The worst murderer of all times

President Biden on different occasions, called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “killer” and “murderous dictator”. Indeed because of his decisions to wage war on Chechnya, Moldova, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Ukraine, Syria, Mali, Central African Republic, Libya, Sudan, Burkina Faso and Niger several million people, aggressors and defenders alike, have lost their lives.

A murderer is a person who kills another person with deliberate intent inflicting grievous bodily harm. That is what Putin was aware of when he launched all those wars. But is Putin the worst murderer in human history? Well-known mass killers in newer times are: Hitler, Stalin, Mao Zedong, Hideki Tojo, Pol Pot, King Leopold, and Napoleon. How about the older times?

The first militaristic dictatorship was the Assyrian Empire under Ashurnasirpal II around the years 2000 BC. In the Old Testament of the Bible, we learn about all the battles the Israelites fought to conquer the Land of Promise. Then in history lessons, we heard of Alexander the Great’s conquests, the Persian and Roman Empires. The Arabs subjugated with fire and sword North Africa and Spain. In Asia existed Genghis Khan’s Mongol Empire, the Timurid Empire, the Golden Horde and the middle kingdom of China. The Inca, Maya, and Aztec Empires ruled in central and southern America. History is full of violence, atrocities, injustices, sufferings and gore.

We had the division of the world between the two superpowers Spain and Portugal by Pope Alexander VI in 1494. Portugal was allowed to subject Africa, India and later Brazil while Spain got Mexico, South America and the Pacific up to the Philippines.

European colonization began in the late 16th century with stronger nations occupying the opposite coast. England conquered Ireland and Sweden invaded Germany 1630-1648 in the Thirty Years’ War. Full-scale colonization took place after the Napoleonic Wars: France colonized Algeria and Africa from west to east, Indochina and Canada. England subjugated Africa, India, and North America. Belgium’s King Leopold II took his Congo Free State. The Netherlands seized Indonesia. The German Empire became the third-largest colonizer conquering territories in the Pacific, China, and Africa. The Third German Reich under Hitler caused between 70 and 80 million fatalities worldwide in WWII.

The Italians colonized Albania on the opposite coast and in northeast Africa Libya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia.

The first Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible conquered Kazan in 1552. The empire subjugated and exploited by and by about 200 ethnic groups in Siberia. The successor states Soviet Union and Russian Federation try to expand the territory belligerently up to today in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus.

Among the non-European colonizers, the Turks established the Ottoman Empire that at its peak in the 17th century spanned across parts of Europe, Asia and North Africa. It encompassed over 40 modern-day nations. The Japanese subjugated Taiwan, Korea, parts of China and Russia and the Philippines. The Chinese added to their country Tibet, East Turkestan (Xinjiang), and a part of Mongolia. Their leader plans to conquer Taiwan. Finally, the United States of America --after gaining Independence from England-- displaced the indigenous population in a form of settler colonization and then colonized Puerto Rico, Guam, Samoa and the Philippines.

The question who is the worst among all the ruthless rulers cannot be answered. But we know that on September 9, the number of Russian dead, wounded and missing soldiers exceeded 1,500,000. Ukrainian fallen fighters may amount to 460,000. Trump’s Epic Fury cost the lives of estimated between 10,000 and 18,000 people from nine countries mostly Iranians.

Erich Wannemacher

Lapu-Lapu City