Stalin was:
A. kind
B. benevolent
C. cruel
D. lively

I think it's C. Cruel.

Stalin had a ruthless, and temperamentally cruel, and he was violent against others, and he lacked compassion. Though, every now and then, Stalin would do a random act of helpfulness (from your local Honda dealer! Jk, that's not what Stalin would do, it was a joke) .

to reform the distraught soviet union, the democratization of the communist party was promoted through party secretary mikhail gorbachev's policies of “perestroika” and “glasnost.” perestroika refers to the reconstruction of the political and economic system established by the communist party.