Joseph Stalin was born in 1879 into a dysfunctional family in a
small run down village in Georgia. After growing out of a rough child hood, his
mother sent him to study at the capital of Georgia (Tiflis) to become a priest (1).
Though Stalin never completed his education, he began to be interested in
revolutionary activity by participating in organizing workers, robbing trains,
and distributing illegal literature (1).
Stalin was given the position of General Secretary of the
Communist Party’s Central Committee in 1922. He used his new position to limit
power by controlling all appointments, setting agendas, and moving around Party
staff. At the time Lenin, dictator of Russia, was on his deathbed and he was
the only person with the authority to challenge him (1). After Lenin’s death in
1924, Stalin went about taking advantage of the older leaders weaknesses, and
took over Lenin’s place as the head of the Communist Party. The name he went by
was a good description of the dictator’s personality; Stalin means “man of steel” in Russian. As his power grew, he was cruel, ruthless, and tyrannical. He became known for the Great Terror Stalin purged the Communist Party (1).
When the war clouds arose in the sky in 1939, Stalin believed that he had scored by making a non-aggressive pact with Hitler. The two decided to divide up Poland and then they would walk their separate ways (1). When Stalin ignored his military advisors warnings that the Wehrmacht was massing for an attack, it left the Soviet army unprepared. Stalin’s people became upset with his actions, and later on planned a purge of their own on him, but was cut short when Stalin dies from a cerebral hemorrhage (1).
However Stalin remained a hero to his people, until Khrushchev’s well known “secret” speech to the Part Congress in 1956 (1).
small run down village in Georgia. After growing out of a rough child hood, his
mother sent him to study at the capital of Georgia (Tiflis) to become a priest (1).
Though Stalin never completed his education, he began to be interested in
revolutionary activity by participating in organizing workers, robbing trains,
and distributing illegal literature (1).
Stalin was given the position of General Secretary of the
Communist Party’s Central Committee in 1922. He used his new position to limit
power by controlling all appointments, setting agendas, and moving around Party
staff. At the time Lenin, dictator of Russia, was on his deathbed and he was
the only person with the authority to challenge him (1). After Lenin’s death in
1924, Stalin went about taking advantage of the older leaders weaknesses, and
took over Lenin’s place as the head of the Communist Party. The name he went by
was a good description of the dictator’s personality; Stalin means “man of steel” in Russian. As his power grew, he was cruel, ruthless, and tyrannical. He became known for the Great Terror Stalin purged the Communist Party (1).
When the war clouds arose in the sky in 1939, Stalin believed that he had scored by making a non-aggressive pact with Hitler. The two decided to divide up Poland and then they would walk their separate ways (1). When Stalin ignored his military advisors warnings that the Wehrmacht was massing for an attack, it left the Soviet army unprepared. Stalin’s people became upset with his actions, and later on planned a purge of their own on him, but was cut short when Stalin dies from a cerebral hemorrhage (1).
However Stalin remained a hero to his people, until Khrushchev’s well known “secret” speech to the Part Congress in 1956 (1).