Stalin was responsible for the death and suffering of millions through labour camps, starvation policies, executions, deportations of minorities, and suppressing the truth about his crimes. His rule as dictator of the Soviet Union was marked by extensive atrocities and horrors.

Examples:

1. Stalin oversaw a brutal system of labor camps known as the Gulag, where millions perished. [1]

2. Stalin pursued ruthless policies like collectivization that led to famine and starvation of millions of people. One article notes his "ill-conceived and often purposely cruel policies" caused millions to starve.[3] The famine in Ukraine in 1932-1933 known as the Holodomor killed 4-10 million people.[3]

3. Stalin ordered the execution of hundreds of thousands of people, including an event where he personally approved death sentences for over 3,000 people in one day.[5] In total, over 20 million people died under Stalin's rule.[2]

4. Stalin enacted atrocities against minority groups like mass deportations of certain ethnic groups and prisoners of war to labor camps where many died.[4] These included Crimean Tatars, Chechens, Poles, and others.

5. Stalin spread propaganda to cover up his crimes and had journalists and historians who revealed the extent of his atrocities discredited or killed. Gareth Jones exposed the Ukranian famine and was later killed, while journalist Walter Duranty won a Pulitzer Prize for denying the famine.[3]


Citations:
[1] history.howstuffworks.com/historical-figures/joseph-stalin.htm
[2] www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1997-07-25-9707250034-story.html
[3] fee.org/articles/the-hero-of-the-holodomor-who-exposed-stalin-s-horrors-and-paid-with-his-life
[4] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_war_crimes
[5] www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33788518