Conscription = Slavery ?

[Bengalzona]

(12-06-2016, 12:13 PM)Dill Wrote: So sensible. I enjoyed reading this.   It also explains why talk of including the Ukraine in NATO sets the Russians hair on fire.  Quite understandable. 

Russia has not been an expansionist power since 1917. The Soviets always thought defensively. They occupied Eastern Europe for decades, but that was also defensive. No country suffered in WWII they way they did--a massive national trauma--the politburo was going to make sure they were never invaded again. They were dragged kicking and screaming into Afghanistan.

It was Trotsky who preached about world rebellion and exporting Communism (Trotskyism). Stalin wanted nothing to do with that. He wanted complete control of the Soviet Union with himself at the top ("Socialism in One Country"). Communism was only a tool for his totalitarian ambitions. The two fought about it after the Revolution. Stalin won and Trotsky was exiled. Eventually, Stalin had Trotsky assassinated in Mexico (with an ice pick).  

Almost all Communist countries started around the world would follow the Stalinism model. It is one of the reasons why these countries require strongmen and cult of personality to make it work (Mao Tse Tung, Kim Il-Sung, Ho Chi Ming, Fidel Castro, etc.).