Free KILLERS IN COLD BLOOD (True Crime) by Gordon Kerr, Ray Black, Rodney Castleden, Ian Welch, Clare Welch

war, despite the loss of life. The political machine was such that the common man was beguiled by propaganda anyway, and Stalin’s atrocities were either brushed under the carpet or explained away as necessary acts for the greater good.
    By the early 1950s, Stalin had become increasingly isolated on a personal level. He had become so wary of other people that even members of his own family fell under suspicion. Many disappeared or died under mysterious circumstances, such was his fear of assassination. He had, by then, honed his behaviour to the point where former friends and family were erased from memory. This process even included the retouching of photographs, so that Stalin could still admire his own image but, in the absence of people he viewed as apostates. His motivation was presumably a combination of denial as well as resentment, for he must have known deep down that simply removing people with opposed views was not an honourable solution to anything as it denies a balance of opinion.
    Stalin met his maker as the result of a stroke in 1953, at the age of seventy-four. He had forged such a baleful reputation for himself by then that he was even regarded with caution on his deathbed. His own daughter was convinced that he had put a curse over all those in the room as he approached death. He apparently opened his left eye and then raised his left arm into the air before uttering something incomprehensible as he stared and pointed at everyone. He was evidently convinced that he had been poisoned. So, Stalin died alone even though he was surrounded by people who might have shown him some compassion if not affection. It was a fitting end to a man who trusted no one but himself.

Kim Il-Sung 

     
    North Korea, officially known as The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, is infamous as the only surviving bastion of hard-line communism. What makes it intriguing as a nation though, isn’t it’s political ideology but the fact that it has become culturally isolated from the rest of the world. In fact, the introspection of North Korea has become something of a worry in the modern political climate, because it apparently also lacks a sense of global community responsibility. This has been expressed most clearly in its development and testing of nuclear weapons without notifying the world beyond its own borders.
    It doesn’t harbour territorial ambitions however, but rather is deeply suspicious of the intentions of other nations. The untrusting and paranoid mindset of North Korea is largely due to the leadership of Kim Il-Sung, who was instrumental in turning the country into the closed system it is today. As well as adhering to hard-line communist ideology, Kim also introduced the ethos of Juche, which translates as ‘self-reliance.’ This meant that North Korea would have no need for trade with any other nation, as if it were an island in total isolation.
    The intrinsic problem with communism is that it largely goes against human nature. The human condition is such people tend to thrive when given life elements that communism doesn’t offer them. Those elements include freedom of speech, the freedom to make choices, a social ladder to climb, fulfilment of ambition, psychological independence and so on. When people impose communism upon a nation they, themselves, are the only ones allowed to enjoy those elements, while the rest of the population are expected to become conditioned clones, like worker ants in a nest.
    Some readily comply with the communist directive, but many do not, simply because their imaginations generate dreams and ambitions for a better life. The result is a need for a heavy-handed approach to governing them. In short, a controlling regime is required to keep the minions in their place. Inevitably, the situation then escalates so that active persecution and oppression become the tools of control.
    Therein lies the advantage of Juche, as it means that the population is never exposed to other ways