Leaders have one goal: to gain and maintain power. This power allows them to assert their will on the people of their land, as well as other powerful countries. Now, if this power is gained through brute force or weird (and sometimes hilarious) circumstances is what makes the leader memorable, and generally “badass”, whether for good or bad.
10. Benito Mussolini (1883 – 1945)
Who: Leader of Italy from 1922 to 1943, Mussolini was the originator of Fascism and was an inspiration/ally to Hitler as well as a model for the Nazi party through his “Black Shirts”.
Badass Action: In order to gain support from Pope Pius XI, he started the policy of the “Battle for Births” which outlawed contraception and freed any family with more than six children from having to pay taxes. Also, he survived a “slightly unpleasant” assassination attempt in which he was shot in the nose.
Failure: However, what makes him only number ten on this list is his invasion Ethiopia in order to test his military. Though this conquest was successful, a large portion of his heavily armed men were defeated by the natives that had barely more than sticks.
9. Alexander II (1818 – 1881)
Who: Alexander the Liberator was Tsar of Russia from 1855 to 1881, as well as the King of Poland and Prince of Finland.
Badass Action: Alexander II is best known for his emancipation of the serfs (not just his epic beard), which also made it illegal for the rich to execute (usually by burning alive) and torture those of the peasant class.
Failure: There is a theory that his liberal reforms were actually only a cause of him feeling threatened by the liberals and deciding to appease them in order to maintain his power.
8. Sir Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965)
Who: Winston Churchill was the Prime Minister of England from 1940 – 1945 and 1951 – 1955 and is best known for his involvement in World War II.
Badass Action: He led a very important offensive on the Germans with the Bombing of Dresden through regular air raids. Equally important was his political influence over the country by his speaking skills and charisma.
Failure: His campaign rested mainly on his appeal to the youth, which no longer wanted to support him by the time he was 85 and in a wheelchair after a series of strokes.
7. Grigori Rasputin (1869 – 1916)
Who: Rasputin was the “mad monk” that controlled Russia from about 1905 – 1914 by being a healer to the Tsar’s son, Alexi.
Badass Action: This man has since been classified as a (very creepy) sociopath who was able to control the country by influencing the Tsar. He was in the royal family’s quarters because he was able to calm down the hemophiliac Alexi through his hypnotic voice and eyes. But what truly makes him a badass was his inability to be killed; he was stabbed, then later poisoned with cyanide, shot four times, and clubbed all in one night when he finally drowned after being thrown in the Neva River.
Failure: The main reason he is not higher on the list is the fact that he was never technically the leader of Russia. He just had a large influence and control over the real leader of the country.
6. Otto von Bismarck (1815 – 1898)
Who: Bismarck was the Prime Minister of Prussia from 1862 -1890 and has been attributed with the complete control of European diplomacy during his term.
Badass Action: He unified Germany through his Blood and Iron speech, creating a powerful nation out of an area that used to be a “play-land” for the French army. He also defeated Denmark(1865), Austria (1866), and gained Alsace-Lorraine from France (1871).
Failure: The general populace knows barely anything about this man besides his awesome had and mutton-chops.
5. Alexander III (1845 – 1894)
Who: Tsar of Russia from 1881-1894, after the assassination of his father, Alexander II.
Badass Action: Alexander III had a fierce hatred for the liberals after the assassination of his father, and ruled with an iron fist. What makes him an extreme badass is how he used his body to hold his train car together after it derailed. He saved his entire family as his car rolled down a slope, it should have been completely smashed, but his incredible strength defied nature.
Failure: Instead of dying in some heroic action, he fell ill with nephritis, leaving Russia to be led by the incompetent Nicholas II, who allowed a sociopath and sexual deviant named Rasputin to control him.
4. Vladimir Lenin (1870 – 1924)
Who: Lenin was the Bolshevik leader of Russia from 1917 until his death in 1924.
Badass Action: Lenin was the leader of the 1917 October Revolution and took control by arresting the other parties in the delegation before the vote took place. Before coming to power though, the leadership brought him out of exile to try to appease the public. It quickly became clear that this was a bad idea when he spent his train ride yelling revolutionary statements out the window. Once he died, his remains were kept and put on display for the Russian people, 900,000 of which came to the viewing.
Failure: This guy was a complete badass, but died before he could really see his political ideas put into place.
3. Joseph Stalin (1878 – 1953)
Who: Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 1941 – 1953 and the General Secretary of the Communist Party from 1922 – 1953.
Badass Action: When Lenin died, Trotsky seemed to be the obvious heir to the “throne”, which Stalin made sure would never happen by turning the people against him, exiling him to Mexico, and hiring a man to murder him with an ice pick. He rose to power by aligning himself with all the major powers at the time only to turn against them. He was also the originator of the Cult of Personality, through the use of heavy propaganda he was still seen as a god by the Soviet people even through the daily disappearances of people for political crimes. He was also the first to implement Communism in a large and relatively respected country. He was instrumental in the defeat of Hitler in World War II by making the Eastern Front much more difficult to defeat, especially in the winter months.
Failure: His paranoia led to his many purges which either executed or imprisoned most of the high powers within his own government. Between this and his conflicted ideals with Capitalism that drives the western world, he has been vilified (ask anyone alive during the Cold War). Also, he rejected Mao, the Chinese Communist leader, which could have been a powerful ally to the communist cause.
2. Adolf Hitler (1889 – 1945)
Who: Hitler was the Chancellor of Germany from 1933 – 1945 as well as the leader of the Nazi Party.
Badass Action: He convinced a country of people to follow his beliefs in the purification of Germany, which included the Holocaust. There is much debate about whether the people knew what they were doing and why they did it, but one thing is clear: he asserted his power and was influential enough to make it happen with little opposition from the German people. Not only this, but when he finally got to office it was because politicians didn’t see him as a threat and felt he was just some crazy guy with a small following, so he was harmless. He also had the “balls” to betray the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact against Stalin and invade Russia, when Stalin had already been in power long enough to make it clear he was not a man who handled being crossed well.
Failure: He was defeated in World War II for a number of miscalculations including sending troops into Russia during winter with little supplies (including coats), fighting an offensive double front war when history and tactic have proven that Germany would be best suited for a defensive strategy.
1. Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 – 1821)
Who: Napoleon was the Emperor of France from 1804 – 1815.
Badass Action: He is still very well-known for his imperial quest of world domination (and of course his height). Recognized as the best military commander in history, he controlled most of the continent of Europe. These wars ultimately changed the military strategy of Europe from having small armies to keeping large ones ready in case of invasion. Also, he showed that being well armed and having a good strategy can be as good as having the advantage of numbers through the Battle of Austerlitz.
Failure: His defeat at Waterloo in 1814 was his first defeat and stopped him from dominating the world. After defeat, he died in exile on the island of Saint Helena. Also, his short height that makes him famous is merely a myth; he was 5’7″, the average height of men at the time.
Moriah Gallagher Photography 