Communism killed 100 million people” is a common anti-communist refrain. This number comes from the Black Book of Communism. The co-authors of the book have disassociated themselves from the main editor, Courtois, for his bungling and his obsession with reaching 100 million. [1] Noam Chomsky and several other scholars have said that the numbers achieved by the book are bogus. The only way to get to 21 million is to state that the Holomodor was intentional and that the numbers originally quoted by Robert Conquest were accurate. However, even he admits that the figures he gave were too high and has revised them down. Since the Holomodor was unintentional, the deaths here cannot be counted. Communism killed 100 million people” is a common anti-communist refrain. This number comes from the Black Book of Communism. The co-authors of the book have disassociated themselves from the main editor, Courtois, for his bungling and his obsession with reaching 100 million. [1] Noam Chomsky and several other scholars have said that the numbers achieved by the book are bogus. The only way to get to 21 million is to claim that the Holomodor was intentional and that the numbers originally quoted by Robert Conquest were accurate. However, even he admits that the figures he gave were too high and has revised them down. Since the Holomodor was unintentional, the deaths here cannot be counted. Many aspects of his book continue to be disputed by Soviet historians and researchers of Russian and Soviet history, such as Stephen G. Wheatcroft, who insists that Conquest’s casualty totals from Stalinist repressions are too high, even in his reappraisals. [22][23 In addition, Conquest worked for the propaganda department of the British Intelligence Services. He was a known propagandist and he admitted it. In 1995, investigative journalist Paul Lashmar suggested that the reputations of leading academics such as Robert Conquest were built on work derived from material provided by the IRD. [21] Conquest argued that the trials and executions of these former communist leaders were a minor detail of the purges. According to his estimates, the Stalinist purges had caused the death of some 20 million people. He later stated that the total number of deaths “could hardly be less than some thirteen or fifteen million.” [17] Real figures: 2.76 million. This list is here, with sources: death toll 2.pdf