Stalin is at the helm of the largest land empire

that the world has ever known.

He's got like to the Russian people, the power he wields.

It's so unchallengeable.

It's hard to find another metaphor other than Godlike to describe it.

Stalin had in some ways transplanted religion.

He transferred that to socialism,

and he had become the god of that paradise.

I think Stalin's brutality does make him one of the most terrifying people in history.

You know, he ranks with Genghis Khan and Tamalade,

with these great sort of brutal conquerors.

So, with Stalin, you just have to look at this man,

this extraordinary exceptional character of such complexity,

and just say that he was both one of the most successful rulers in history,

and one of the most appalling.

It's in 1936, and Joseph Stalin,

the man once exiled to the Arctic Circle by the Russian government,

has now achieved almost total control over the country.

From his Kremlin headquarters in Moscow,

Stalin spends his days plotting new ways to shore up his regime.

Because even now, he does not feel entirely secure.

Clearing out his party is one thing,

...