Why was Joseph Stalin so afraid of 'intellectuals'?

Stalin hated anyone who disagreed with him, was smarter or more able than him or who showed him up in any way. Intellectuals are prone to disagree with ideas they do not like, and they usually have good reasons for their opinions. read more

So of course, Stalin needed to silence these intellectuals in order to remain in power - firstly through violence and inprisonment, secondly by propaganda, telling the population that intellectuals are decadent, corrupt, enemies of the people. read more

Best Answer: Stalin lead the USSR to the victory in the WWII. The victims of Soviet people were enormous (at least 20 mlns - compare with 5 mlns in Germany), but the geopolitical result of this victory was really great. read more

There were not so many Jews allied with Stalin on the party's right as there were allied with Trotsky on the left, but the importance of men like Kaganovich, Litvinov, and Yagoda makes it hard to believe that Stalin harbored a categorical hatred of all Jews, as a race, in the way that Hitler did. read more