The Dictators with a Song in Their Hearts

We were talking in the office about Stalin today and how, during his latter years, he used to make senior members of the Communist Party dance together to a recording of classical music accompanied by the sound of barking dogs. But it's nice to know that the man responsible for upwards of 20 million deaths had a song in his heart, even if it was sung by dogs, right?

And, no, I'm not making this up.

Milovan Djilas: "...before we began to disperse, Stalin turned on a huge automatic record player. He even tried to dance, in the style of his homeland. One could see that he was not without a sense of rhythm...

Then Stalin turned on a record on which the coloratura warbling of a singer was accompanied by the yowling and barking of dogs. He laughed with an exaggerated, immoderate mirth, but on detecting incomprehension and displeasure on my face, he explained, almost as though to excuse himself, "Well, still it's clever, devilishly clever."

Nikita Khrushchev: "I remember once Stalin made me dance the 'Gopak' [a Ukrainian folk dance] before some top Party officials. I had to squat down on my haunches and kick out my heels, which frankly wasn't easy for me. But I did it and I tried to keep a pleasant expression on my face. As I later told Anastas Ivanovich Mikoyan, 'When Stalin says dance, a wise man dances.'"

And possibly less historically accurate:

Franz Liebkind: "Not many people know it, but the Fuhrer was a terrific dancer. ... Let me tell you THIS! And you're hearing this straight from the horse - Hitler was better looking than Churchill. He was a better dresser than Churchill. He had more hair! He told funnier jokes! And he could dance the PANTS off of Churchill!"