You're totally correct and I apologize for the lack of clarity in my statement. Beria was absolutely a more measured and sensible man than the others, there's no denying that and you're absolutely correct that the numbers do corroborate the facts. He absolutely was smeared and was largely held responsible for Yezhov's crimes, rather than any he himself committed. The supposed evidence of his personal misdeeds was largely fabricated.

I still believe he was given far too much latitude to operate in his role without sufficient oversight. That he was far more restrained in his actions than his predecessors is a testament to his own more judicious nature, rather than an example of sufficient oversight of his role.

Basically, I mean to say that while he wasn't personally excessive in his actions, someone else in his position and with the same freedom to act indiscriminately may have continued to act as his predecessors did. A bullet dodged, rather than an example of appropriate harm reduction. Hopefully this makes more sense!

Got any good reading for my Beria-brainworms?