One thing I really doubt though was that Stalin actually believed in communism, or anything else for that matter... psychopaths don't usually have any strong ideological frameworks to guide their action, except self-interest.<br><br>And Stalin's actions most certainly seem more fitting for an opportunistic psychopath seeking power - an ex-gangster turned statesman by fortune of a revolution - than for a naive idealist believing that communism could make the world a better place.<br><br>I think Lenin saw this when he warned in his testament that Stalin shouldn't be allowed near real power. I think he made the position of secretary for Stalin specifically to always keep him as the #2 man, like a mad dog on a very short leash.<br><br>Of course, Stalin was way too cunning and ruthless to be contained by Lenin's planned role for him, so he just made the secretary position become the most powerful position. Then he systematically destroyed Trotsky et al, everyone who could go for the #1 seat that he was supposedly a "right hand man" of.