Who was the best leader of the USSR?

[buritobr]

Who was the best leader of the USSR?

[The Govanah Jake]

Stalin for his industrialization and modernization of the nation (not his genocides) and Gorbachev for killing it.

[fluffypanther19]

Stalin for his industrialization and modernization of the nation (not his genocides) and Gorbachev for killing it.

[America Needs R'hllor]

Gorbachev for killing it.

[dead0man]

Gorbachev for killing it.

[Lechasseur]

Gorbachev, because he brought the Soviet Union to an end.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

Stalin for his industrialization and modernization of the nation (not his genocides)

I dunno guys, that's a pretty big thing to handwave ...

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Stalin for his industrialization and modernization of the nation (not his genocides)

I dunno guys, that's a pretty big thing to handwave ...

You can't make a tractor without breaking a few villagers.

[Sir Tiki]

Gorbachev for killing it.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Gorbachev for killing it.

Not just for allowing the breakup of the USSR and doing more than anyone else to end the Cold War (yes, that includes Reagan; he had the "easy" job), but for doing so (relatively) peacefully.  Gorbachev could've easily said "if I'm going down, I'm bringing the rest of world with me" and started a nuclear war or turned the fall of the USSR into an absolute bloodbath.  He didn't and that's no small thing, to say the least.  We [the west] really blew it by not doing absolutely everything in our power to help ensure that Russia transitioned into a politically and economically stable democracy.  That was the time to bring Russia into the fold, if there ever was one.  

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

I have a soft spot for Khrushchev, but it's likely misplaced, and my appreciation for (a) his denunciation of Stalin, and (b) the fact that he spirited his memoirs out of the Union for publication, are easily overshadowed by his recklessness in both foreign and domestic policy.

In the sense of actually furthering their country, the only leaders "good" at their job were the most repressive. If you want to define leadership by how many people they didn't kill, William Henry Harrison and James Garfield might be on Mount Rushmore. Gorbachev probably did the greatest service to mankind, but to an extent he was the USSR's James Buchanan with no Lincoln to follow.

[America Needs R'hllor]

Gorbachev for killing it.

Not just for allowing the breakup of the USSR and doing more than anyone else to end the Cold War (yes, that includes Reagan; he had the "easy" job), but for doing so (relatively) peacefully.  Gorbachev could've easily said "if I'm going down, I'm bringing the rest of world with me" and started a nuclear war or turned the fall of the USSR into an absolute bloodbath.  He didn't and that's no small thing, to say the least.  We [the west] really blew it by not doing absolutely everything in our power to help ensure that Russia transitioned into a politically and economically stable democracy.  That was the time to bring Russia into the fold, if there ever was one.  

Agreed. I have Gorbachev to thank for removing the iron curtain and allowing my parents to immigrate to Israel. He wasn't a perfect leader, but his heart was in the right place.

[Kingpoleon]

1. Gorbachev
2. Khrushchev
3. Andropov
4. Chernenko
5. Brezhnev
6. Lenin
7. Stalin

Stalin for his industrialization and modernization of the nation (not his genocides)

I dunno guys, that's a pretty big thing to handwave ...

I like Hitler besides the Holocaust, arrest/murder of political opponents, and foreign policy.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Stalin for his industrialization and modernization of the nation (not his genocides)

Other than that, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln?

[Blue3]

I wonder who would win if Gorbachev wasn't an option...

[Arturo Belano]

I wonder who would win if Gorbachev wasn't an option...

Khrushchev, I assume.

[Lechasseur]

I wonder who would win if Gorbachev wasn't an option...

Khrushchev, I assume.

Yeah, Khrushchev would be my second choice

[Kingpoleon]

I wonder who would win if Gorbachev wasn't an option...

Khrushchev, I assume.

As it is, I almost voted for him, as he did the best considering his time period. He was a powerful orator, too, and I always appreciate that.

[Santander]

The last time we had one of these polls, someone quit the forum.

[Kleine Scheiße]

1. Malenkov
2. Andropov
3. Gorbachev
4. Lenin
5. Brezhnev
6. Khrushchev
7. Stalin
8. Chernenko

[buritobr]

I don't understand the two votes for Andropov. His term was very short.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

I don't understand the two votes for Andropov. His term was very short.

One of his merits, I imagine.

[TheLeftwardTide]

1. Gorbachev
2. Khrushchev
3. Lenin
4. Who the hell cares

The ones who's names end with "chev" seem like cop-outs. Voted Lenin to be contrarian.

[Kleine Scheiße]

I don't understand the two votes for Andropov. His term was very short.

He was just a very sensible guy, which is more than can be said for any of the others (except arguably Lenin). Andropov was an actively honest man who sought to legitimize the Soviet Union and bring it into a modicum of respectability by cleaning up corruption and bringing its hidden faults out of the shadows so they could be dealt with properly. He died before much of this could be fully realized, but he earnestly tried.

Gorbachev accomplished more but was kind of dragged kicking and screaming into it. Andropov didn't have to do anything near the scale of what he attempted to.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Gorbasm