10 Literary Works by Ruthless Dictators

Adolf Hitler is widely known for his failed artistic endeavors, yet many dictators and autocrats have also dabbled in writing. This tendency may stem from a psychological need to reinforce their brutal rule through words, using writing as a tool of persuasion, justification, and emotional manipulation. Here are 10 examples of prose and poetry penned by some of history's most notorious figures.

10. Ruhnama

Saparmurat Niyazov, the former lifelong president of Turkmenistan, authored a book called the Ruhnama, meaning 'Book of the Soul,' which was published in 2001. The dictator claimed that the book was intended to enhance the spiritual well-being of the Turkmen people. Niyazov even asserted that God had promised him that anyone who read the book would undoubtedly enter Heaven. It became mandatory reading in schools and universities, and copies were placed alongside the Quran in mosques. Moreover, passing a test on the Ruhnama was a requirement for obtaining a driver's license. Large-scale ceremonies involved hundreds of Turkmen citizens performing synchronized songs and dances while holding copies of the book. In Ashgabat, the capital city, a colossal statue of the book was erected, which would open and play an audio-visual passage from the text.

In truth, the book was nothing more than a strange blend of Niyazov's personal moral views, a lot of self-praise, a fabricated version of Turkmenistan's history, and whimsical tales. A scholar cited in the New Yorker explained Niyazov’s motive for using a book to solidify his power: 'Niyazov was somewhat illiterate. He struggled to read or write both Turkmen and Russian properly. People who face such challenges, like illiteracy, often strive to be seen as intellectuals. This likely inspired his decision to write the book.'

9. On the Art of Cinema

Kim Jong Il was a passionate movie enthusiast who considered himself an authority on the subject. In 1973, he released On The Art of Cinema, followed by The Cinema and Directing in 1987. For Kim, creating a strong film industry was a crucial socialist endeavor:

Art and literature are essential pursuits that are vital to a fully realized human existence. While food, clothing, and shelter are the basic necessities of life, man cannot be fulfilled by these alone. The more liberated a person is from the constraints of nature, society, and material worries, the greater their need for art and literature. A life without art and literature is inconceivable.

One of the issues with Kim's commentary on cinema is how self-evident his statements often are. Perhaps he believed in the profundity of simplicity, but it seems more likely that he lacked fresh ideas. Here's his view on re-watching films:

Viewing a production once is not the same as seeing it a second time. While some films are worth revisiting, others are not. A particular work may spark renewed interest with each viewing, generating more passion and warmth. This type of film is referred to as sincere art.

As for music:

Sound and music resonate wherever nature functions and human beings dwell. [ . . . ] Regardless of how superb the music may be, it is ineffectual for cinema if it doesn't suit each specific scene.

The dense and rigid nature of the text is perhaps one of the strongest indicators that Kim himself authored it. Nevertheless, it did capture some attention beyond North Korea. Australian filmmaker Anna Broinowski, intrigued by Kim’s directorial insights, decided to create a propaganda film following his instructions to protest a gas company's drilling in a nearby park. In her pursuit of guidance from North Korean filmmakers, she received unprecedented access to the North Korean film industry, including interviews with directors and actors. Broinowski even had the chance to act in a North Korean film, playing the role of a villainous American, although she reportedly flubbed her lines.

8. The Wine of Love

Ayatollah Khomeini was an unexpectedly prolific author, writing commentaries on the Quran and Hadith, as well as works on Islamic law, philosophy, gnosticism, poetry, literature, and politics. Unlike the literature of many other authoritarian figures, Khomeini's works were rarely translated. After the Islamic Revolution, a hastily compiled paperback titled The Little Green Book: Sayings of the Ayatollah Khomeini was published. However, when it was translated from Iranian to French and then to English, the original 1,000+ pages were reduced to just 125, with an oddly recurring focus on aphorisms about semen, sweat, and the anus, which strangely added a bizarre layer to the reactionary thoughts of the ayatollah.

Subsequently, in 1981, a more sympathetic book was released titled Islam and the Revolution. This work cemented Khomeini’s standing as a righteous revolutionary, all while asserting that his ideology stemmed from classical Islam, shariah law, and the Sufi tradition.

Less familiar to Western audiences was the revolutionary imam's poetic side, showcased in a compilation called The Wine of Love. To Western readers, the poetry might appear somewhat heretical, but it is actually part of a long-standing tradition of poetry that expresses a deeply personal connection with God. One such example is a poem translated and published in an Iranian newspaper in 1989:

Open the door of the tavern and let us go there day and night, For I am sick and tired of the mosque and seminary. I have torn off the garb of asceticism and hypocrisy, Putting on the cloak of the tavern-haunting shaykh and becoming aware. The city preacher has so tormented me with his advice That I have sought aid from the breath of the wine-drenched profligate. Leave me alone to remember the idol-temple, I who have been awakened by the hand of the tavern’s idol.

7. Enver Hoxha’s Books

Albania, under Enver Hoxha’s increasingly paranoid regime, became progressively more isolated after he severed ties with Soviet leader Khrushchev over the rejection of Stalinism. He also distanced Albania from China, their last remaining ally. In this self-imposed isolation, Hoxha led Albania into a cultural and literary abyss, producing 40 volumes of speeches and memoirs. His writings mirrored his worldview, one dominated by a profound mistrust of the outside world and foreign imperialism:

Our country’s painful past, combined with the reality of the ‘world’ they promote, has made us see that this is far from a ‘civilized world.’ It is one where the stronger and more powerful exploit and oppress the weak, where wealth and corruption control the law, and where injustice, betrayal, and treachery prevail.

One of Hoxha's most notable works is With Stalin, written in 1979 in honor of his hero, Joseph Stalin. The book is divided into six parts—an introduction and five sections detailing Hoxha’s personal encounters with the Soviet leader. It reads as an incredibly dull hagiography, designed to glorify the now-defunct Stalin personality cult while reinforcing Hoxha’s own. Hoxha fondly recalls Stalin, describing how he dreamt of meeting him for years and recounting his experience watching a Soviet musical titled Tractor Drivers. A significant portion of the book is dedicated to attacking both real and imagined enemies, from Western “imperialists” to Hoxha’s many adversaries within the communist world.

Despite Hoxha’s immense literary output, the collapse of communism in Albania meant that his works became relegated to the pages of history books. In 1991, pro-democracy activists staged a public burning of Hoxha’s books in a crater near a toppled statue of the former dictator. By the mid-1990s, fragments of his books were repurposed as packaging for roasted peanuts and sausages. Today, Hoxha's writings are still available, but now they sit side by side with the works of liberal Albanian author Ismail Kadare, as well as Western writers like Danielle Steel and L. Ron Hubbard.

6. Akhaltekke: Our Pride And Glory

When Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov succeeded Saparmurat Niyazov as Turkmenistan's leader, he made sure that the legacy of Turkmen dictator literature continued. His first book, published shortly after he took power in 2007, was a bit dry—Scientific Fundamentals of the Development of Public Health in Turkmenistan. He followed it up with a riveting collection of political speeches titled To New Heights of Progress: Selected Works—or Speech of the President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov at the Extended Sitting of the Cabinet of Ministers. These books were clearly intended for a domestic audience only.

In 2009, he achieved his first international book release with the publication of his renowned work Akhaltekke: Our Pride and Glory in Ukrainian. This heartfelt tribute to the Akhal-Teke horse breed and the rich history of horse breeding in Turkmenistan was met with appreciation. The cover featured an image of a smiling Berdymukhamedov alongside a magnificent Akhal-Teke horse. The book was later translated into French, English, Russian, and German, although its international success has been somewhat modest. However, it was recognized within the Community of Independent States (CIS), winning the CIS member states’ international contest “Art of Book” in the “My Country” category.

5. Green Book

Muammar Gadhafi’s Green Book, a political and philosophical work published in 1975, was once a dominant force in Libya’s literary culture. The book outlined Gadhafi’s vision of Jamahiriya, a system of Islamic socialism and direct democracy that rejected political parties and elections. The first volume, titled 'The Solution of the Problem of Democracy,' criticized both communism and Western democracy, portraying elections and political representation as fraudulent. True democracy, according to Gadhafi, could only exist through people's committees, congresses, and professional associations. In practice, this concept masked a personal military dictatorship led by Gadhafi himself.

The second volume of the book focuses on economic theory, titled 'The Solution of the Economic Problem.' Within it, Gadhafi merges capitalist and socialist ideologies, drawing comparisons to the ideas of Rousseau, Mao, Marx, and Islamic philosophy. A key point he emphasizes is property ownership, famously stating, 'There is no freedom for a man who lives in another’s house, whether he pays rent or not.'

In the 1980s, Gadhafi sought to implement many of his economic policies in Libya, including the creation of a government-run supermarket system and mandating that families could only own a single home. The primary consequence of these policies was the destruction of the traditional Libyan merchant class.

He also shared his particular views on the differences between the sexes:

Women, like men, are human beings. This is an incontestable truth. Women are different from men in form because they are females, just as all females in the kingdom of plants and animals differ from the male of their species. According to gynecologists, women, unlike men, menstruate each month. Since men cannot be impregnated, they do not experience the ailments that women do. She breastfeeds for nearly two years.

Gadhafi was influenced not only by Egyptian nationalist Gamal Abdel Nasser’s writings but also by the traditional Bedouin way of life. The World Center for the Study and Research of the Green Book in Tripoli worked to spread Gadhafi’s ideas internationally. They translated the book into 30 languages, hosted global conferences, and published nearly 140 studies and academic papers on his theories. Despite their efforts, the work failed to gain widespread traction, and the think tank was ultimately destroyed by NATO air strikes in 2011.

4. Escape To Hell

In addition to his political writings, Gadhafi ventured into the realm of short fiction, releasing two collections: Escape to Hell (1993) and Illegal Publications (1995). However, the issue with Gadhafi’s short stories lies in his lack of mastery over prose. His works often lack developed characters or cohesive plots, instead resembling disjointed, stream-of-consciousness rants.

Several of Gadhafi’s stories express his admiration for village life and the traditional Bedouin way of living, contrasting it with the isolating and impersonal nature of urban existence:

The city is a relentless machine, grinding down its people, turning their builders' dreams into nightmares. It forces a transformation, pushing you to reshape your identity, leaving you with a personality devoid of vibrance or flavor. The city dictates that you hear the voices of strangers even when they aren't addressing you, forcing you to breathe in their air. The younger generation suffers even more, trapped in a cycle of darkness. Homes lose their meaning, turning into hollow, cave-like spaces instead.

One of the most striking stories, 'Suicide of The Astronaut,' follows a space traveler who returns to Earth only to find himself unemployable. After failing in multiple trades such as carpentry, blacksmithing, and plumbing, he retreats to the countryside. There, he fails to convince a farmer to employ him, despite the farmer’s sympathy. Overcome by existential despair, the astronaut ultimately chooses to end his life, unable to find a purpose in the mundane world.

Gadhafi's short stories are captivating in their venom, often targeting both Western society and Islamic extremists. He frequently draws from classical Islamic philosophy, yet his religious views are uniquely unorthodox. Despite being published in English, his stories didn't garner much praise in the West. Daniel Kalder of the Guardian observed: 'What emerges is a mind unable to sustain a coherent thought, filled with crude opposites and incoherence, spiraling in random directions before collapsing into absurdity and chaos.'

3. Under The Left Breast Of The Century

Radovan Karadzic, the former leader of the Bosnian Serbs, was a psychiatrist trained at Columbia University. He led the brutal siege and ethnic cleansing of Sarajevo in an attempt to annihilate the Jewish, Muslim, and Croat populations and establish a homogenous Serbian state. In addition to his role as a war criminal, he was also a poet and author, with his work *Under the Left Breast of the Century* being published in 2005, even though Karadzic was already a fugitive with a $5 million bounty on his head.

Karadzic’s poetry often revolved around war and violence, with works such as 'A Morning Hand Grenade,' 'Assassins,' and 'A Man Made of Ashes and War Boots.' Yet his poems also revealed a sense of self-pity, as evidenced in his writing:

I surmise the sun is wounding me With its sharp malignant rays I surmise the stars are healing me I am the deity of dark cosmic space A horned cow reveals a faithless goddess Everything’s turned against me the one true god I created the world to tear my head off Judges torture me for insignificant acts I am disgusted by the souls who radiate nothing Like a small nasty puppy puny death Is approaching from afar I don’t know what to make of all these things But I can’t stand the sight of you you file of scum You file of snails Well hurry up in your slime

Following Karadzic's arrest in 2009, the Slovakian PEN Centre, an affiliate of PEN International, condemned Slovakian magazine *Dotyky* for publishing his poetry without offering any editorial critique. The editor defended the publication, arguing the poems were of high quality. However, this sparked a larger debate about freedom of speech, particularly when publishing the work of someone notorious for inciting ethnic violence. Andrew Rubin described the poetry as 'a psychic landscape of eerie and illogical violence,' while Jay Surdukowski argued that Karadzic saw himself as a poet-warrior. Surdukowski also suggested that these poems could potentially serve as *admissible evidence* in a war crimes tribunal.

2. Mao’s Poetry

Mao Tse-tung, the Chinese revolutionary leader, is best known for his political writings, especially *The Little Red Book*. What is less recognized, however, is his deep immersion in classical Chinese culture during his education, fostering a strong passion for calligraphy and traditional poetry. Over the course of four decades, both before and after the revolution, Mao created numerous poems, which were later translated into English. Some of his most notable works include 'Yellow Crane Tower' (1927), 'The Long March' (1935), 'The People’s Liberation Army Captures Nanking' (1949), 'Farewell To the God Of Plague' (1958), and 'The Fairy Cave: Inscription on a Photograph taken by Comrade Li Chin' (1961). His poetry was often influenced by the literary traditions of the Tang and Sung dynasties.

Views on Mao's poetry are diverse. For many Chinese, his work reflects 'a spirit of boldness and power,' blending history, reality, and dedication, transcending the limits of time and space. Mao Zedong promoted a literary style that combined revolutionary realism and revolutionary romanticism, making his poetry a fusion of both theory and practice. In contrast, Belgian sinologist Pierre Ryckmans was less impressed, remarking, 'Well, if poetry were painting, I would say that Mao was better than Hitler... but not as good as Churchill.' Mao himself humbly referred to his poems as 'scribbles.'

Mao appeared to possess a natural literary talent, showing an admiration for themes such as flowers, snow, horses, geese, the sky, rivers, mountains, and the Moon. However, his poems sometimes also reveal the pride of human will, as seen in his work 'To Guo Moruo'.

On this tiny planet of ours, some houseflies slam against the walls. They buzz, groan, and reflect, while ants climb the locust tree, taking pride in their immense empire.

1. Masonry

Spanish dictator Francisco Franco harbored a lifelong distrust of the Freemasons, viewing them as part of a conspiracy to weaken Catholic Spain. In 1940, he banned the Freemasons alongside communism. Between late 1947 and early 1951, Franco authored a series of anti-Mason articles for the Falange journal Arriba. These articles were later compiled into a text titled Masoneria, published under his pseudonym, J. Boor. It is said that Franco believed the Freemasons were purchasing the book to prevent its distribution, and he attempted to initiate an English translation, though it never materialized.

Although the book is accessible online in Spanish, there is limited information available about it in English. The scarce material that exists is often found on sensational conspiracy websites. One notable excerpt from the text highlights Franco’s conspiratorial viewpoint, linking Freemasonry, communism, and Judaism:

One of the key aspects of Soviet influence, as presented by Freemasonry, is the State of Israel. Under the guise of establishing a Jewish religious state, a concentration of atheist elements from Central Europe and international lower-class sectors has gathered. These individuals, who view the Pharisees and the leaders of the Mosaic faith as backward, now dominate the state. What was intended to be a Jewish state, following the traditional models of international Jewry, has thus transformed into a refuge for godless and rootless people, open to foreign ideas and outside influences.

The formation of Israel was largely the result of Soviet efforts. In this case, as with Lie, President Ben Gurion’s dual nationality complicates the picture, as he was involved in Communist activities under a different identity. Let us not forget the small State of Israel, whose ambitions extend far beyond its modest size. Some even believe that its aspirations reach to the Euphrates, and while it may seem improbable, there are those who continue to fuel a fire that may one day explode into a destructive blaze, with the tanks of modern barbarians advancing behind it.