Top 10 Most Brutal European Dictators

Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 to April 30, 1945) was a German politician of Austrian descent who led the Nazi Party from 1921, served as Chancellor of Germany from 1933, and held the position of Führer from 1934. As dictator of Nazi Germany, he reversed the Treaty of Versailles, initiated World War II... read more

The only reason I put Hitler over Stalin is that Hitler started WWII.

Did the same thing as Stalin, but on a smaller scale.

Josef Stalin

Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was a Georgian revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from the mid-1920s until his death on March 5, 1953. He held the title of General Secretary of the Communist Party's Central Committee, which gave him effective control over the Soviet state. His rule was marked by rapid... read more

Nicolae Ceausescu

Nicolae Ceaușescu (26 January 1918 - 25 December 1989) was a Romanian communist politician and dictator. He served as the General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and was the second and last communist leader of Romania.... read more

Under his rule, Romania was a totalitarian state, similar to North Korea. In fact, he even visited North Korea.

Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born October 7, 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who is currently serving as the president of Russia, a position he has held since 2012. He previously served as president from 2000 to 2008 and was prime minister from 1999 to 2000, and again from... read more

Ivan the Terrible

Ivan IV Vasilyevich, commonly known as Ivan the Terrible or Ivan the Fearsome, was the Grand Prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547. He later became the Tsar of All Rus' and ruled in that capacity until his death in 1584. Ivan was the first ruler formally crowned as Tsar, and his title was adopted by subsequent... read more

Enver Hoxha

Enver Halil Hoxha was an Albanian communist politician who served as the head of state of Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985, as the First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania. Under his rule, Albania became one of the most isolated and repressive countries in the world. His leadership... read more

Hoxha's Albania was like the North Korea of the Balkans.

Josip Broz Tito

Josip Broz (May 7, 1892, Kumrovec - May 4, 1980, Ljubljana), commonly known as Tito, was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman. He served in various leadership roles until his death in 1980. During World War II, he led the Partisans, widely regarded as the most effective resistance movement... read more

Benito Mussolini

Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician, journalist, and leader of the National Fascist Party, ruling the country as Prime Minister from 1922 until he was ousted in 1943. He ruled constitutionally until 1925, when he established a legal dictatorship. Mussolini allied Italy with Nazi... read more

Alexander Lukashenko

Aleksandr Grigoryevich Lukashenko, born August 30, 1954, is the first and, to date, only President of Belarus. He has held the office since July 20, 1994. Prior to his political career, Lukashenko worked as the director of a state-owned agricultural enterprise and served in both the Soviet Border Troops... read more

Nero

Nero, born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus on December 15, 37 AD, and died on June 9, 68 AD, was the last Roman emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. He was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius, who named him heir and successor. Nero became emperor with the support of the Praetorian Guard and is remembered... read more

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Jozef Tiso

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Philippe Pétain

Mary Tudor

Francisco Franco

Francisco Franco Bahamonde was a Spanish general who ruled over Spain as a military dictator from 1939, following the Nationalist victory in the Spanish Civil War, until his death in 1975. This period in Spanish history is commonly known as Francoist Spain. Under his authoritarian regime, political opposition... read more

Czar Nicholas II

Maximilien Robespierre

Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre, born May 6, 1758, was a French lawyer and statesman who became one of the most influential leaders of the French Revolution. He was a central figure during the Reign of Terror and a key member of the Committee of Public Safety.... read more

Ante Pavelic

Ante Pavelić was a Croatian fascist dictator who led the Ustaše movement. He governed the Independent State of Croatia, a puppet state established in occupied Yugoslav territories during World War II. This regime was supported by both Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany.

Oliver Cromwell

Slobodan Milosevic

Slobodan Milošević was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who served as President of Serbia from 1989 to 1997 and as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000. He played a central role in the Yugoslav Wars during the 1990s. Milošević died in 2006 while on trial for war crimes at... read more

Leopold II of Belgium

Leopold II (9 April 1835-17 December 1909) was the second King of the Belgians from 1865 to 1909. He was also the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free State from 1885 to 1908. His administration in the Congo was characterized by atrocities and systematic brutality that resulted in millions of deaths... read more

Leopold II was the King of the Belgians (1865-1908) and was a strong believer in colonialism. The problem was that Belgium itself wasn't particularly interested in pursuing colonies, so Leopold went into business for himself. He founded a company that appeared to have noble intentions, called the International African Society. A year later, he used this company to travel to the Congo, where he claimed a plot of land 14 times the size of Belgium. He managed to get 14 countries (including the USA) to agree that he could rule this territory with his own private militia.
Leopold then forced the indigenous population into labor, created a lucrative rubber industry, and grievously abused his workers. Estimates of the death toll range from two to fifteen million people, which could have been avoided if those 14 countries hadn't handed him the keys to the car.

Klement Gottwald

Ion Antonescu

Ion Antonescu (1882-1946) was a Romanian soldier and authoritarian politician who served as Prime Minister and Conducător during most of World War II. He led two successive wartime dictatorships and was convicted of war crimes and executed after the war.
Antonescu was antisemitic and sympathized with far-right and fascist groups like the National Christian Party and the Iron Guard throughout the interwar period. Unlike many other Holocaust perpetrators, Antonescu independently enforced policies responsible for the deaths of as many as 400,000 people, most of whom were Bessarabian, Ukrainian, and Romanian Jews, as well as Romanian Romani.