Each person has their own heroes, but if we are talking about the most famous politicians of the 20th century, then for all these are almost the same people. Two world wars, the collapse of empires and the creation of several dozen new states revealed outstanding politicians who forever remained in the history of mankind.
Lenin forever!
Failures in the First World War and the poor domestic policy of Russia at the beginning of the 20th century put the great state on the brink of destruction. Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (Ulyanov) managed to create the world's first "state of workers and peasants" on the ruins of the Russian Empire. Revolution and civil war forever changed the history of mankind. He gave all ordinary people of the world hope for social justice in real life. By harsh and bloody methods, under his leadership, victory was defeated over internal opponents and intervention.
In foreign policy, at the beginning of the 20th century, a young country sought to spread socialist ideas. Lenin proved himself an outstanding theoretician of Marxism and a pragmatic politician. He introduced military communism and the new economic system into world political practice, departing from the ideals of Marxism when it was necessary to restore the country after the war. Lenin will forever remain the greatest politician of the 20th century in Russia.
Stalin: the winner or the executioner?
Who will remain in the history of Russia Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (Dzhugashvili), while no one can say. For many countries of the world who believe that the United States defeated World War II, he is undoubtedly a bloody tyrant who unleashed mass terror in the country and enslaved the peoples of Europe. By his order, dozens of peoples of Russia were resettled from their native land to Central Asia, hundreds of thousands of people died during the pre-war repression.
On the other hand, it is impossible to hush up the real achievements of the leader: in the shortest possible time, industrialization and collectivization was carried out, which gave the country commodity agriculture. Stalin took control of an agrarian country destroyed by the civil war, and made it an industrialized state with nuclear weapons. The country won the worst war in the history of mankind. Could it have been different? Do without terrible human sacrifices? Nobody knows that. Mao Zedong said about Stalin: "70% success and 30% error."
Hitler - ruler of Europe
It is no secret that Adolf Hitler, who is perceived as an undoubted pure evil for many peoples of Europe and the post-Soviet space, is the most famous German politician of the 20th century. He has come a long way from a corporal in World War I to the Chancellor of Germany. He came to power as a result of the democratic elections of 1932-1933. He can be called the initiator of World War II, when Germany easily conquered almost all of Europe and only the Soviet Union showed decisive resistance. Total genocide against the Jews, Gypsies and the peoples of the post-Soviet space, who were in the territories occupied by Germany, made him the greatest villain of the 20th century. Today it is believed that his real name sounds like Guettler, but by mistake of the priest he became Hitler.
Winner of the American Depression and the Japanese
For us, Franklin Delano Roosevelt is an American politician of the 20th century who was the president of a country that is part of the anti-Hitler coalition. But for Americans, Roosevelt is probably, first of all, the president who overcame the Great Depression and defeated the Japanese in the Pacific War. He is the only American politician of the 20th century, and most likely the last to be elected four times as president of the United States. Roosevelt, after his election, put in order the country's banking system, the agricultural and industrial sectors, set a minimum wage, and created conditions for attracting foreign investment. During the Second World War, he managed to avoid the direct participation of American troops in hostilities for as long as possible.
Franklin Roosevelt made the United States a great country. As president of the United States, he released in 1945 a continuation of the tales of Sherlock Homs. Roosevelt was the initiator of the UN.
Nonviolence is Power
Among the people who are directly or indirectly responsible for thousands of ruined human lives, Mohandas Karamchand (Mahatma) Gandhi will remain the only politician of the 20th century who put human life above material wealth. After receiving a law degree in the UK, he devoted his life to fighting injustice. Mahatma achieved his first great success in South Africa, where, thanks to his efforts, discriminatory laws against Indians working in the country were repealed. The people of India were introduced by the Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, who was the first to call him Mahatma, which means the Great Soul. He fought for women's rights and against the Indian caste system. The Mahatma called on the Indian people to fight by non-violent methods (satyagraha), which ultimately led to the independence of India.
Comrade mao
Nobody demolishes the monuments of Mao Zedong in China, nor does he brand him a bloody tyrant and murderer, although millions of Chinese have suffered as a result of the policies under his leadership. He remains one of the most respected Chinese politicians of the 20th century. In 1921, Mao attended the constituent assembly of the Chinese Communist Party, which he later chaired for 33 years. Mao Zedong launched a guerrilla war in 1927, which ended with the proclamation of the People's Republic of China in 1949, when the armed units of the Chinese Communist Party defeated the civil war, as before the Japanese.
Modern China recognizes Mao’s mistakes in the construction of the state, including the Big Jerk and the Cultural Revolution. But merit is also recognized: from an agricultural country with an illiterate population, by the middle of the 20th century, China had become an industrial state with a literacy rate of 80% (starting at 7%). Mao Zedong's theoretical legacy - Maoism (self-reliant socialism) - is still popular in some developing countries.
First black
The most famous black rights activist against apartheid (racial discrimination) not only in the Republic of South Africa, but throughout the world. Nelson Mandela was born into a family of a small tribal leader who had four wives. His mother was the third wife. Starting the movement as a supporter of non-violent methods of struggle, he led the guerrilla groups of the African National Congress, which blew up government and military installations. For which he was sentenced to life imprisonment. In total, he spent 27 years, first in solitary confinement, and then in a house in the courtyard of the prison. While he was in custody, he graduated from the University of London.
In 1993, Mandela received the Nobel Peace Prize as a politician of the second half of the 20th century, who eliminated apartheid. In 1994, he became the first black president of his country.
Deng Xiaoping
China is now the largest economy in the world thanks to the reforms that Deng Xiaoping launched. He studied in France and the Soviet Union, where he became interested in communist ideas. In Moscow, he studied under the name Dozorov, and Deng Xiaoping became in 1924, when he joined the Chinese Communist Party, at birth he was Deng Xiansheng. He fought against the Japanese in a civil war. Then there was a long way to leading the party, several times he was repressed for disagreeing with the party’s general line.
Leading China, Deng Xiaoping began economic reform. First of all, agricultural communes were abolished, industry gained great freedom and free economic zones began to be created. This began the rapid growth of the country's economy, especially the production of consumer goods and exports. Chinese foreign policy in the 20th century has become more open. Chinese students have appeared in all developed countries of the world. China became a market economy, but Deng Xiaoping's reforms never affected the country's political structure. In the late 80s, he voluntarily resigned from all leadership positions, becoming the country's spiritual leader, continuing to influence China's foreign and domestic policies.
