Who do you think it is?
I'm voting for Genghis Khan. Attila the Hun brings up a close second place.
2007-11-12 08:22:56 · 11 answers · asked by Ar-Pharazon 3 in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
A few years ago, I might have said Joseph Stalin. But there's been a lot of new information coming out about Mao Tse Tong that indicates he was a lot worse than people knew about.
This is a tough question because, once someone gets to a certain level of 'ruthlessness', it's hard to say which is worse.
Is it the one who puts out an artist's eyes because he doesn't want anyone else to get the best art in the world?
Or the 'leader' that makes pyramids from the heads of villagers? Or the one who sends henchmen to execute political rivals?
There's no scale for weighing this sort of thing with absolute precision.
2007-11-12 08:32:28 · answer #1 · answered by james p 5 · 3⤊ 2⤋
My vote goes for Joseph Stalin. Although Hitler is more widely seen as the main villian of World War II, Stalin was much worse.
Gulags, secret police, purges, etc....and Stalin didn't just discriminate against any particular religious group, either. It didn't matter if you were an atheist, a Christian, or a Jew. If he saw you as a threat, you were good as dead. Just look at what happened to Leon Trotsky after he was exiled out of Russia.
Coming in at a close second is Mao Tse Tsung. Third would be Pol Pot.
2007-11-12 17:33:48 · answer #2 · answered by chrstnwrtr 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No question the answer is Pol Pot. Stalin might have a much higher body count, but many of those 40 million or so deaths were WW2 deaths and others were from his failed collectivism initiatives. Not to mention, Stalin had about 30 years to kill his 40 million or so.
Pol Pot, on the other hand, killed and tortured his own helpless people, denied many food & medicine, and started his own forced collect farms. In a matter of about 3-4 years he killed about 2 million people. He would photograph 'undesirables' such as intellectuals. Many people wearing glasses were labeled such and then tortured & executed. He slaughter was so brutal that the term 'killing fields' came from his reign of terror.
2007-11-12 19:34:06 · answer #3 · answered by IamCount 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If body count means anything then joe stalin is the winner hands down; the exact figure of deaths at his doorstep is unkown but estimated at about 60 million.
2007-11-12 16:27:05 · answer #4 · answered by acmeraven 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Adolf Hitler for murdering 6 million innocent people, dragging Germany into a ruinous war, and for oppressing the German people.
2007-11-12 16:33:43 · answer #5 · answered by Wolfy 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Nah...either Stalin or Mao killed more of their OWN people...you can not be more ruthless than to allow your OWN to die. It is nothing to treat others that you have no connection to, and did not like to begin with, as if they don't deserve to live, but it takes a real ruthless person to allow your own people to die like flies.
2007-11-12 16:29:01 · answer #6 · answered by glenn 6 · 3⤊ 1⤋
No ruler was ruthless here in our history. Ruthless were there soldiers and officers.
2007-11-13 06:39:38 · answer #7 · answered by sara k 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Hmm...I'm not sure if she counts, but Elizabeth Bathory. She did alot of pretty sick s**t. She was a ruler in a sense, she was high up.
2007-11-12 16:27:03 · answer #8 · answered by Kourtney P 2 · 1⤊ 2⤋
either ivan the terrible or vlad dracula
2007-11-12 16:30:55 · answer #9 · answered by valkscool 3 · 1⤊ 3⤋
dunno rly
id vote for Ceausescu
even if he thought it was for his countrie's good
no i take that back
robert mugabe seems like a complete a**hole to me
AND hes still alive
2007-11-12 16:34:09 · answer #10 · answered by mexican dude 1 · 2⤊ 1⤋