“Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
Over the years, the world has witnessed that this age old saying holds true in every sense. Whenever an individual has received supreme power in any part of the world, the repercussions have been catastrophic.
We all know about the atrocities of Hitler and Mussolini, but there have been some lesser-known dictators in the world who misused their power and took some of the weirdest decisions that shocked the entire world. Take a look at this compilation of some of the most bizarre facts about these dictators.
1. Joseph Stalin executed his guards because they entered his room.
Joseph Stalin, former leader of the Soviet Union (modern-day Russia) ordered that if anyone were to enter his room they would be killed. To test his guards, one night he pretended to scream in pain and called them. Fearing for his safety, they came in and were executed as a result.
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2. Francisco Macias Nguema ordered the execution of all the people who wore spectacles in his country.
Francisco Macias Nguema, former President of Equatorial Guinea also banned the use of the word “intellectual” during his regime in the country. Commonly known as the ‘Unique Miracle’, Nguema also shut down all the private schools in the nation.Â
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3. Rafael Trujillo demanded a Nobel Peace Prize for himself and A Nobel Literature Prize for his wife.
Rafael Trujillo, former President of the Dominican Republic also made his son Colonel in the army when he was just 7 years of age and promoted him to General when he reached the age of 10.
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4. Muammar Gaddafi had a group of virgin female bodyguards that accompanied him everywhere for his protection.
Muammar Gaddafi, the former Prime Minister of Libya was always surrounded by three permanent bodyguards. Apparently, he wanted to show the world that females in his nation were no less than males.
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5. Francois Duvalier ordered the killing of all the Black dogs in the nation.
Francois Duvalier, better known as ‘Papa Doc’, declared himself ‘President for life’ of the island nation of Haiti. He was also the island’s chief ‘hongan’, or the high priest who apparently killed his enemies using the powers of Voodoo.
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6. Vlad the Impaler used to dip his bread into the blood of his victims and washed his hands in blood before eating.
Vlad the Impaler, the ruler of Wallachia (modern-day Romania) was probably the scariest rulers of all time. Many people believe that he is the inspiration behind the stories of vampires.
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7. Saparmurat Niyazov proposed January to be named ‘Turkmenbashi’, meaning ‘head of all Turkmen’, which is his official name.
Saparmurat Niyazov, former President of Turkmenistan, changed the name of every month of the calendar in commemoration of national heroes and influential national symbols. He also named a lot of schools, cities, airports and even a meteorite after himself.
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8. Pol Pot sealed off Cambodia by banning all newspapers and TV stations, confiscated radios and bicycles, banned religion and money and revoked parental authority.
Pol Pot, former Prime Minister of Cambodia tried to form an extreme form of peasant communism. Millions of people died of overwork and starvation as he forced them to leave cities and work in fields for over 18 hours a day.
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9. Idi Amin celebrated by forcing white men to carry him around the city in a chair after becoming President of Uganda.
When Idi Amin made himself President for life, he celebrated in this fashion which according to him symbolised ‘white man burden’.
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10. Kim Jong II ordered the kidnapping of a renowned South Korean director, Shin Sang-Ok.
Kim Jong II, the eternal leader of DPR Korea forced the director to make movies for North Korea to show the world that creativity could thrive in his nation.
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Thank God for Democracy!