Beria was in all likelihood a Harvey Weinstein rather than a John Wayne Gacy. Even if he were a Gacy, though, his behavior in political matters shows him to be better than the alternatives.
It is possible to discuss "what ifs" in a meaningful way because we do know certain alternatives would have made history develop in radically different ways, and there were points in time when the course of history was not following a "likely/not likely" pattern, but something approaching 1:1 odds.
ἡ δὲ κἀκ τριῶν τρυπημάτων ἐργαζομένη ἐνεκάλει τῇ φύσει, δυσφορουμένη, ὅτι δὴ μὴ καὶ τοὺς τιτθοὺς αὐτῇ εὐρύτερον ἢ νῦν εἰσι τρυπώη, ὅπως καὶ ἄλλην ἐνταῦθα μίξιν ἐπιτεχνᾶσθαι δυνατὴ εἴη. – Procopius
Ummaka qinnassa nīk!
*MySmiley*