He also tried to eliminate religion, totally change language, clothes, and every other custom they could think of.
He was a technocrat atheist who wanted to radically reform and transform society. He essentially was an anarchist that had to blow everything up to replace it with his grand vision. Speed was a necessity, so it was a lot easier to behead road blocks than to work on a reasonable compromise.
Sound familiar? Reminds me of the current modern day progressives. No wonder they are unhappy with this depiction. Just like him they will discover that might does not make right and eventually you are taken out by your own arrogance.