20 Mind-Blowing Facts About Joseph Stalin

4. He Refused To Pay The Ransom For The Return Of His Own Son

Public Domain [Wikimedia Commons]

There's "tough love" and then there's "your dad is Joseph Stalin tough love". During the Second World War, Stalin's allegedly-beloved son Yakov was taken prisoner by Nazi forces. Hitler, realising exactly who he'd captured, made an absolutely ludicrous demand for ransom. Stalin refused to pay it and, despite the two sides being in constant negotiation over the release of Yakov, Stalin refused to acquiesce to any of the German demands. He later went on to die in prison. Just in case you weren't completely convinced that Stalin wasn't the most compassionate chap.

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WhatCulture's Managing Editor and Chief Reporter | Previously seen in Vice, Esquire, FourFourTwo, Sabotage Times, Loaded, The Set Pieces, and Mundial Magazine