"Absolutely he did"
Stalin's 'thing' was his 'man of the people' image, which largely worked.
Slaughtering millions of peasants and workers really wouldn't have helped that, not on that scale.
"There's a big difference between an enforced "cult of personality"
If it was enforced it was incredibly effective - how exactly was that done - a soldier billeted with every family?
"There have been a number of attempts to portray the mass starvation of 1932-33 as "an accidental result of collectivisation" "
There have been numerous attempts to portray it either way, neither are conclusive.
As the Canadian article points out, there have been no actual studies carried out on the period, neither from within or without the Ukraine - just Cold War rhetoric from both sides - not reliable either way.
Stalin was a ruthless monster, and he ranks with the world's worst - I certainly don't intend to defend his monstrous acts, especially as I believe he hijacked a chance to make the world a better place in my time, but I remain unconvinced on this particular one.
Jim Carroll