11.04.2013

Many rulers in history have shown absolute indifference to the suffering and misfortune of other people, some cruel rulers received satisfaction from such suffering and tried in every possible way to humiliate and discriminate against certain social groups; some kings had. Ten the most brutal rulers in history who left their mark on history and influenced our “today” are presented below.

10. Oliver Cromville

Oliver Cromville was a political and military leader of England in the 17th century. He is known for his hatred of the Catholics of Scotland and Ireland. In Ireland, Cromville's troops killed about 3,500 people, including Catholic priests. In Wexford, another 3,500 people were killed on his orders. Overall, approximately 50,000 people were killed or displaced during the entire Irish campaign. In Scotland, in the city of Dundee, he destroyed the city's harbor and killed 2,000 people.

9. Maximilian Robespierre

Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre was a politician, orator, lawyer and generally a very important figure in French Revolution and it’s not for nothing that it’s on the list the most cruel rulers. He ruled France during the "Age of Terror", which claimed the lives of approximately 40,000 people. Many aristocrats, clergy and representatives of the middle class and peasantry were destroyed under his leadership. Robespierre was beheaded without trial in 1794 for numerous acts of "disorderly" justice.

8. Ivan the Terrible

Ivan the Terrible, aka Ivan IV Vasilyevich - Russian Tsar, in fact the founder modern Russia on the same scale as we see it today. The conquest of Siberia, Kazan, the centralization of power and the creation of a new collection of laws are just a few things for which he is known. But even more famous is his cruelty. For example, the “siege” of Novgorod. When the Tsar suspected the treachery of the townspeople and their conspiracy with Poland, he built a wall around the city and every day the troops randomly selected 1,500 people and killed them. And he's the eighth cruel ruler.

7. Vlad III

Vlad the Third is the ruler of Wallachia, to whom violence and murder seemed to bring real pleasure. The number of his victims varies between 40 and 100 thousand! His cruelty reached such a level that the Turkish army, which came to war against the city and, having encountered 20,000 decaying bodies, returned back without reaching its goal.

6. Go Amin

Idi Amin Dada is a Ugandan dictator who came to power in a 1971 coup. The regime he established is characterized by severe economic decline, corruption, ethnic strife, indiscriminate killings, political repression and the complete destruction of human rights and freedoms. During the bloody period of his reign, between 100,000 and 1,500,000 people were killed. Amin constantly suspected those around him of betrayal and espionage from Israel, the USSR, and Western powers. He died in exile in Saudi Arabia.

5. Pol Pot

Pol Pot or Saloth Sar - Cambodian politician, leader of the Khmer Rouge and head of the government of Democratic Kampuchea from 1975 to 1979 is in fifth position in the top 10 the most cruel rulers in history. On his hands is the bloody genocide of the Cambodian people, classified as “intelligentsia” and “bourgeoisie”. In just 4 years of rule, he exterminated 20% of the Cambodian people or 1.5 million people.

4. Leopold II

Leopold II was the second king of Belgium and ruler of the Congo. He took the throne after his father Leopold I in 1865 and managed to retain power. His reign in the Congo became one of the most scandalous in history. Leopold captured African territories 76 times the size of modern Belgium. More than 3 million Congolese citizens died under his regime.

3. Adolf Hitler

.

The man who needs no introduction is the ruler and central figure Nazi Germany. Created a dictatorship known as the Third Reich. Millions of people died under the leadership of his politicians. In Russia alone, 20 million civilians and 7 million soldiers died during World War II.

2. Joseph Stalin

.

According to studies, more than 3 million people died from his brutal regime. 800,000 people were executed for political and “criminal” reasons, 1.7 million people died in camps (GULAG), about 400,000 people died during the resettlement, 6 million people died from starvation.

. 1. Mao Zedong

Despite the fact that during his administration of China this cruel ruler, population growth amounted to 350 million people, Mao Zedong was responsible for the deaths of millions. During the early periods of his reign, several feudal lords were taken from their villages and executed, ultimately leading to the death of 700,000 people. 6 million people were sent to labor camps. A few years later, as a result of famine and other conditions of the Great Leap Forward, according to various estimates, from 15 to 46 million people died. But the suffering of the Chinese people did not end there. In the 1960s, about 100 million people suffered during the Cultural Revolution.

To receive the title “great,” a ruler needed different things at different times: Charles I expanded the borders of the Frankish kingdom, Frederick II is better known for his contribution to enlightenment. Who else was awarded the honorary title and for what?

Modern residents of the capital associate the name of this prince primarily with the bell tower of Ivan the Great. Meanwhile, Ivan Vasilyevich is important for our history because under him the territory of the great Moscow principality increased many times: many territories were annexed to it, including the two main competing principalities - Tver and Novgorod. Only the Ryazan and Pskov principalities remained independent, but they were not independent either. During the wars with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Bryansk, Novgorod-Seversky, Chernigov and many other cities - a third of the Principality of Lithuania - became part of Moscow. In addition, the troops of Ivan III made campaigns to the north and to the Urals (current Perm region). But most importantly, under Ivan the Great it also happened significant event- “Standing on the Ugra”, as a result of which Rus' finally got rid of the Horde yoke.

For foreigners, Ivan III is not just Grand Duke but Caesar

In 1497, the Code of Law was adopted, which marked the completion of a number of reforms. At the same time, the foundations of the command system of management were laid, and the local system also appeared. The centralization of the country and the elimination of fragmentation were continued; the government waged a fairly tough fight against separatism appanage princes. The era of the reign of Ivan III became a time of cultural upsurge: new buildings were erected (for example, the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow), chronicle writing flourished. The idea of ​​Rus' abroad has also changed: in official embassy documents, the Russian prince is now a tsar or Caesar (from “Caesar”). The concept of “Moscow is the third Rome” and the double-headed eagle on the princely seal appear for the first time.

Frederick the Great's father, the soldier-king Frederick I, wanted to make his son a real warrior. Did not work out. The fact that Prussia doubled in size under Frederick the Great is more likely the favor of Fortune and the ability to take advantage of the opportunity, rather than a consequence of the valor and military skill of the king. This is confirmed by the Seven Years' War, during which Berlin was captured twice: first by the Austrians and then by the Russians.

“In this respect, our age is the age of enlightenment, or the age of Frederick,” - Immanuel Kant

Probably, the fact that Frederick II was not a great warrior played a positive role in the life of Prussia and all Germans. Having taken the throne, Frederick began to rule, guided by the ideas of the Enlightenment: he abolished censorship, established the Royal Opera and the Berlin Academy of Sciences, and consulted with Voltaire on the board. Frederick the Great can rightfully be called the most tolerant monarch of that time. For example, he said: “All religions are equal and good if their adherents are honest people. And if Turks and pagans arrived and wanted to live in our country, we would build mosques and prayer houses for them too.”. For all his deeds he received the highest praise from Immanuel Kant.

Beginning with Charlemagne, the title of Emperor of the West existed in Europe. Otto became the first Holy Roman Emperor. This happened as a result of Otto’s natural desire to strengthen his power. The fact is that local secular rulers often fought against the growing power centralized state. Therefore, it was necessary to unite the country and strengthen power with the help of the church. Otto moved towards rapprochement with the Pope and undertook two trips to Italy. As a result, he became the partial ruler of Italy, gained the support of the Pope and, as a result, acquired a new title. At the very end of his reign, Otto undertook another campaign with the goal of expelling the Saracens from the peninsula. To do this, he was even able to enlist the support of Constantinople, which always showed dissatisfaction with the fact that in the West someone bears the title of emperor and considers himself a continuator of the Roman tradition.

On the slab of the tomb of the first Emperor of the West of the Empire in the cathedral of the city of Aachen is a simple inscription: “Carolus Magnus”, Charlemagne. About him either in a nutshell or in many pages - he accomplished so many great things for his state. His long reign took place in almost continuous wars with his neighbors: the Saxons, Lombards, Slavs, Bretons, Danes, Vikings, Pyrenean Arabs and Basques. It was during the conflict with last to die the legendary French hero Roland, who saved Charles at the cost of his life. “The Song of Roland,” which tells about this feat at the Battle of Ronselvan Gorge, is the oldest major work of French literature.

Frankish Kingdom under Charlemagne

Being almost illiterate, Charles tried to attract famous scientists to his service (theologians Alcuin and Rabanus Maurus, historians Paul the Deacon and Einhard, etc.). Schools were opened at the monasteries, which later supplied administrative personnel for the empire. Alcuin wrote the first textbooks.

« Their emperor is a valiant fighter. / Even death will not frighten him", - "The Song of Roland"

In Aachen, at the court of Charles, the “Palace Academy” arose, a semblance of Plato’s school. This period was called the Carolingian Renaissance. Also, by order of Charlemagne, all ancient regulations on the procedure for carrying out public and military service. These decrees, known as "capitularies", supplemented by new laws, precisely determined who was obliged to perform what service and in what order.

Louis XIV was truly a great monarch from the point of view of absolutism. This is largely why he is credited with the phrase: “The state is me.” All power in France was finally concentrated in the hands of one person. According to the French philosopher Saint-Simon, “Louis destroyed and eradicated every other force or authority in France, except those that came from him: reference to the law, to the right was considered a crime.” The cult of the Sun King, in which courtesans and intriguers increasingly seized power, and worthy people increasingly moved away from it, ultimately led to Great Revolution 1789.

Louis destroyed every other power or authority in France

But in those days, in the good old days of Louis XIV, Versailles was the center of the world. Louis's diplomacy dominated all European courts. The French have reached unprecedented heights with their achievements in the arts and sciences, in industry and trade. The Versailles court became the subject of envy and surprise of almost all modern sovereigns, who tried to imitate the great king even in his weaknesses. Strict etiquette was introduced at court, regulating all court life. Versailles became the center of all great social life, in which the tastes of Louis himself and his many favorites reigned. The entire high aristocracy sought court positions, since living away from the court for a nobleman was a sign of opposition or royal disgrace.

Probably only old light boasts such an abundance of outstanding rulers. Some of them were talented commanders, others were bold reformers, and others skillfully combined both virtues.

Geiseric (428-477)

Gaiseric conducted politics as if he were playing a game of chess.

In 429, he and his army landed on the North African coast, which belonged to Rome. Taking advantage of the confusion (the uprising of the Roman commander, the encroachments of the Berbers), the king managed to significantly expand the borders of his kingdom. Soon the Byzantine army appeared on the North African coast. Geiseric made peace with the empire: the Vandals and Alans received the status of federates in exchange for protecting the borders.

In 439, Geiseric captured Carthage and acquired a navy. By occupying Sicily, the king forced the Western Roman Empire to agree to a peace treaty. The Vandals threw off their federal status and in fact became independent.

An uprising of the Vandal aristocracy broke out. Geiseric forever deprived the tribal aristocracy of influence and banned public meetings.

To be universally recognized as a great king, Geiseric needed to capture Rome. In 455, Emperor Valentinian III fell at the hands of conspirators, and chaos began in Rome. Vandals occupied the Eternal City.

Theodoric the Great (470-526)

Theodoric's first military feat was the defeat of the Sarmatians and the capture of their main city - Singudun. After this, eighteen-year-old Theodoric began to consider himself the true ruler of the Ostrogoths.

The Byzantine Emperor Zeno, in order to appease his aggressive neighbor, granted him the title of consul. On orders from Zeno, Theodoric invaded Italy. He was opposed by the “official gravedigger of Rome” Odoacer, who was supported by many Germanic tribes. Theodoric and his army managed to inflict several serious defeats on Odoacer and even capture his capital, Ravenna. After this, peace was concluded, according to which the two rulers divided power in Italy. But Theodoric was not satisfied with this.

Just a few days later, during a feast, he personally killed Odoacer. All of Italy was under the control of the Ostrogoths.

As soon as Theodoric managed to drive the Vandals out of neighboring lands and spread influence into southeastern Gaul, Byzantium appointed the king of the Ostrogoths as the legal ruler of the Western Roman Empire.

Clovis I (481/482-511)

Clovis took the throne at the age of fifteen. He gained power over a small part of the Franks with his capital in Tournai. To increase his authority and political weight, the king became a Christian. To hide the cynicism, a beautiful legend was invented:

“During the battle, the Franks wavered, and Clovis asked God to give him victory - suddenly, the enemy king fell dead and his soldiers fled.”

Having become a Christian, Clovis annexed Aquitaine to the Visigoths. His next goal was the unification of all Frankish tribes. He persuaded the son of the king of the eastern Franks, and he killed his own father, after which he died from Clovis’s mercenaries. So the king of the Franks deprived his opponents of both the ruler and the heir.
It was under Clovis that the Salic Truth (code of laws) appeared, and Paris became the capital of the Frankish state.

The power and popularity of Clovis in Europe was also noticed in Byzantium. Ambassadors visited him and presented him with insignia - a mantle, a purple tunic and a diadem - in recognition of his greatness.

Charles I the Great (768-814)

The King of the Franks accepted the title of Emperor from the hands of the Pope for the first time in 400 years (since the fall of the Roman Empire). Charles annexed Italy, the lands of the Saxons and Bavarians to his kingdom, and also significantly advanced deep into Muslim Spain.
The pagan Saxons who suffered the most were the pagan Saxons, whom Charles forcibly forced to convert to Christianity. Refusal of the new faith was punishable by death.

During the suppression of one of the uprisings, Charles ordered the execution of more than four thousand captured pagans. This event went down in history under the name “Verdun Massacre”.

The uprising was suppressed, the Saxons surrendered, and their leader, Vidukin, himself converted to Christianity.
Charles's military successes were ensured by innovations. Firstly, the massive use of cavalry in attacks. Secondly, well-thought-out schemes for the siege of fortresses and the use of well-organized logistics.
Charles's empire reached the peak of its power by 800. Pope Leo III promoted the Frankish ruler to emperor, giving him the nickname “Father of Europe.”

William I the Conqueror (1066-1087)

Being illegitimate, but the only child of the ruler of Normandy, Duke Robert II the Magnificent, William became heir to the throne. Although the French nobility gave him the nickname Bastard (illegitimate).

A difficult childhood left a certain imprint on his character and affected his education. Wilhelm could not read, was a secretive, suspicious and domineering person.

In 1066 he conquered England and was crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey.

In 1086, William ordered an inventory of all lands under his control, as well as a census of the population, which would streamline the taxation system. Before Wilhelm, no one even thought about this.

William died on September 9, 1087 in the French monastery of Saint-Gervais. A severe wound to the stomach, received during the campaign against France, took its toll. As soon as the king gave up the ghost, his entourage removed all the jewelry from him. Only one knight remained loyal to William. He transported his body to the Church of St. Stephen in Cana. As soon as the coffin was in the city, a fire broke out. When the fire was over, it turned out that Wilhelm’s body did not fit in the grave. But attempts to “compact” it there led to such a stench that even incense did not help.

Frederick I Barbarossa (1152 – 1190)

Frederick took the throne of the Holy Roman Empire in 1152. First of all, he carried out army reform. Frederick had an army of thousands at his disposal, consisting of heavy knightly cavalry.

Frederick struck at the wealthy city-states of Northern Italy. He wanted to receive the crown directly from the hands of the Pope.

In 1143, the Germans dug in near St. Peter's Basilica, and Pope Adrian IV crowned Barbarossa.

On the same day, the inhabitants of Rome attacked and tried to expel the Germans, but their attack was repulsed.

A protracted war between the Germans and Italian cities began. The new Pope Alexander III excommunicated the emperor from the church. However, Frederick managed to take control of Rome. Soon a plague epidemic broke out in his army. Italian cities rebelled. The confrontation ended in 1174. Because of the defeat, Frederick agreed to admit Alexandra III sole Pope, returned to him the power of the Tuscan Margrave and the prefecture in Rome. The Pope, with a curtsey, canceled the excommunication.

Gustav II Adolf (1611-1632)

Gustav became king when he was not yet seventeen years old. He “inherited” two wars (with Denmark and Poland), as well as intervention in Russia. The Swedish army was in a deplorable state; not everything was in order with the state and finances.

Having dealt with the Danes and Poles, Gustav took on Russia. The result was the conclusion of the Stolbovsky Peace in 1617 on terms favorable to Sweden. Gustav annexed Karelia, part of Ingria, cutting off Russia from access to the Baltic.

For his valor, courage and brilliant mind, Gustav was called the “Lion of the North”, and also the “Father of modern strategy”. He created the most powerful army on the continent, which became the most formidable force in the then raging Thirty Years' War.

Many of Gustav Adolf's innovations are still relevant today. For example, the use of maneuverable light artillery, linear formation of mixed types of troops, aggressive offensive tactics. It is believed that the Swedish king personally invented the world's first paper cartridge.

Louis XIV (1643-1715)

The French monarch reigned longer than anyone else in history. European history- 72 years old. Before Louis, no other French monarch had waged so many wars.

First he annexed Flanders, then Alsace, Lorraine, Franche-Comté and some lands of Belgium. After – Strasbourg, Casale, Luxembourg, Kehl and other territories.

First of all, the king abolished the position of first minister. Under Louis XIV, his diplomats became the main ones in any European court. The monarch introduced strict etiquette for the first time, and Versailles became the capital of European social life.

Louis's main mistake was the War of the Spanish Succession. Very quickly, ordinary citizens of France became poor, and famine reigned in the country. The monarch managed to make peace with the British on very equal terms. France emerged from the war, albeit without acquiring new territories, but without losing practically anything.

It was Louis who is credited with the famous phrase: “The State is me!” The reign of this monarch is considered to be the Great Century of France.

William III of Orange (1672-1702)

Initially, William was the ruler of the Netherlands. In 1685, the English king Charles II died without leaving a direct heir, and the unpopular (due to the desire to restore Catholicism) James II ascended the throne.

In mid-November 1688, William and his army landed in England. Residents of Foggy Albion greeted the guests enthusiastically. At the beginning of 1689, William and his wife became the legal rulers of England and Scotland.

He was one of the first to adopt the “Act of Tolerance.” The persecution of dissidents in England ceased.

The new king supported the initiative to create the Bank of England and approved the emergence of a united East India Company. During the reign of William of Orange, literature, science, architecture and navigation began to rapidly develop in England. He contributed in every possible way to the large-scale colonization of North America.

It was under William that the tradition of limiting the power of the ruler to the laws of the “Bill of Rights of English Citizens” arose.

Frederick II the Great (1740-1786)

Frederick's father, Wilhelm I of the Hohenzollern dynasty, accustomed him to the life of a soldier from childhood. The Crown King of Prussia spent a lot of time in the barracks.

Under him, the number of Prussian troops was about two hundred thousand people, about two-thirds of the total budget was allocated for their maintenance. The state began to resemble a military camp.

Having concluded an alliance with England, Frederick attacked Saxony, which unleashed Seven Years' War(1756-1763). Neither the Austrians nor the French could stop the Prussian army. Frederick could not resist the Russian army.

Frederick went down in history as a brilliant tactician and strategist. His main innovation was complex maneuvering, which consisted of cutting off the enemy army from its own supply bases or fortresses. The result was a kind of exhaustion tactic without large-scale battles.

Throughout the history of planet Earth, there have been many rulers, from friendly kings to aggressive dictators. Here is a list of the greatest monarchs in history - those rulers who made life better for their people.

Monarch Suleiman I of the Ottoman Empire

Suleiman I, also known as Suleiman the Magnificent, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, he reigned for 69 years. His reign marked the beginning of a golden age in the Ottoman Empire. During his reign, Ottoman Empire covered most of the Middle East and Southeastern Europe.

Monarch James I of Great Britain

James I, also known as "the wise fool of Christendom", was the king of England and Scotland. During his reign, these two kingdoms were united. Literature and art flourished under his rule. He also wrote many books and poems himself.

Monarch Jan III Sobieski in Poland and Lithuania

Reign: 1674–1696

Jan III Sobieski, also known as Leo Lehistan, was a military and political genius. During his reign, Poland and Lithuania became stable, prosperous states. Jan received the nickname Lev Lehistan after the victory over the Turks at the Battle of Vienna.

Emperor Meiji in Japan

Meiji became Emperor of Japan at the age of 14, when it was a primitive and isolated country. However, thanks to Meiji, towards the end of his reign, Japan became a great industrial power.

Monarch Gustav II Adolf in Sweden

Gustav II was King of Sweden for 21 years. During his reign, Sweden became a major European power. Gustav II led his army against the Protestant Catholic armies of France and Spain. After his death in battle, Sweden became a renowned military power.

Augustus Caesar in Rome

Augustus Caesar was Emperor of Rome for 41 years. During this time, Augustus improved Rome's infrastructure and military power. He also reformed taxation. His reign is called the Pax Romana, or Roman Peace, because diplomacy flourished during this period of time.

Monarch Cyrus II of Persia

Reign: 559 BC BC – 530 BC e.

Cyrus II, also known as Cyrus the Great, ruled Persia for 30 years. During his reign, the Persian Empire covered much of the Middle East, including Iran, Israel and Mesopotamia. During the reign of Cyrus, human rights and military strategy were greatly improved.

Monarch Frederick II of Prussia

Frederick II, also known as Frederick the Great, ruled Prussia for 46 years. During his reign, Prussia's borders were significantly expanded and infrastructure improved.

Queen Victoria in Great Britain

Victoria remained on the throne for more than 63 years - more than any other British monarch. The Victorian era coincided with the Industrial Revolution and the greater expansion of the British Empire. The multiple dynastic marriages of her children and grandchildren cemented the ties between the royal dynasties of Europe and increased England's influence on the continent (she was called the "Grandmother of Europe"). Her birthday is still considered a holiday in Canada.

Monarch Louis XIV in France

King of France and Navara since May 14, 1643. He reigned for 72 years - longer than any other European king in history. The reign of Louis was a time of significant consolidation of the unity of France, its military power, socio-political weight, intellectual prestige and cultural flourishing; this time went down in history as the Great Century.

Louis was a firm believer in the divine right of kings, once saying that he was like the sun and his courtiers and France should revolve around him like planets.

One man's hero is often another man's tyrant. This aphorism is often remembered today, not to mention the past - it was very, very ambiguous in the politics of many countries. Everyone knows that history is written by the victors, and even the most cruel of them could be rehabilitated by time and the right ideology.

These rulers and politicians of the past - long ago and not so long ago, built their states at the expense of the lives of many people. And it doesn’t matter how they did it - they were sent to crazy wars or used as labor. In both cases, we can talk about merciless tactics to achieve goals. It is these rulers who are included in our list of the 12 most cruel rulers in human history.

Caligula - Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus

Reign: 37-41 AD

Caligula was very popular because he first freed citizens who had been unjustly imprisoned and freed them from a cruel sales tax. But then he went crazy and was never the same again. Caligula eliminated political rivals with sophisticated cruelty, went on wild rampages with people and animals, and generally behaved unrestrainedly.

Genghis Khan

Reign: 1206-1227

Genghis Khan's father was poisoned when the boy was nine. He spent his childhood as a slave, but was able to unite the Mongol tribes and conquer a huge chunk of Central Asia and China. Genghis Khan is called the most cruel ruler because of his massacres, when not just groups, but entire peoples or classes were slaughtered.

Thomas Torquemada

Reign: 1483-1498 (as Grand Inquisitor)

Torquemada was appointed Grand Inquisitor during the Spanish Inquisition. He established tribunals in several cities, drew up a system for other inquisitors, and made torture the main tool for extracting confessions. Historians believe that Torquemada was responsible for two thousand people burned at the stake.

Ivan IV (Ivan the Terrible)

Reign: 1547-1584

Ivan IV began his brutal reign by reorganizing the central government and limiting the power of hereditary aristocrats (princes and boyars). After the death of his first wife, Ivan began terror, eliminating the main boyar families. He also beat his pregnant daughter and killed his son in a fit of rage.

Queen Mary I (Bloody Mary)

Reign: 1553-1558

The only child of King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, Mary became Queen of England in 1553 and soon established Catholicism (after previous Protestant rulers) as her main religion and married Philip II of Spain. During her cruel reign, Protestants burned at the stake like dry branches, and Mary herself became Bloody.

Countess Elizabeth Bathory

Reign: 1590-1610

This cruel ruler lured young peasant women to her castle, promising them jobs as maids, after which she cruelly tortured them to death. According to the popular version, she tortured and killed about 600 young women.

Mehmed Talaat Pasha

Reign: 1913-1918

Historians believe that Talaat Pasha was the most brutal ruler and the leading figure in the Armenian genocide. As Minister of the Interior, he was responsible for the deportations that ultimately led to the deaths of 600,000 Armenians. He was killed in Berlin in 1921. A history buff, Adolf Hitler sent his body back to Istanbul in 1943, hoping to persuade Turkey to cooperate.

Joseph Stalin

Reign: 1922-1953

Stalin became the most brutal ruler in the 1930s, which coincided with mass famine, the imprisonment of millions in Gulag labor camps, and the "Great Purge" of the intelligentsia, government and military.

Adolf Gitler

Years of reign: 1933-1945

By the end of 1941, Hitler stood at the head of the Third Reich - an empire that included almost every country in Europe plus most North Africa. He became one of the most brutal rulers in human history, developing a plan to create a perfect race by eliminating Jews, Slavs, Gypsies and political opponents, forcing them into concentration camps where they were tortured and worked to death.

Mao Zedong

Reign: 1949-1976

Communist leader Mao founded the People's Republic. Under his leadership, industry was brought under state control and farmers were organized into collectives, following the example of Soviet collective farms. Any opposition was quickly suppressed. Mao's supporters point out that he modernized and unified China and turned it into a global superpower. However, others point out that his policies led to the deaths of as many as 40 million people from starvation, forced labor and executions.

Go Amin

Years of reign: 1971-1979

Amin overthrew the elected government in Uganda with a military coup and declared himself president. Then he brutally, for eight years, exterminated all opposition. Amin completely expelled Asians from Uganda: Indians, Chinese and Pakistanis.

Augusto Pinochet

Years of reign: 1973-1990

Pinochet overthrew the Chilean government in 1973 with a US-backed military coup. Researchers say many people simply "disappeared" while another 35,000 languished in the camps. Pinochet died before he could stand trial on charges of human rights violations.

He introduced free market economic policies that led to lower inflation and even an economic boom in the late 70s. Notably, Chile had one of the best-performing economies in Latin America from the mid-80s to the late 90s.