When we think of history, we usually picture a clash between shining heroes and terrifying monsters. Yet even the darkest characters can leave behind sparks of progress. In this roundup of 10 great things accomplished by some of history’s most reviled individuals, we’ll uncover the unexpected ways their actions still ripple through our modern lives.
Why These 10 Great Things Matter
Understanding the paradoxes behind these notorious leaders helps us see that progress can emerge from unlikely places. Below, each entry is ranked from ten down to one, with a brief look at the surprising positives each monster managed to deliver.
10 Joseph Stalin Doubled Russia’s Life Expectancy
Joseph Stalin’s reign was marked by terror and the slaughter of roughly 20 million of his own citizens. The grim statistics paint a picture of a brutal era where a short, harsh life seemed inevitable.
Contrary to that grim image, the reality was astonishingly different: during Stalin’s rule the average Russian lifespan more than doubled, leaping from a bleak 32 years to a robust 68 years.
Before the Bolshevik upheaval, most Russians endured miserable peasant conditions. Stalin’s sweeping five‑year plans turned that around, spurring a dramatic surge in employment, a 40 percent jump in industrial output, and an eye‑popping 18 percent annual growth rate. Free universal health care and education were instituted, and disease rates plummeted to historic lows.
9 Genghis Khan Had Surprisingly Progressive Policies
Genghis Khan’s armies thundered across Asia, leaving a trail of death, rape, and pillage for any city that refused to bow. By the end of his conquests, he had eradicated nearly one‑fifth of the world’s population and claimed almost a quarter of its land.
While his enemies suffered horrendous fates, subjects living under the Mongol Empire actually enjoyed a surprisingly favorable existence. The Khans guaranteed absolute religious liberty, allowing Buddhist, Muslim, and other faith leaders to ascend to the highest echelons of Mongolian governance.
Genghis also pioneered one of the earliest international postal networks, establishing a massive relay system that stretched from Russia to China and featured over 1,400 stations across Chinese territory. This infrastructure fostered economic flourishing and cultural exchange throughout the conquered lands.
8 The Nazis Were Trailblazers In Animal Rights
Surprisingly, the Nazi regime displayed a degree of compassion toward animals that many overlook. While Adolf Hitler is often noted for his vegetarian leanings, it was Joseph Goebbels who championed animal welfare, introducing policies that still influence modern treatment of animals.
The government enacted a suite of regulations aimed at minimizing animal suffering. Specific guidelines dictated humane methods for preparing crustaceans such as lobsters and crabs, and a comprehensive set of rules governed the butchering of livestock to reduce pain.
Most notably, the Nazis became the first state to ban vivisection—the practice of dissecting living animals for research. Today, vivisection is heavily regulated in most developed nations, a legacy that traces back to this unsettling era.
7 Pope Alexander VI Saved Thousands Of Jews
Pope Alexander VI has long been remembered as the epitome of the corrupt Borgia papacy—renowned for decadent feasts, ruthless cruelty, and egregious abuse of papal authority.
Yet in 1492, when the Spanish Inquisition expelled Jews from Spain, roughly 9,000 desperate refugees fled toward the Papal States. While many territories turned them away, Alexander VI opened his doors, granting them sanctuary, religious freedom, and protection from persecution.
Despite intense pressure from other powers to revoke his hospitality, Alexander kept the Jews safe. Some historians suggest his motives were political, aiming to irritate Spain, but regardless of intent, his actions saved countless lives.
6 Aaron Burr Was A Champion For Women And The Poor
Aaron Burr is most famously remembered for killing Alexander Hamilton in a deadly duel, a scandal that cemented his place in American folklore. Yet his political career before that duel was surprisingly popular.
In the early republic, voting rights were limited to landowners. Burr ingeniously expanded the franchise by establishing land‑cooperative societies that allowed impoverished citizens to register as property owners, thereby earning the right to vote.
He also emerged as a staunch advocate for women’s education. His own daughter, Theodosia, was celebrated for her erudition, and Burr publicly endorsed Mary Wollstonecraft’s seminal work A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, championing gender equality.
5 Mao Tse‑tung Brought Peace To China
Mao Tse‑tung presided over one of the deadliest chapters in modern history, with the Great Leap Forward causing the deaths of over 45 million Chinese citizens in just four years.
Nonetheless, the era following Mao’s ascension marked a profound shift toward internal stability. Prior to his rule, China endured a chaotic Warlord Period, followed by Japanese invasion and a protracted civil war.When Mao seized power, the relentless cycle of warfare finally ceased. Since the establishment of the People’s Republic, China has not experienced a full‑scale war, instead focusing on internal development and occasional foreign interventions, signaling a long‑awaited period of peace.
4 Saddam Hussein Guaranteed Education And Medical Care To All
In the early 2000s, Saddam Hussein stood as one of America’s most formidable adversaries, infamous for brutal repression and the looming threat of weapons of mass destruction.
Yet under his rule, Iraq witnessed a dramatic expansion of public services. The regime built some of the Arab world’s most prestigious universities and hospitals, all offered free of charge to citizens.
Literacy rates surged dramatically, climbing from roughly 52 percent to an impressive 80 percent within a decade, reflecting the nation’s newfound emphasis on education and health.
3 Pol Pot Is Loved By Cambodian Farmers
Pol Pot’s reign over Cambodia is remembered for the horrific genocide that claimed the lives of more than three million people, nearly half the country’s population.
Prior to the Khmer Rouge, Cambodia suffered under the corrupt leadership of Lon Nol, whose regime was plagued by mismanagement and was heavily bombed by the United States during the Vietnam War.
When Pol Pot assumed power, he enacted radical agrarian reforms that redistributed land from wealthy owners to peasant families, granting them unprecedented control over their own farms. Some observers claim that, despite the regime’s brutality, many rural Cambodians viewed him favorably because of these land allocations.
2 Women’s Rights Advanced By Leaps And Bounds Under Gadhafi
Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s name is synonymous with oppression, as his regime unleashed bombings, opened fire on protesters, and flouted international humanitarian law during the 2011 uprising.
Before his downfall, however, Gaddafi pioneered ambitious social programs. He instituted free, compulsory education for both boys and girls, provided universal health care, and even pursued a bold plan for state‑provided housing.
Women, in particular, experienced unprecedented opportunities: they entered every sector of the economy, rose to senior governmental and military posts, and even served in Gaddafi’s elite “Amazons,” an all‑female unit tasked with protecting the leader.
1 Ivan The Terrible Opened Up Trade Routes That Revitalized Russia
Ivan IV, notorious for his paranoid purges and even murdering his own son, is often remembered as a ruler driven by fear and suspicion.
Yet his reign also laid foundational reforms that propelled Russia forward. He introduced an early constitutional framework allowing provinces to elect local officials, a radical step toward participatory governance.
Moreover, Ivan forged new trade corridors with England and the Dutch Republic, opening ports that enabled peasants to migrate toward more fertile lands and spurring a surge in commercial activity. These routes later empowered Peter the Great to transform Russia into a dominant European power.