get rid of anyone who tries anything.

to stop me. And this applied to the whole country. And they were about to pay the price for his power hungry agenda. Things were about to get much, much darker. I know, I know we're spiraling, but this guy was so fucked. Stalin just kept giving a new meaning to the word evil. Like every time I think he can't turn it up a notch,

Boof, he does. I mean, he has the Soviet Union citizens starving to death, resorting to eating literal dead bodies. He does the unthinkable to his own son and even tries to make friends with another lonely dictator who also had an infamous mustache. Hmm? What? Huh? I know. But will he get his just desserts? Will he meet his arch nemesis, John Wayne? Will he find love?

Well, we'll answer these questions and so much more next week in part two of our deep dive on Joseph Stalin, the Man of Steel. I know, we're doing a two-parter. Friends, we're doing a two-parter. This is the first time in Dark History history.

So, uh, Buckland Part 2 is even worse. Well, everyone, thank you for learning with me today. Personally, I learned a freaking lot. I had no idea. I had no idea, right? Remember, don't be afraid to ask questions and, you know, to get the whole story because you deserve that.

I'd love to hear your guys' reactions to today's story, so make sure to use the hashtag Dark History over on social media so I can follow along. Join me over on my YouTube where you can actually watch these episodes on Thursday after the podcast airs. And also while you're there, you can check out my murder mystery and makeup. I hope you have a good rest of your day, you make good choices, and I'll be talking to you next week. Goodbye! Bye!

Dark History is an Audioboom original. This podcast is executive produced by Bailey Sarian High, Junia McNeely from 3Arts, Kevin Grush, and Matt Enloe from Maiden Network. A big thank you to our writers, Joey Scavuzzo, Katie Burris, Allison Filobos, and me, Bailey Sarian. Writer's assistant, Casey Colton. Production lead, Brian Jaggers. Research provided by the Dark History Researcher Team.

Special thank you to our expert, Anita Pish. And I'm your host, Bailey Sarian. Not you, Joan. Get out of my shot. It's about me. Thank you.