Lavrentiy Beria: Stalin’s Architect of Terror

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  • Опубликовано: 8 июн 2024
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    Credits:
    Host - Simon Whistler
    Author - Morris M
    Producer - Jack Cole
    Executive Producer - Shell Harris
    This video is sponsored by Vincero.
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    Other Biographics Videos:
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Комментарии • 2,4 тыс.

  • @StephenButlerOne
    @StephenButlerOne 5 лет назад +2837

    You know youre bad when Stalin tells his daughter not to catch a lift of you.

    • @StephenButlerOne
      @StephenButlerOne 5 лет назад +76

      @chanctonbury63 sorry typo nazi.

    • @StephenButlerOne
      @StephenButlerOne 5 лет назад +36

      @chanctonbury63 Извините, товарищ

    • @StephenButlerOne
      @StephenButlerOne 5 лет назад +18

      @chanctonbury63 Google translate shift. I was bored watching the United saints game.

    • @StephenButlerOne
      @StephenButlerOne 5 лет назад +13

      @chanctonbury63 manchester United v Southampton game. You may call it soccer. Just finished.
      Edit--saints is Southampton nick name in my land. Which isn't Russia. You should be able to guess by now.

    • @StephenButlerOne
      @StephenButlerOne 5 лет назад +31

      @chanctonbury63 why would you even think I was a Russian bot. My post was hardly pro, or anti Russian. Just a joke on the behalf of Stalin. Wouldn't that be a crime of some type? If I was Russian.

  • @worsethanjoerogan8061
    @worsethanjoerogan8061 5 лет назад +2661

    What I like most about Beria's life story is when they finally came for him he cried, sobbed and begged like a coward when faced with experiencing what he did to countless others

    • @Nantosuelta
      @Nantosuelta 5 лет назад +284

      a cowardly worm to the last

    • @richardanderson8302
      @richardanderson8302 5 лет назад +137

      Damn commies

    • @jimstanga6390
      @jimstanga6390 5 лет назад +47

      Dean Cutler - well....so did Yagoda and Yezhov....

    • @justahawkeye
      @justahawkeye 5 лет назад +66

      @Brocialist Party of America Sorry Bro, you described childs play over your brocialist screwing billions of people during 2nd half of the 20th century. And I know that from my own experience, not just theoretic saloon socialist perspective.

    • @allsystemsgo8678
      @allsystemsgo8678 4 года назад +58

      Hopefully he was terrified and died painfully.

  • @jmace2424
    @jmace2424 4 года назад +1710

    I’d love to live in a parallel world where hitler became an artist, stalin became a priest, and himmler just stayed farming chickens.

  • @74jailbreaker
    @74jailbreaker 4 года назад +336

    I first learned about Beria through the movie the Death of Stalin. It's a great dark, satirical comedy but it's also very interesting how those days following Stalin's death there was such a power struggle.

    • @MeatyTF2Mercs
      @MeatyTF2Mercs 2 года назад +2

      Ikr

    • @supaheat1486
      @supaheat1486 2 года назад +4

      Great movie

    • @thunderbird1921
      @thunderbird1921 2 года назад +3

      But...but...it was supposed to be a communal system! HAHAHAHAHAHA Communism is the biggest farce in human history.

    • @stephenquinn3447
      @stephenquinn3447 2 года назад

      I learned about him in a video about if operation long jump succeeded

    • @Ayo.Ajisafe
      @Ayo.Ajisafe 2 года назад +9

      Movie is hilarious and simultaneously brutal.

  • @SerTasera
    @SerTasera 5 лет назад +1980

    "furiously brown-nosing Stalin like a sentient suppository."
    You, sir, are a poet.

    • @denizmetint.462
      @denizmetint.462 5 лет назад +4

      Thanks, fam.

    • @alanfike
      @alanfike 5 лет назад +23

      Fuckit, I'm THAT GUY, but unlike I'm mistaken Morris M seems to deserve the credit, as author of the episode.
      Not trying to deflate what you pointed out, which I liked. Just pushing a spotlight on the other guy.

    • @diandoxlee7346
      @diandoxlee7346 4 года назад +7

      I like that, "sentient suppository."

    • @hitheremynameisbingo
      @hitheremynameisbingo 4 года назад +7

      I legit laughed out loud at the "sentient suppository" line, OMG 😂

    • @RickReasonnz
      @RickReasonnz 4 года назад +5

      Beautiful beautiful words

  • @Daniel-rh7kh
    @Daniel-rh7kh 5 лет назад +1017

    Soviet History is so underrated, people usually don't go deep into it, glad to see such work being done.

    • @alicemoore2036
      @alicemoore2036 5 лет назад +29

      Daniel The reason is because Marxism was shown clearly for the ugly thing bared.

    • @tigerstyle4505
      @tigerstyle4505 5 лет назад +62

      Leninism. Marxism is a totally different thing. Marxism-Leninism (Bolshevik ideology and the ideology of most of the Eastern Bloc and their satellite states) is really just Leninism.
      The actions and revolutions of a more pure Marxist strain tended towards mass movements, unions, minimized violence, democracy and a distinct libertarian tendency where Leninism and it's vanguard party theory can only result in bloodshed and power struggles.
      Most Marxists (especially during Stalinist Russia and many still today) readily denounce the USSR and their tactics (see Luxemburg) and do not seek anything resembling totalitarian dictatorships and police states.
      I'm not a Marxist myself, but I think it's important not to conflate the two very different thoughts as they are most definitely not the same. Marx and Marxism became more of a trope and a popular idea that was played to by an opportunist Lenin and the Bolsheviks under him, similar to the Nazi's use of leftist symbols, slogans, rhetoric due to their popular support in Germany at the time while both wings of the party were explicitly anti Marxist, anti socialist/communist and especially anti Bolshevik. This all fits into the context of the Russian revolution which was very much guided by popular support of Libertarian Socialist ideals before the counter revolution of the Bolsheviks as they systematically crushed opposition and solidified their grip on power.
      Too much nuance for the unthinking people of the world, but we don't have many great long term examples of Marxism in action on a long-term scale and anyone saying otherwise doesn't understand Marxism or Leninism well at all. Because Leninism is what we've seen crush much of the world under it's extremely flawed ideology, not Marxism. And Leninism's rise was the greatest blow to Socialism the world has ever seen and it's fall in most if the world Socialism's biggest win so far. Nuances matter ✌

    • @user-ti1tq3cj2p
      @user-ti1tq3cj2p 5 лет назад +15

      What are the main mistakes of Lenin? In what way does Leninism contradict Marxism?

    • @tibfulv
      @tibfulv 5 лет назад +4

      Indeed, Leninism is at its worst by far where it conforms to Marxism, as Lenin discovered to the detriment of Russia after the Revolution. He was forced to reverse most of the Marxist measures after they led to a broken economy and the death of millions. The NEP was a little known part of Soviet history, and short-lived, because after it came Stalin.
      Indeed, Lenin might be an interesting subject for this channel, as he's a lot more complex and tragic than the run-of-the-mill Soviet leader.

    • @numberjackfiutro7412
      @numberjackfiutro7412 5 лет назад +29

      Most leftists say that the Soviet regime wasn't real Communism, but it WAS true Communism. Karl Marx explicitly said in the Communist Manifesto among other works that Communism involves a totalitarian stage, Marx called it " Dictatorship of The Prolitariat ". Plus, the implementation of Communism requires totalitarianism because most people don't give up their possessions, labor, etc willingly, not without being compensated in some way, Thus the confiscation and other things inheirant to Communism can really only happen on a national level at the barrels of state guns. Moreover, totalitarianism is needed to sustain Communism.

  • @simonpeter5032
    @simonpeter5032 5 лет назад +369

    Referring to Adolf Eichmann as "that" instead of "him".
    *+15 points*

    • @cpegg5840
      @cpegg5840 3 года назад +18

      Eichmann’s type of evil is the most insidious-banal indifference. I’m glad he swung from a rope, even if it was 17 years late

    • @rogerthat3157
      @rogerthat3157 3 года назад +11

      Biased, why wouldn't he call beria as "that" then

    • @justinweber4977
      @justinweber4977 2 года назад +8

      @@rogerthat3157 it would have become tedious to do through an entire video. But, as a quick jab at someone, it works well.

    • @roskcity
      @roskcity 2 года назад +1

      @@rogerthat3157 Not biased.

  • @Gronk79
    @Gronk79 5 лет назад +228

    Beria: "Show me the man, and I will find you the crime."

  • @Nebukadnezzer
    @Nebukadnezzer 5 лет назад +462

    I'm not saying The Death of Stalin is a documentary, but it has introduced me to many of these (horrible) guys.

    • @allsystemsgo8678
      @allsystemsgo8678 4 года назад +11

      Same here

    • @Kruppt808
      @Kruppt808 4 года назад +22

      Info about history is good regardless if it's a doc or comedy. It can inspire you to learn more then you knew before you watched it.

    • @countofdownable
      @countofdownable 2 года назад +8

      Jason Isaacs as Marshall Zhukov stole the show.

  • @frederickthegreatpodcast382
    @frederickthegreatpodcast382 5 лет назад +742

    Stalin told Harry Truman, “This is our Himmler”

    • @petebondurant58
      @petebondurant58 5 лет назад +88

      Stalin said the same thing to the Germans when the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was signed.

    • @alanpennie8013
      @alanpennie8013 5 лет назад +43

      Alec Avdakov
      That was rather a neat put down. Stalin could do subtle sarcasm when he wanted (even though he hadn't been to college)

    • @petebondurant58
      @petebondurant58 5 лет назад +51

      He had 50,000 books in his library, most of which were filled with notes written by him in the margins.

    • @alanpennie8013
      @alanpennie8013 5 лет назад +104

      @@petebondurant58
      He was quite the literature buff. Probably why he had so many writers killed. It was an extreme form of literary criticism.

    • @TH-sn7mw
      @TH-sn7mw 5 лет назад +30

      And the SOB even looks like Himmler

  • @malcolmabram2957
    @malcolmabram2957 4 года назад +170

    The big irony of Beria was that during his brief reign following the death of Stalin, he was negotiating an aid package with the USA, similar to the Marshall plan for Germany and the MacArthur plan for Japan. This was one of the contributing factors to his downfall in a coup led by Khruschev. The Soviets refused aid from the west yet this contributed to years of economic stagnation during the Brezhnev era. Beria took quite a different stance after the death of Stalin and if he had succeeded in an economic aid package the history of the west v East, ie The cold War, not to mention the Soviet Union might have been very different.

    • @dasdoohjhgf3975
      @dasdoohjhgf3975 3 года назад +2

      ერთადერთი ადეკვატური კომენტარი

    • @prestonjones1653
      @prestonjones1653 2 года назад +2

      I'm not sure itbcould have been too different. Maybe the Soviets would have collapsed later, maybe in the mid-2000s, or even the 2010s, but it would have collapsed and there would have been a cold war between the two nuclear powers.

    • @jeffreylebowski2440
      @jeffreylebowski2440 2 года назад +3

      would have been like china today

    • @LAZISH
      @LAZISH Год назад +1

      So true!!! These details should be spoken out too. Otherwise, it's half truth

    • @emperorpalpatine6239
      @emperorpalpatine6239 Год назад

      @@dasdoohjhgf3975 Lmao, gotta love how Georgian nationalists idolise criminals like Beria due to the latter being Georgians. Did you miss the part where he was raping women and little girls? Does that sound worthy of admiration to you?

  • @HSMiyamoto
    @HSMiyamoto 5 лет назад +216

    You forgot the story about how Beria's killers were so devoted to "
    literally "erasing" him from Soviet history that subscribers to the official Soviet encyclopedia were mailed a new, expanded article about the "Bering Strait" with directions that the owner was to paste the page over the page in which the Beria entry was printed.
    Although this happened after Orwell published "1984", this story would be retold in US schools, at least, of how the "Memory Hole" in the "Ministry of Truth" that swallowed up all evidence of information the regime had previously said was true (whether or not if was) was not so far-fetched as one might think.

    • @jasoncarswell7458
      @jasoncarswell7458 4 года назад +19

      that is indeed a valuable example. I knew about Yezhov being erased from the picture of the canal, but I'd never heard of Beria's encyclopedia article being erased that way. I'm not surprised. Live by the summary execution, die by the summary execution.

    • @capcompass9298
      @capcompass9298 4 года назад

      @@jasoncarswell7458 Very interesting photos of Yezhov (and not-Yezhov).
      I didn't realise he was Beira's boss.

    • @jasoncarswell7458
      @jasoncarswell7458 4 года назад +10

      @@capcompass9298 NKVD Chairmen tended to train their deputies in the art of murder, torture and false accusations... and then have them practiced on them. Happened to Yagoda at Yezhov's hands, then Yezhov at Beria's hands, and finally Beria at Ivan Serov's hands.

    • @nicholasbrassard3512
      @nicholasbrassard3512 3 года назад +8

      @@jasoncarswell7458 it's like sith lords and their apprentices xD

  • @KPW2137
    @KPW2137 5 лет назад +674

    Speaking of Beria: he is still pretty well known and recognized.
    However, ever heard of Mao`s secret police head, Kang Sheng?
    Exactly.

    • @nickmitsialis
      @nickmitsialis 5 лет назад +157

      Sounds like a villain from Mortal Kombat.

    • @DarkLordoftheMeme
      @DarkLordoftheMeme 5 лет назад +48

      I have, according to Jung Chang this Chinese version of Beria always caried a puppy with him wherever he went!

    • @nigeh5326
      @nigeh5326 5 лет назад +9

      Any recommendations for books on him?

    • @tengkualiff
      @tengkualiff 5 лет назад

      Pretty sure he knows

    • @jaewok5G
      @jaewok5G 5 лет назад +13

      if you're any good at being the secret police, no one should know your name!

  • @titanicwang2044
    @titanicwang2044 4 года назад +812

    "Dark humour is like food... Not everyone gets it"
    ~Stalin

    • @devanman7920
      @devanman7920 4 года назад +20

      This might be the most underated comment I've ever read 😂

    • @Kruppt808
      @Kruppt808 4 года назад +6

      Stalin was funny? 😂😂

    • @drakashrakenburgproduction5369
      @drakashrakenburgproduction5369 4 года назад +11

      @@Kruppt808 he had some...interesting quotes.

    • @erichodge567
      @erichodge567 4 года назад

      Good one...

    • @Mericaa47
      @Mericaa47 4 года назад +6

      @Frederick Röders Except that in capitalism people work for food while in communism the people leading the country are the only people with food.

  • @copperhammer
    @copperhammer 4 года назад +57

    Beria to Stalin: "Give me the man and I 'll give you the crime "

  • @ignitionfrn2223
    @ignitionfrn2223 3 года назад +57

    1:45 - Chapter 1 - Early life (Born into the fires revolution)
    6:20 - Chapter 2 - Rise to power (The NKVD & the terror)
    13:05 - Chapter 3 - WWII (The soviet himmler)
    15:40 - Chapter 4 - The last 100 days (a statesman emerges ?)

  • @horrortackleharry
    @horrortackleharry 5 лет назад +299

    One thing I know for sure about Beria: he would have worn a Vincero watch.

  • @andriichub8742
    @andriichub8742 5 лет назад +862

    I am Ukrainian and Beria and his atrocious deeds are widely known here due to the harm they caused both my people and other nations of former soviet nation. Thank you for telling this story and for bringing awareness about his crimes and the fact that the bloody dictators never act alone and that they need loyal lieutenants to rely on.

    • @user-ti1tq3cj2p
      @user-ti1tq3cj2p 5 лет назад +17

      Beria is better than an alcoholic Poroshenko)

    • @kentamitchell
      @kentamitchell 5 лет назад +57

      I fervently hope that the Ukrainian people have a happier future ahead of them- in the past century they have certainly been through hell.

    • @brosephyolonarovichstalin2915
      @brosephyolonarovichstalin2915 5 лет назад +29

      I know that life was cheap back then but anyone who knows anything about Stalins regime knows what a disgusting turd Beria was. Wonderful presentation Simon. You’re fantastic.

    • @2HRTS1LOVE
      @2HRTS1LOVE 5 лет назад +24

      Yes, the murdery psychos are always backed by a team of murdery psychos, aren't they? Birds of a feather, I guess, sadly for the rest of the world.

    • @mohammedcohen
      @mohammedcohen 5 лет назад +5

      Read Anne Applebaum's 'Red Famine'...

  • @KarchK
    @KarchK 3 года назад +29

    My grandfather was a gulag prisoner for over 8 years and was released in 53 right after Stalin died , I never knew it was Berija who ordered his and so many others’ release ..

    • @tballstaedt7807
      @tballstaedt7807 2 года назад +9

      In my opinion, this was a move by Berria to survive in the absence of Stalin. Berria had to distance himself from Stalin's policies to cover his own crimes as a reformer. I think his plan was to lay all of it at Stalin's feet.

    • @user-bp1nc4ug4j
      @user-bp1nc4ug4j Год назад +1

      You wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Beria then😂

    • @GigaChadh976
      @GigaChadh976 Год назад +2

      @@user-bp1nc4ug4j
      If it weren’t for Beria his grandad would have never gone to prison in all likelihood

    • @redjirachi1
      @redjirachi1 8 месяцев назад +1

      I guess even a monster like Beria can still do a good deed if he gets something out of it. It's always fascinating to me when history's great villains do in fact have something positive to their name

  • @toastedaudiolab
    @toastedaudiolab 5 лет назад +74

    "...and furiously brown nosing Stalin like a sentient suppository." That's the best line ever.

    • @g0679
      @g0679 5 лет назад +1

      toastedaudiolab
      Wonderful imagery.

  • @acetate909
    @acetate909 5 лет назад +178

    The Death of Stalin is a great satirical film about the events that transpired after Stalin died. I highly recommend it. It's an English movie by Armando Iannucci who made In The Loop.

    • @Lowlandlord
      @Lowlandlord 4 года назад +2

      The only really sad thing is that because of Beria and how grotesque he was, I don't want to watch that movie with him in it again.

    • @miguelpalomares3441
      @miguelpalomares3441 2 года назад +4

      @@Lowlandlord I'd tell you to not worry since it's lighthearted in a twisted sort of way but beria is like the nail of realism that reminds you the events in the films were completely true, they don't show away from how fucked up of a monster he was, the comedy aspect even fades away from the last minutes or the film too + he's actually shown being a fucking worm with a little girl, so yeah

  • @mygreenfroggy
    @mygreenfroggy 5 лет назад +583

    Sentient suppository?? Ten points for a new one for the list of insults, lol! Excellent juxtaposition of words.

    • @stephaneclerc667
      @stephaneclerc667 5 лет назад +12

      The poor but audible s alliteration added to his voice and accent really make a big difference but yes, I will definitely use that insult on colleagues starting tomorrow

    • @genehakman9422
      @genehakman9422 5 лет назад +10

      AsapNicky Bars or he just has his settings private. You must be one of those communist enthusiasts, quite sure that if YOU were the dictator, things would be better. Funny how they never are lol.

    • @genehakman9422
      @genehakman9422 5 лет назад +11

      AsapNicky Bars is English not your first language?, this video is very anti-communist.
      The OP was also just remarking about the "sentient suppository " quip, which happens to be a very funny bit of writing (if you understand English).
      And you seem to be anti-Semitic, so we're done here.

    • @kubist5424
      @kubist5424 5 лет назад

      Lost it at that one.

    • @dukadarodear2176
      @dukadarodear2176 5 лет назад

      Ruth Beaty
      Yes.
      Up your's Stalin!

  • @DanMcLeodNeptuneUK
    @DanMcLeodNeptuneUK 4 года назад +193

    I highly recommend checking out 'The Death of Stalin'.
    Excellent cinema!!

    • @Edmonton-of2ec
      @Edmonton-of2ec 4 года назад +19

      Dan McLeod John Issacs made me laugh my ass off in that movie

    • @anotherhuman459
      @anotherhuman459 4 года назад +4

      Pretty good movie, idk why but it seems like he knew what was coming but still he played his part trying to change it but he failed horribly.

    • @Mdebacle
      @Mdebacle 4 года назад +7

      Steve Buscemi considered playing Khrushchev the role of a lifetime.

    • @abbaszaidi8371
      @abbaszaidi8371 4 года назад +5

      MVP- Jason Isaacs as brogue Yorkshireman Zhukov

    • @thomassummerhill6357
      @thomassummerhill6357 3 года назад +1

      Essential reading if you enjoy this era. Court of the Red Tsar by Simon Sebag Montefiorri . Great book 👍

  • @kenarnold9132
    @kenarnold9132 5 лет назад +45

    "As he slithered his way up the greasy pole to power" Yep. How many brutal leaders in history deserve this description?

    • @stephenreeds3672
      @stephenreeds3672 4 года назад

      All of them. Welcome Boris!

    • @flamixflame2685
      @flamixflame2685 4 года назад +2

      @@stephenreeds3672 why do you keep saying welcome Boris

    • @stephenreeds3672
      @stephenreeds3672 4 года назад

      @@flamixflame2685 Don't know about keep on saying? "Only once. Like Beria, Boris seems only interested in power. And look what he's doing with it.

    • @coyi7454
      @coyi7454 3 года назад +3

      @@stephenreeds3672 lmao lunatic, comparing Boris to beria is shamefully disingenuous

  • @chilongqua1238
    @chilongqua1238 5 лет назад +313

    "Stalin's architect..."
    Me: "This sounds pleasant!"
    "...of terror"
    Me: "... never mind..."

    • @Mister_Kourkoutas
      @Mister_Kourkoutas 4 года назад

      CHI LONG QUA the “Stalinist Baroque” style of brutalist Soviet architecture is definitely a terror. One need only look at Pragues skyline. The beautiful“Vienna of the North” marred by hideous communist era high rises.

    • @donkeyslayer4661
      @donkeyslayer4661 4 года назад

      Pretty Lame!

    • @Edmonton-of2ec
      @Edmonton-of2ec 4 года назад +1

      Albert Speer, Beria is not

    • @stanislavkostarnov2157
      @stanislavkostarnov2157 4 года назад

      ​@@Mister_KourkoutasThose buildings are not Stalin's Baroque, but usually constructed much later...
      to see that, look upon the architecture of such towns as have been built as palaces to house the NKVD/OGPU Overlords of the Gulag; the down towns of cities like Magadan, Norilsk, Vorkuta...
      there architecture feels almost spookily Draculean, yet, classically Romanesque. angular ensembles, with lines clearly showing the influence of totalitarian, even Nazi forms, the pale, intricately carved colonnaded square buildings of pale panted panes, rimmed by mounts and cornices of bare white cement, look almost beautiful, if the viewer ignores their multilayered, deep, Luciferical touch.
      the high rises, were the fruits of a time when the evils of a bloodthirsty maniacs rule were watered down to a mediocre stench of the Grimpen quagmire of a fallen civilization

  • @jbourne5181
    @jbourne5181 5 лет назад +225

    Loved your comment "terminal case of death".......I'm still laughing

    • @markbencetti7693
      @markbencetti7693 5 лет назад +7

      Loved it too.

    • @carlwessels2671
      @carlwessels2671 4 года назад

      Reminds me of the old saying,a sexually transmitted, terminal condition, life.

    • @billbyrd1361
      @billbyrd1361 3 года назад

      Amazing how in modern times we see the same exact thing going on. Certain people that are politically damaging keep coming up dead. Now the total is past 100. Its almost as if the same EXACT play book is being used. Latest examples: Christopher Sign and Jeffrey Epstein.

  • @MAKOFBEST
    @MAKOFBEST 3 года назад +16

    I didn't know Johnny Sins loved history so much.

  • @derwolf8174
    @derwolf8174 3 года назад +18

    I learned of him through "The Death of Stalin" I love that movie

    • @joepeake8972
      @joepeake8972 3 года назад +1

      Simon Russell Beale did a great job with the character.

  • @matthewmckenna248
    @matthewmckenna248 5 лет назад +138

    Hats off to you for bringing out these episodes. And could you cover Dwight D Einesinhower?

    • @Kruppt808
      @Kruppt808 4 года назад +1

      We like Ike

    • @thevoid4060
      @thevoid4060 4 года назад +1

      @@Kruppt808 everybody likes ike

  • @thecitizenoftheinternet1077
    @thecitizenoftheinternet1077 4 года назад +92

    The irony: Beria sounds like "Bury ya".

    • @bitbybit6988
      @bitbybit6988 3 года назад +3

      funny because he usually burned the corpses of innocent Abkhazians instead of burying them.

    • @michaellynes3540
      @michaellynes3540 2 года назад +1

      Khrushchev: I will bury you in history.

  • @Chaosdude341
    @Chaosdude341 4 года назад +22

    Y'all are such an incredible team. The writing and the articulation are like an old school boxing combo -- immediately classic.

  • @gioduduchadze2430
    @gioduduchadze2430 4 года назад +37

    2:20 Georgians don't usually leave their wives and children, but when they do....

    • @sethabdul7824
      @sethabdul7824 4 года назад +7

      They become mass murderers

    • @matthewtuckman4447
      @matthewtuckman4447 3 года назад

      Actually thats not always the sole reason Stalin for an example was abused by his father and once Stalin threw a knife at his father to stop him from abusing his mother and his mother was devult and very strict wich is why Joseph hated her and even called her "an old whole" in front of others or his colleagues

  • @ifteqarahmed7449
    @ifteqarahmed7449 4 года назад +16

    Simon is amazing. Just cant stop listening to his voice as he narrates history with dramatic reality. I almost find myself living hundreds of years in time

    • @Biographics
      @Biographics  4 года назад

      Thank you :). One of my favourite things about biographies!

    • @michaellynes3540
      @michaellynes3540 2 года назад

      Simon almost looks just like Beria in facial appearance

  • @CHE6yp
    @CHE6yp 5 лет назад +40

    "..you've never heard of." HA! Didn't expect someone from ex-USSR here, did you? Everyone here knows Beria.

    • @rogerpattube
      @rogerpattube 4 года назад

      It was a stupid comment from our host to say that no one heard of Beria. From NZ, never studied history but of course know who Beria was.

    • @jefftheriault7260
      @jefftheriault7260 4 года назад

      A certain amount of preaching to the choir, yes. I think perhaps that was a little bit of word of mouth advertising on his part. Those who know might comment to those who don't, who might find themselves interested in finding out, despite themselves. A gain for all, in the end.

    • @jefftheriault7260
      @jefftheriault7260 4 года назад

      @Tropic Lightning And that's the absolute truth. Perhaps the biggest chunk of it we're going to find.

  • @Sana_a04
    @Sana_a04 6 месяцев назад +2

    "This is our Himmler" - Stalin at the Yalta conference introducing Beria to FDR.

  • @neoamaru
    @neoamaru 5 лет назад +26

    Been watching this channel's videos now every day for the past month and a half, i gotta say, Simon's way of presenting this one was special! i like the tongue-in-cheek humor, he'd make a great history teacher ;)

  • @wmellor87
    @wmellor87 5 лет назад +42

    Human beings scare me. Every one of them has the makings of a keg of dynamite ready to explode at any provocation

    • @bezahltersystemtroll5055
      @bezahltersystemtroll5055 4 года назад +1

      @Leonardo's Truth why would a just god torture his own creation?

    • @arifakyuz7673
      @arifakyuz7673 4 года назад +2

      I doubt that Pope Francis said that.

    • @arifakyuz7673
      @arifakyuz7673 4 года назад +1

      Probably because said creation did a bad thing and is being punished? “Just” doesn’t only mean “altruistic”

    • @obviousbait4277
      @obviousbait4277 3 года назад +1

      You speak as if you're not human yourself

    • @supergamergrill7734
      @supergamergrill7734 2 года назад

      Not all humans are bad. ALao many humans overthrew dictator

  • @tonywilliamson-bruscaglia3070
    @tonywilliamson-bruscaglia3070 4 года назад +10

    “Greasy pole of power” that’s a new one for Stalin’s rod.

  • @evenkeel6131
    @evenkeel6131 4 года назад +21

    My word did Stalin have a stellar mustache.

    • @thomassummerhill6357
      @thomassummerhill6357 3 года назад

      @@MrWhodatsay It was rumoured he had halitosis, his breath was rancid ☠️

  • @donnielewis6958
    @donnielewis6958 Год назад +5

    Makes Himmler look like a cupcake

  • @Viroh
    @Viroh 5 лет назад +14

    Oh boi, I love this series. Listening to real stories about people who played it big in life helps me forget about the small stuff and focus on what matters, and the new weekly episodes always refresh my viewpoints. Keep it up Simon!

  • @chimaloo
    @chimaloo 5 лет назад +31

    You should do a video on Ante Pavelic, head of the Croatian Ustasa during the 30s

  • @nielcarpnava
    @nielcarpnava 4 года назад +60

    Biographics: Lavrentiy Beria: Stalin's Architect of Terror
    Me: Lavrentiy Beria: Stalin's Greatest A-- Kisser

  • @nadtz
    @nadtz 4 года назад +6

    I know who Beria is, I grew up somewhat fascinated by the USSR and I love reading and history. I got into more than a bit of trouble in school when I argued with a teacher about Stalin being at least as bad if not worse than Hitler, but back then I guess people didn't really say that.

  • @mikdan8813
    @mikdan8813 5 лет назад +24

    Thank you for mentioning Katyn, Simon! Respect from Poland!

    • @bitbybit6988
      @bitbybit6988 3 года назад

      I still don't understand how more people don't talk about Katyń massacre. It's insane how much respect the soviet monsters get just for fighting fascists and everything they do bad is ignored.

  • @gabri770
    @gabri770 5 лет назад +7

    Nice , been waiting for this for a long time. Keep up the good work 👍🏻👍🏻

  • @MrPoupard
    @MrPoupard 5 лет назад +30

    A psychopathic monster. and as so often in history, it comes in an ordinary package. Thank you for this … horribly fascinating.

  • @IronMan-qi3yg
    @IronMan-qi3yg 4 года назад +27

    I like the way Simon Whistler speaks. He sometimes hesitates and quickly draws breaths between words as if he's shooting a massive load in his breeches.

  • @BlueHooloovoo
    @BlueHooloovoo 5 лет назад +228

    I believe Beria would of been exactly the kind of leader Stalin was, brutal and repressive. A serial murderer and rapist like Beria got exactly what he deserved. I only wish Stalin suffered the same fate.

    • @tamolamo4698
      @tamolamo4698 5 лет назад +29

      Well conditions of Stalin's death is wery suspitious it's posible that he was poisoned. He lied half dead on the flor in the pool of his own urine for 3 days...

    • @BlueHooloovoo
      @BlueHooloovoo 5 лет назад +19

      +Tamo Lamo - Well at least we can be comforted that Stalin got to feel a sense of helplessness near the end, albeit very briefly. Too bad it didn't go on for longer considering the horrors he visited upon millions. But rarely do dictators get what they truly deserve.

    • @alanpennie8013
      @alanpennie8013 5 лет назад +8

      @Irina
      He was a horrible person but actually quite "liberal" on policy issues.

    • @nickmitsialis
      @nickmitsialis 5 лет назад +9

      Well as the joke in the movie went, "Nobody" wanted to run the risk of disturbing 'Uncle Joe' while he was 'resting'--other wise you might end up getting 'liquidated/disappeared'

    • @royperkins3851
      @royperkins3851 5 лет назад +8

      He did Beria killed him with digoxin triggering a massive stroke that although it didn't kill him outright it made sure the bastard laid there and suffered for three days before he died! The greatest irony was that Beria killed Stalin to save himself from the executioners block ,yet those others like him from Stalin's circle
      Who no doubt would have been purged /executed if Stalin's purge
      Had happened didn't trust him either, he killed the monster he served and ironically still ended up with a shot to the back of the head after shitting himself and begging for his life!

  • @tomlyons8440
    @tomlyons8440 4 года назад +15

    "its only a war crime if you lose." Stalin

  • @Tansea
    @Tansea 4 года назад +10

    "Sentient suppository" I bow down to your brilliance.

  • @brucepierson9941
    @brucepierson9941 4 года назад +7

    Never, ever give up your guns.

  • @kcsledge95
    @kcsledge95 5 лет назад +16

    Making the case for Beria being a suck-up to Stalin immediately made immediately me think of him as Stalin's Himmler. LOVE being vindicated!

    • @kllk12ful
      @kllk12ful 5 лет назад +6

      Stalin actually did think of Beria as his 'Himmler'

    • @supercobra1746
      @supercobra1746 5 лет назад +2

      @@kllk12ful
      > Stalin actually did think of Beria as his 'Himmler'
      Wow, you can actually read thought over distance and time!
      @kcsledge95
      > Making the case for Beria being a suck-up to Stalin immediately made immediately me think of him as Stalin's Himmler. LOVE being vindicated!
      It makes me think that a story is a lie )))

  • @nicka.9842
    @nicka.9842 5 лет назад +52

    Can you do a video on Leonid Brezhnev and Nikita Khrushchev?

  • @samuraisoul1043
    @samuraisoul1043 5 лет назад +2

    thank you simon , shell , jack and morris you are a great team loving the vids

  • @mcmoose64
    @mcmoose64 4 года назад +14

    Watch the film "The Death of Stalin". It captures perfectly the insanity of the time . One of the most brutal dark comedy/satires of all time .

  • @martybcurry
    @martybcurry 5 лет назад +7

    Bye the way, awesome series, Simon. Being a history nut, and always seeking out obscure nuggets of truth and trivia, you have made my day many times by revealing fascinating facts that my 40 years of reading have left in darkness. Cheers!

  • @MountainDewComacho494
    @MountainDewComacho494 5 лет назад +14

    I love your biographies. This was especially great as I had never heard of Beria. Truly both fascinating and repulsive.

  • @MathiaArkoniel
    @MathiaArkoniel 5 лет назад +2

    I've been subscribed to your Top10's channel since the early days, and am subscribed to all channels that you narrate on Simon. Your way of narrating is AMAZING! Even ads sound awesome presented by you. Your voice has fantastic inflactions in the right places, great tone and timber, but best of all, you sound geniuine and sincer every single time (even about the watch). lol. Really awesome. I hope to keep watching/listening to you talk about interesting subjects for many years to come.

  • @PaulSteMarie
    @PaulSteMarie 4 года назад +10

    ROFL: "brown-nosing Stalin like a sentient suppository"
    That one is right up there with "the nattering nabobs of negativity", written by William Safire for Spiro Agnew.

  • @lnkrishnan
    @lnkrishnan 5 лет назад +4

    This was amazing presentation, Simon. My recommendation would be for you to end all your videos with a question for your audience - us - to ponder over - sort of like ending the crescendo that you've built up through the duration of the video. I felt that the earlier biopics sort of left me on the edge, and this one about Lavrentiy left us thinking about what was presented well after the presentation was finished.

  • @dpagan8512
    @dpagan8512 4 года назад +3

    Your series of history of all types and personalities is to me , among the best every made..keep it up !!!

  • @stjaxn
    @stjaxn 4 года назад +1

    Man, these are really great. I'm plowing through them. Good work Simon.

    • @Biographics
      @Biographics  4 года назад +1

      Glad you’re enjoying them :)

  • @kevinfelton689
    @kevinfelton689 10 месяцев назад +1

    I almost got offended when Simon said I'd never heard of Beria, but then I realized that I'd only heard of him because of the comedy movie The Death of Stalin

  • @kevi152
    @kevi152 5 лет назад +40

    Marshal zhukov did not wait and dragged beria out kicking and screeming. Zhukov said it was his most commendable deed. Zhukov was no conspirator ; after all he won the war almost singlehandedly. Read his biography / autobiography.

    • @mojotheaverage
      @mojotheaverage 5 лет назад +3

      Zhukov was a beast of a commander

    • @LurganGoon91
      @LurganGoon91 4 года назад +1

      @@mojotheaverage and an extreme war criminal

    • @scotsbillhicks
      @scotsbillhicks 6 месяцев назад

      Rokossovskiy, Konev, Chuikov, Timoshenko, and quite a few others would disagree.

  • @IlmarKiisk
    @IlmarKiisk 4 года назад +10

    Would love to hear about Genrikh Yagoda, the man behind starting the Stalin's great purges, which ended with his own death eventually.

    • @satrio303
      @satrio303 4 года назад +2

      don't forget about the dwarf Yezhov

    • @thenumbah1birdman
      @thenumbah1birdman 4 года назад +4

      @@satrio303 who is this "Yezhov" person? He didn't exist, according to my 1940 edition of the Soviet encyclopedia.

  • @gordonmckenzie926
    @gordonmckenzie926 4 года назад +4

    Don’t forget that Beria’s henchman was Vasily Blokhin who personally murdered tens of thousands on Beria’s orders.

  • @tenhirankei
    @tenhirankei 5 лет назад +4

    We've heard of Beria before this video. Anyone who saw the Living Daylights may recall the Soviet general that told Bond that Smiert Spionam AKA SMERSH was a Beria operation of Stalin's time.

  • @zurgboy07
    @zurgboy07 2 года назад +3

    I only ever learned about him when I watched a Movie. This guy makes Himmler look like a saint.

  • @jdb47games
    @jdb47games 5 лет назад +24

    0:38 Anyone with a decent knowledge of history will have heard of Beriya.

    • @intercommerce
      @intercommerce 4 года назад +5

      Untrue, I have extensive historical knowledge and never heard of him until the movie Death of Stalin on Netflix, which led me here

    • @carlwessels2671
      @carlwessels2671 4 года назад +2

      @@intercommerce First heard of him on a blooper record of a western. In mid sixties. There's a lot of shooting,then a voice breaks in announcing Lavrenti Beria has just been shot. Back to the western, well that ought to hold him. Right after all the shots.

    • @rogerpattube
      @rogerpattube 4 года назад +2

      @@intercommerce By definition then you did not have 'extensive historical knowledge'.

    • @robertgrason393
      @robertgrason393 4 года назад +1

      untrue. I have 2 or 3 degrees in modern history and had never heard of him until i read simon seabag montifioris book on Stalin

    • @ethanbidois2877
      @ethanbidois2877 3 года назад +2

      Untrue. I have extensive knowledge on the galactic civil war, human covenant war, and emu war is extensive, and I’ve got 5-6 degrees in historical related things, and I’ve never heard of this guy.

  • @niallmcdonagh1093
    @niallmcdonagh1093 4 года назад +2

    This is the reason I watch RUclips.
    Articulate, informed, non judgemental, spell-binding narrative bringing to light the forgotten flooded lower chambers of history.
    Food for the intellect and stimulus to the soul!!!!

  • @robertphillips6296
    @robertphillips6296 4 года назад +4

    There was an article in the official Soviet encyclopedia about him one year only to have a replacement page sent to the books owners with instructions to remove the offending page and replace it with the new one. He was sort photoshopped out of official photographs and references to him were expunged from all official paperwork. One young girl after being rapped by him tried to commit suicide, as the story goes he was to have stayed by her side talking and begging her not to die?

  • @Vladamite
    @Vladamite 5 лет назад +14

    My absolute favorite biographical video. I know that sounds morbid but I have been interested in this man for a while and have often tried to imagine what different path the Soviet Union would have taken if Beria had managed to win his power struggle against Khrushchev.
    Anyway, good work my man, I cannot wait for your next video.

  • @slavicemperor8279
    @slavicemperor8279 5 лет назад +46

    He was Georgian, just like Stalin and he also died the same year as him

    • @Hivernal
      @Hivernal 5 лет назад +24

      Him dying was a direct consequence of stalin's death so yeah

    • @StelzCat
      @StelzCat 5 лет назад +7

      He was born in Abkhazia, so it is debatable wither he really was one. Stalin incorporated the territory in Georgian SSR later on. Also, he did not die, he was shot, if you ever listened to story.

    • @Narrowcros
      @Narrowcros 5 лет назад +4

      He also betrayed and poisoned Stalin

    • @alanpennie8013
      @alanpennie8013 5 лет назад

      @@Narrowcros
      I hope this is true, but it is supposition rather than fact

    • @rainbowstalin594
      @rainbowstalin594 5 лет назад +27

      >He was born in Abkhazia, so it is debatable wither he really was one
      He was born in Abkhazia but he wasn't an Abkhazian, he was a Mingrelian . a ethnicity that's very close to Georgian and are nowadays considered to be subgroups of Georgians.
      Edit:But then again 'Abkhazians' themselves aren't really from Abkhazia since they came from the North Caucasus.

  • @fergalfarrelly8545
    @fergalfarrelly8545 5 лет назад +6

    I love how Simon get stuff no one else could get. Not just the same old people talked of in a dozen other documentaries. Great job Simon. I love your work.

  • @CommunismAgainstPutin
    @CommunismAgainstPutin 2 года назад +1

    On March 27, at his suggestion, a decree was adopted on a broad amnesty that affected 1.032 million people. Khrushchev subsequently called this move cheap demagoguery. According to the version reflected, in particular, in the film "The Cold Summer of 53rd", Beria deliberately released notorious bandits in order to destabilize the situation in the country and pave the way for the seizure of power, but in fact the amnesty only affected those convicted for terms of up to five years.
    On April 4, Beria signed an order for the Ministry of Internal Affairs "On the prohibition of the use of any measures of coercion and physical coercion against those arrested," which, in particular, stated: "Destroy all instruments through which torture was carried out."Beria swung at the holy of holies - the leading role of the party. At his suggestion, in some union republics, the first persons were transferred from the posts of party secretaries to the posts of chairmen of the Councils of Ministers. According to Khrushchev, Beria said: "What about the Central Committee, let the Council of Ministers decide, the Central Committee should deal with personnel and propaganda."
    On May 9, at his initiative, a decree was issued prohibiting the wearing of portraits of living leaders at demonstrations. After the arrest of Beria, it was canceled, and this practice continued until the collapse of the USSR.

  • @PrezMcIntyre
    @PrezMcIntyre 5 лет назад +85

    Can we get a video on Heinz Guderian?

    • @rpm1796
      @rpm1796 5 лет назад +3

      Absolute...and erich Von M. and my choice for Normandy....Walter Model..over Rommel.

    • @g0679
      @g0679 5 лет назад +1

      Garfield McIntyre
      I love his company’s condiments.

    • @PawelSorinsky
      @PawelSorinsky 4 года назад

      They did it.

  • @jackgrover3625
    @jackgrover3625 5 лет назад +3

    Incredibly happy I am to see this name pop up, no good videos on him until this

  • @newgabe09
    @newgabe09 5 лет назад +2

    Great informative video. I'm going to Georgia as a tourist soon, just as there's demonstrations happening. I really appreciate learning some of the background to this in such an easy way

  • @StevenTorrey
    @StevenTorrey 5 лет назад +3

    Montefiori writes that toward the end of his life, Stalin would hold drunken meeting with Molotov, Khrushchev, Beria, etc. and at these parties he would drunkenly sentence people to death written on a napkin. One Stalin died, there was general fear that Beria would actually carry out these drunken death sentences. You can see why Beria himself would soon after Stalin's death, would meet his own death.

  • @TheBigBadTributer
    @TheBigBadTributer 5 лет назад +55

    He looks like a Soviet Himmler tbh

  • @nuclearnadal2821
    @nuclearnadal2821 5 лет назад +4

    Simon has combined words that turn into puns. I praise Simon for his choice of words to describe something or someone. For the next episode i'd suggest you do one for Friedrich Nietzsche.

  • @ThePierre58
    @ThePierre58 4 года назад +1

    very in depth, concise and informative..i enjoyed this immensely

  • @farmalmta
    @farmalmta 4 года назад

    Much improved narration with calmer yet still enthusiastic demeanor!

  • @martinatkinson8992
    @martinatkinson8992 5 лет назад +21

    I only come here for the plug in ads

  • @Isildun9
    @Isildun9 4 года назад +3

    Honestly, Beria's rise to power seems to be a walking, talking exemplar of the 33rd Rule of Acquisition: "It never hurts to suck up to the Boss."

  • @windborne8795
    @windborne8795 5 лет назад

    Great commentary! Thank you!

  • @AR-ii3ly
    @AR-ii3ly 5 лет назад +4

    ‘Slithered up the greasy pole of power’ made me laugh.
    Bob Hoskins played Beria brilliantly in his biopic.

    • @robertmanfredthurrigl9424
      @robertmanfredthurrigl9424 Год назад

      Can you elaborate a bit more on that please. Hosking playing Beria? I was not aware of that. He passed away a few years ago i believe . Bob Hoskins played Nikita Krushev in Enemy at the Gates who was very convincing as was Richard Harris as the German Major Konig to get the soviet sniper played by Jude Law. Sadly the film was let down a bit by Rachel Weisz who was meant to be the romance that blossomed between her and Law. Stalingrad had no place for romance ! The film was very well done BUT that was the one factor that let the film down. War movies are never an easy genre . It starts with the equipment and authentic uniforms and some attention to historic details . Get that wrong and you already make yourself a laughing stock, not that the wider masses and herds of sheep would register little and finer details, BUT to throw a tear jerking romance into a Stalingrad scenario , with a happy ending of bliss and reunion in a field hospital where the lovers meet again, was crinch making . Rather un British and the film was British made but clearly the happy ending was made for the American audience who like a bit of apple pie, even in Stalingrad! It got mixed revues when it came out in 2001 but i liked it in most parts , great on the BIG screen , except for that truly silly Rachel Weisz romantic part between her and Law.
      Prost und Nastrovie NOT !

  • @hannayoung9657
    @hannayoung9657 5 лет назад +9

    We read abour Beria in school here in Sweden..

  • @1993Shahid
    @1993Shahid 5 лет назад +3

    Brilliant video! It's not often I hear realistic numbers for the Great Terror, it's usually bloated out of proportion as if 800 000 victims aren't enough to make their killers into monsters.

  • @saulgoodmanKAZAKH
    @saulgoodmanKAZAKH 2 года назад +3

    "Beria is such an unique surname for a Russian"
    "Oh, he is Georgian, like djugashwilli."

  • @christopherobrien8800
    @christopherobrien8800 2 года назад +2

    One thing that was worth a mention was how Zhukov became loyal to Khrushchev, Beria on multiple occasions recommended Zhukov to be purged only for Khrushchev to convince Stalin otherwise, this is why the red army backed Khrushchev. In relation to Beria's death, one of the theories is that Zhukov shot Beria himself and let it be known that he waited a long time to do so, like portrayed in the movie Death Of Stalin.

  • @Reaver450
    @Reaver450 5 лет назад +58

    Fatherless sons don't make killers?
    You might want to look at some crime statistics.

    • @southerncross3638
      @southerncross3638 5 лет назад +10

      I agree, it usually makes them sissy,s , or gay , or soy boys.

    • @Thomas-rw4dx
      @Thomas-rw4dx 4 года назад +34

      @@southerncross3638 i dont think not having a dad can change your sexuality

    • @SamS-uv2ql
      @SamS-uv2ql 4 года назад +8

      @@Thomas-rw4dx That's because, unlike the guy above, you are not a virgin

    • @matthewtuckman4447
      @matthewtuckman4447 3 года назад +1

      @@Thomas-rw4dx i agree parents has nothing to do with your sexuality

  • @TheKing60210
    @TheKing60210 5 лет назад +93

    Do one on Robert Mugabe

    • @matthewlaurence3121
      @matthewlaurence3121 5 лет назад +18

      He is still alive, though being in his 90s and rumoured to be ill, likely not for much longer. Once Mugabe is dead we can expect some biographic videos detailing his life. A criminal more than worthy of notoriety.

    • @PatchedThePipe
      @PatchedThePipe 5 лет назад +8

      I once wrote a short essay about R.M that went something like this....
      Robert Mugabe..... WHAT A CUNT!
      A+

    • @msjulie3613
      @msjulie3613 5 лет назад

      @@PatchedThePipe you don't even know him# south African here

    • @trollerjakthetrollinggod-e7761
      @trollerjakthetrollinggod-e7761 5 лет назад +8

      @@msjulie3613 He used North Korean trained death squads to attack minorities for not voting for him, as well as nationalizing major farms and mass printing money, causing one of the worst cases of hyperinflation in history.

    • @msjulie3613
      @msjulie3613 5 лет назад

      @@trollerjakthetrollinggod-e7761 woahhhh

  • @DrewJersey2024
    @DrewJersey2024 5 лет назад +2

    Great video, as always. I did notice one exceptionally minor typo in the first title graphic. It reads “Fire Revolution”, its missing “of” 👍🏻 You guys always tend to the smallest detail, so I figured u would want to know.

  • @MACarcano
    @MACarcano 5 лет назад

    love the show and the delivery :)

  • @rachelrobertdavies5269
    @rachelrobertdavies5269 5 лет назад +40

    Do you have a new writer? This was brilliant! "Terminal case of death"... perfect.

  • @MsMdip
    @MsMdip 5 лет назад +4

    "sentient suppository" just made my day 😂😂😂

  • @gratho9540
    @gratho9540 4 года назад

    stunningly good program!!

  • @allertonoff4
    @allertonoff4 4 года назад

    _the sophistimacated subtleties of the narrative stylistics are highly edutaining_ ;] BRAVO !