Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-5122856-20140627170757/@comment-7576024-20140718074832

Voted for Stalin. It was between him, Hitler, Mao, or Lenin.

Here is my reasoning (flawed though it may be), based upon the criteria suggested.

So, it really came down to Hitler and Stalin. In the end I looked at the body count... Hitler's 16 million pales in comparasion to the 60 million of Stalin.
 * Personal power - Nobody controlled as much of his nation as Stalin. Hitler had a cadre of advisers, Mao was at the head of the Party but also worked with Enlai, and Lenin was at the head of his party. Furthermore, Stalin was ruthless in preserving his personal power.
 * Length of reign - Stalin (29), Mao (27), Hitler (12), Lenin (7)
 * Legacy - Lenin probably had the largest legacy... he built the USSR in just 7 years. He is still regarded as a hero in Russia. Stalin and Hitler had the biggest legacy in terms of "the big bad guy." Mao is remembered for the Civil War and his afterward stupidity in governance.
 * Achievements -
 * Stalin - Made the USSR into a world power. Significantly helped win WWII. Laid the groundwork for the Cold War. Spread Communism internationally.
 * Hitler - Brought Germany out of the Depression. Created the largest ever German Empire.
 * Lenin - Gave Communism a home in Russia.
 * Mao - Brought Communism to mainland China.
 * International influence - While Hitler had his Axis, which most definitely did have some international reverberations, Stalin's control over Eastern Europe was THE Iron Curtain. Mao did get some other nations to split with the USSR and was a HUGE force in Asia. Lenin was mostly international fear.
 * Corruption - Really don't know too much about this in the four respective regimes. Hitler and Stalin both seemed quite efficient, which would lead me to think little corruption, but I really do not know.
 * Political repression - Hitler and Stalin were both masters at this, but they used different approaches. Hitler was uber-charismatic while Stalin was into Purges like nobody's business.