Dictators and their favourite pastime

Kim Jong-chol, Kim Jong-un's brother, is a fan of Eric Clapton while Jong-un himself likes basketball, having special kinship with Dennis Rodman. Remarkably, many despots washed the day's blood off their hands to pursue commonplace hobbies.

Adolf Hitler

Painting

The face of evil in human history was also proficient at painting.

Likely reason for hobby

Teachers, take note. Failure can colour your view of the world. Having flunked the entrance exam at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, the dictator came to try his hand at more diabolical pursuits. Forced to abandon his childhood ambition, he eventually mastered the dark arts.


Idi Amin

Boxing

The former Ugandan president, no less cruel than Hitler, was a champion boxer in his youth across categories, including heavyweight.

Likely reason for hobby

Easy to see why this villainous leader had a thing for the ring. Words like sucker-punch, head-butt, low blow and foul may have been a big hook for him.



Benito Mussolini

Violin

The Italian fascist dictator was a passionate violinist. It is said he'd recite a canto by Dante every morning.

Likely reason for hobby

The fault could well be in the recipe. Italian. Tyrant. Fiddler. Something's gonna burn. Ask Nero.

King Jong II

Gone with the Wind

The book is as unlikely a favourite with all of North Korea as Dennis Rodman with Kim Jong-un. Kim Jong's dad, Kim Jong Il, had seen the film over 20 times.

Likely reason for hobby

It couldn't have been Scarlett O'Hara or Rhett Butler who made North Korea's Dictator the First repeatedly return to the classic. Perhaps he found appealing the idea of slaves. In the South.

Mao Tse Tung

Poetry

The Chinese ruler is called a hero by some and a villain by others. Add more labels to his identity — profilic writer, poet and calligraphist.

Likely reason for hobby

Only a hero with a black heart could have known that his subjects had plainly no choice in the matter but to embrace him for better and for verse.