A Tale of Two Despots

Today is the anniversary of the deaths of two despots.

Louis XVI of France was executed in 1793, after being held under house arrest since the previous year. He had been convicted of high treason by the National Assembly and was sentenced to death by guillotine. Interestingly enough, the vote was close: 361 in favour of his death, 288 opposed, and 72 absentions. Had the absentions all voted against the death sentence, the vote would have been 361 to 360, not a particularly strong mandate. France -- and Europe -- were thrown into chaos that ultimately ended with the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815.

The second despot to die on this day was Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov or, as he is better known, Lenin. Unlike Louis, Lenin was not born to power. Radicalized by the execution of his brother for terrorism, Lenin came to power in 1917 during the October Revolution against the Kerensky government. Although he was leader of Russia when Tsar Nicholas was executed, it is unlikely that Lenin had ordered the murder. After surviving two assassination attempts, Lenin did authorize the "Red Terror" that led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and to the establishment of the Soviet gulag system. Upon his death in 1924, Josef Stalin assumed leadership of the Soviet Union.

Ironically, today is also the anniversary of the death of a man who fought against despots: George Orwell. Orwell's two best-known novels, 1984 and Animal Farm, are classic attacks on totalitariansim.