Joseph Stalin
Soviet revolutionary who became the de facto dictator of the USSR.
Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons
Joseph Stalin was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who ruled the Soviet Union from the mid-1920s until his death in 1953. He held the titles of General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1922 to 1952 and the nation's Premier from 1941 to 1953. Initially presiding over an oligarchic one-party system, he became the de facto dictator of the Soviet Union by the 1930s. Ideologically committed to Marxism–Leninism, his own policies became known as Stalinism.
- born
- 18 December 1878, Gori, Russian Empire
- died
- 5 March 1953
- field
- Politics, Revolution
- nationality
- Soviet (Georgian-born)
- known_for
- Ruling the Soviet Union as dictator; instituting the Great Purge; leading the USSR through World War II
Lore & Background
Stalin was born into a poor Georgian family in Gori, Russian Empire. He began his revolutionary career by joining the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, editing its newspaper Pravda, and raising funds for Lenin's Bolshevik faction via robberies, kidnappings, and protection rackets. Repeatedly arrested, he underwent several internal exiles. After the Bolsheviks seized power in 1917, Stalin joined the party's governing Politburo and was instrumental in overseeing the Soviet Union's establishment in 1922. After Lenin died in 1924, Stalin assumed leadership.
Reader's Guide
Stalin's rule was marked by the implementation of a centralized command economy under the Five-Year Plan system, which included collectivisation and rapid industrialization but contributed to the famine of 1932–33. To eradicate perceived enemies, he instituted the Great Purge, in which over a million were imprisoned and at least 700,000 executed between 1934 and 1939. During World War II, the Soviet Red Army repelled the German invasion and captured Berlin in 1945. The Soviet Union emerged as a world superpower, and tensions with the United States led to the Cold War. Stalin's government promoted Marxism–Leninism abroad and supported anti-fascist movements. After his death, Nikita Khrushchev denounced him and initiated de-Stalinisation. Stalin remains a controversial figure, celebrated as a victorious wartime leader but condemned for mass repressions and famines causing millions of deaths.
Did You Know?
- Stalin's birth name was Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili.
- He was seriously injured at age 12 when struck by a phaeton, causing a lifelong disability in his left arm.
- Stalin helped organize the June 1907 robbery of a bank stagecoach in Tiflis, which killed around 40 people.
- He adopted the nickname 'Koba' from the bandit protagonist of Alexander Kazbegi's novel The Patricide.
Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)
"If you are afraid of wolves, keep out of the woods." — Joseph Stalin "On the Draft Constitution of the U.S.S.R., 25 November 1936." — Joseph Stalin "Who's going to remember all this riff-raff in 10 or 20 years time? No one. Who remembers the names now of the boyars Ivan the Terrible got rid of? No one." — Joseph Stalin "Fascism is the bourgeoisie’s fighting organisation that relies on the active support of Social-Democracy. Social-Democracy is objectively the moderate wing of fascism." — Joseph Stalin
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