I feel like talking about Stalin is like walking on eggshells... You don't want to go, "Stalin's death toll is overexaggerated, in my opinion he didn't kill enough people!!!" because that will make the average person instantly stop hearing you
What's the best way to talk about Stalin in a sensitive way that doesn't trigger a fight or flight response?
I feel like people my age and younger aren’t as propagandized about Stalin as previous generations (having most of our history classes revolve around the civil war and the western front of WWII), so generally anything I say about him is “huh I didn’t know that.” I personally find more friction when it comes to DPRK because of propaganda created and disseminated while people my age have been alive.
Usually Stalin comes up when I’m agreeing with a concept someone has by giving a Stalin quote, then telling them it’s a quote from Stalin. Eventually the goal is to get them to either read theory or watch me give a “be a communist with me” power point style presentation.