A dictatorship is a government in which one person (a “supreme leader”) seizes control of the state and rules with power. Some dictators, such as Fidel Castro, who ruled Communist Cuba from 1961 to 2008, come to power by , through a revolution or a coup d'état. Other dictators, such as Adolf Hitler of Nazi Germany, are elected democratically and then give themselves power over the government.
Totalitarianism represents a severe form of dictatorship, as exemplified in the Soviet Union. Under totalitarianism, the Soviet government controlled nearly all aspects of , including industry, the economy, religious practices, and free expression.