Similarities of Macbeth and Joseph Stalin
Macbeth was a famous play written by William Shakespeare and has gained immense popularity all around the world. The characters in Macbeth have many similarities with other personalities, whether those are real or imaginary. One such person that was curiously similar to Macbeth is former USSR leader Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin. Macbeth and Stalin share many similarities which all originate from their ruthless ambition to consolidate power.
The first similarity between Macbeth and Stalin is their use of lies and propaganda to stay in power. Stalin used propaganda to make the population of the Soviet Union believe that he was a righteous and just leader. One way he did this was by depicting himself as victorious and patriotic after the USSR won World War 2. He did so to showcase himself in a positive light to the people of the Soviet Union and to hide all the killings that occurred during the Great Purge which was a time period in which Stalin had his enemies and anybody who dared to speak against him killed. He also conducted ethnic cleansing during this time period. He used propaganda during the Great Purge as well so that he could paint his rivals as enemies to the Soviet Union and portray himself as the savior of the USSR
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Stalin made strategic alliances with members of the Communist party and used his influence to undermine Leon Trotsky who was his biggest opponent. He ultimately exiled Leon Trotsky from Russia so that he could consolidate power without fear of rebellion. Macbeth also attempted to suppress Macduff by killing his family. Although Stalin and Macbeth used different means to undermine their opponents, the motives for doing so were the same and hence showcases another similarity between them. In both instances Macbeth and Stalin’s ruthless ambition to retain power led them to harm their victims in different