Lick relative to Staling there is no parsing of words. He's one of the, if not the biggest killers in world history.
I think the piece highlights this.
It covers the failed ag polices, abuse and suicide of his second wife, and purges and forced gulag labor.
This is in the conclusion paragraph.
"But the millions incarcerated cheer at the demise of one of the most murderous dictators in history. Stalin’s successor Khrushchev denounces the dead dictator and begins a wave of destalinization."