Similarities Between Napoleon And Stalin

When people think of awful, inhumane dictators they mainly think about Adolf Hitler from the Nazi Party, but end up forgetting someone who was as equally terrible as the infamous German that had ruled during the same period. This ruler was Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union. He was peasant-born and rose to power using his charisma and manipulation skills. He was also the key figure for the Russian Revolution. An author named George Orwell had written a novel named Animal Farm as an allegory to the revolution. He also took inspiration from Stalin for his character, Napoleon, so there are many direct and subtle similarities between the two throughout the book. Napoleon’s features are very similar to Stalin, but one can find other similarities

in different leaders such as Hitler, or even in Kim Jong Un from modern times, too.
Once Napoleon took power over Animal Farm, one could have mistaken him as the actual Stalin with due to his personality. Stalin was described an intelligent man with excellent leadership skills, but a brute who was an average speaker. Despite his lack of eloquence, he was able to achieve many goals. Orwell had described Napoleon as “a large, rather fierce-looking Berkshire boar, the only Berkshire on the farm, not much of a talker, but with a reputation for getting his own way” (11). The quote demonstrates that Napoleon is only average at talking, but is able to obtain what he wants despite the setback proving that Napoleon has a similar, if not the same, personality as Stalin. Their charismatic and manipulative nature also helped the both of them achieve their objectives. They were proficient in charming others to gain their devotion using the many advantages that they possess. One of the main influences that were available to them was the media. Napoleon’s so-called media was Squealer, who represented the newspaper chain, the Pravda that Stalin controlled. Squealer and the Pravda had an ability to express what the two leaders could not. Using this skill, Napoleon and Stalin were able to use them as a resource to convince their followers that their actions are only in the best interest of the people, and not just for themselves. Both leaders were very intelligent men and/or pig, and they both knew how to use it to their gain.
Another similarity between Napoleon and Stalin was that they would use violence to force their followers into submission.

An author of an article has stated that both “Stalin and Napoleon were both cruel dictators who didn't let people go oppose him, anyone who didn't agree with Stalin or Napoleon would be executed, some of them were even executed violently and horribly” (“Animal Farm vs Russian Revolution”). The author was explaining that both dictators would end up killing anyone that was or was under suspicion of working against them. Stalin had many of his political opponents put on trial for charges of treason that would usually be impossible, and plead guilty for it using the NKVD to eliminate them. The terror had went on for about 5 years, and was coined as the “The Great Purges.” In Animal Farm, the “Great Purges” was represented when Napoleon had called all the animals to come out in front of him. During this ordeal, many of the animals came forward of treason of some sort and were slaughtered on the spot by the dogs. The dogs that had attacked the animals were Napoleon’s secret police, and were an allegory to Stalin’s secret police, the NKVD. Not only were they used as executors, one of their other jobs were to watch over their citizens and report any signs of rebellion of any sort whether it was the most mundane crime or not. Napoleon and Stalin were actually very paranoid during their reign. Their paranoia slightly showed through their paranoia as they were

getting rid of any opposition for any reason that they can find especially with Stalin. The purges were a lot of his own suspicion; Stalin saw plots that opposed him everywhere that he could see. Napoleon had done the same, but Orwell had also described that some “fresh precautions for Napoleon’s safety were taken. Four dogs guarded his bed at night, one at each corner, and a young pig called Pinkeye was given the task of tasting all his food before he ate it, lest it should be poisoned” (66). The author was explaining the extra miles that Napoleon took to ensure his own safety, and his hold on the leadership of the farm. As brilliant both leaders were, they let their fears and suspicion control them to the point where numerous individuals had lost their lives, countless of them being for absolutely no reason.
Napoleon officially does represent Stalin in the book, but you can see some features of Hitler in him as well.

For some background information, Hitler was the leader of the Nazi Party from 1933 to 1945. He is one of the most memorable leaders of the past due to the terror that he forced upon many innocent people. One of the biggest similarities between Hitler and Napoleon is the betrayal that they enact upon those who had originally trusted them. Hitler had formally made a nonaggression pact with the Soviet Union saying that neither would attack each other but the Nazi leader had turned on his words, attacking the USSR afterward. As said in an article, Napoleon had “fought with Snowball for the ultimate power of the farm, he won and expelled Snowball out of the farm with his 9 fierce dogs” (“Animal Farm vs Russian Revolution”). Snowball had helped Napoleon with leading the farm to establish that the revolution was a success, but due to the boar’s selfishness, the pig was run off the farm, ultimately being betrayed by someone that he had trusted. The both of them had also used a person or a group of people as scapegoats for all their problems. Napoleon would name Snowball as the culprit for any type of problem the farm had, while Hitler had blamed multiple groups of people for every problem Germany had. Hitler had forced them into labor camps where many toiled on for hours until the point that they dropped dead of exhaustion, or when they meet an even more gruesome death the

Nazis set out for them. Napoleon, while not as odious as Hitler, had completely tarnished Snowball’s name within the farm that they are willing to turn him in on the spot despite following him so effortlessly not too long before. Those who read Animal Farm will surely find similarities between Napoleon and Stalin, but if they looked even deeper they will find hints of Hitler in there, too.
Looking at modern leaders, one can find some comparisons in Napoleon of Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea. Kim Jong Un is the second son of Ko Young-Hee and Kim Jong-Il who succeeded his father as the supreme leader in 2011. According to an article Kim Jong Un has implemented multiple “human rights violations and brutal suppression of opposition have continued to be reported under his rule” (“Kim Jong Un Biography”). The North Korean leader strips many basic rights for humans away to make certain that they will not be able to have any means that can oppose him or the ideologies of their government. Napoleon keeps the animals from opposing him by making them work long hours every day with little food so that they do not have enough energy to fight back. He also uses their lack of understanding of what is happening to oppress the animals in a way because “Squealer is able to convince the animals that Napoleon is only acting in their best interests and that Napoleon himself has made great sacrifices for Animal Farm” (“Character Analysis Squealer”). Napoleon uses Squealer’s remarkable fluency to persuade the animals into thinking that the boar’s actions are helpful rather than selfish so they do not form any ideas that Napoleon is actually dictating over them and rebel against him. Using Squealer as a proxy, Napoleon was able to change the amendments without the animals becoming too suspicious can be considered as controlling the “media” within the farm. Kim Jong Un heavily censors the media that is allowed to be shown to his citizens. Most of what is broadcast on their televisions are just propaganda that supports the North Korean government. Any western influenced journalism is strictly prohibited. Everything is closely inspected by the government, and if anything they deem is uncensored, the people behind it will receive harsh punishments. Media plays a big part in Kim Jong Un and Napoleon’s success of keeping their leadership in spite of their terrible nature.
As an allegory to Stalin, Napoleon was strikingly similar to the Soviet, but bared a resemblance to both Adolf Hitler and Kim Jong Un, too. Napoleon’s tight control over the media and the oppression he put upon his animals can be related back to how all three had or is ruling over their own people. For those who are diving deeper into his meaning, one could say the Berkshire boar can also be an embodiment of all the horrid fascist leaders that has been allowed to lead throughout our history. With his personality and common selfishness and ruthlessness that many see in tyrants, it could be possible. Adolf Hitler is not the only terrible dictator that had walked upon this Earth.