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Childhood, Joseph Stalin Is Born
Losif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili, later known as Joseph Stalin was born in the small town of Gori, Georgia. The youngest of four, unfortunately ending up as an only child being the only one to survive infancy, though sticking with bad health. His father was an old poor shoemaker and his mother a domestic slave, hoping to help their family's income grow and live through poverty. -
Seminary
Despite his bad health Joseph did well in school and won a free scholarship to a seminary school in Tiflis. While he studied he ended up joining a secret revolutionary group, the Messame Dassy, who mainly plotted Georgia's independence from Russia. After a few months being in the group Stalin came into contact with the concept of Marxism and began converting more of his fellow students over to the group. In May, 1899 the seminary uncovered the MD's plots and all members were expelled. -
Expelled
Being unemployed after the expellment, Stalin stayed in hiding continuing on teaching grade schoolers about Marxism again, trying to win them over. He was caught and put into prison for eighteen months before exiled to Siberia. After about two years Stalin escaped Siberia and within months he was back in Tiflis plotting and kneading different communism tactics to take over the Russian government, into others heads through a socialist Georgian newspaper "Brdzola Khma Vladimir". -
Vladimir Linen
Stalin joined the Social Democratic Labour Party, though most of it's leaders were living in exile elsewhere Stalin stayed in Russia and helped organize resistance strategies towards the Russian monarch. In 1903 during the Second Congress, there was an arguement between two of the Social Democratic Labour Party's leaders, Vladimir Lenin and Julius Martov. Linen demanded he build a small party of professional revolutionaries with a large group of communism sympathizers and supporters... -
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Vladimir Linen
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Vladimir Linen Continued
Martov disagreed, and stated a larger group of activists would be better. His oponion was based off of the much larger parties in other parts of Europe, he was suggesting the size of the Britich Labour Party. Lenin fought back, saying Russia was different, that smaller groups would be much harder to detect, easier to hide from the autocratic government. By the end of the Congress Martov had won, Lenin not wanting to accept defeat created a group known as the Bolsheviks. -
Pravada
After the conference Stalin joined into Lenin's underground group and he went back to Russia. During the next eight years Stalin was arrested four times all of them resulting in his escape from jail. 1911 Stalin moved to St. Petersburg and became the editor of Pravada, a revolutionary solcialist paper that took part in the Soviet Union, the Central Committee, and the Communist Party all through the 1900's. Stalin being exiled for life to North Siberia two years after Pravada was first published. -
Let Out
Nicolas ll was overthrown by Alexander Kerensky, and being the new prime minister Kerensky released all of the political prisinors, including Stalin. Stalin went back to St. Petersburg and claimed his place once more as an editor for Pravada. He continued his job there keeping hidden and laying low from the goverment. -
Remain Loyal
Stalin proved his remaining loyalty to Lenin, in the paper Stalin wrote and article dismissing the concept of working with PG (Provisional Government). He described Alexander Kerensky and Victor Chernov as the enemy and encouraged people stand up for themselves and take over the government. In November 1917 Linen was thankful to Stalin for reamining by his side and appointed Stalin Commissar of Nationalities. -
He's Back
Two years later Lenin comes back to Russia, demanding that his group to tell the people of Russia to go agaisnt the government and take over their contry. He also accused the Bolsheviks who supported PG, based on what his group was writing on Pravada, he was saying that they were betraying socialism and they should leave the party. Stalin was one of the editors and knew that he is party to blame for Linen's accusations. Stalin had to make a choice. Stay by Linen's side? Or leave the party. -
Commissar of Nationalities
Joseph claimed the position. Everyone knew Joseph was an obvious pick. He was proud of himself and he put in a tremendous amount of power to make sure he didn't get replaced. A few months and almost half of Russia's population was bowing down to him, including some non-Russian countries. Stalin had made a speech enhancing the Bolsheviks policy to grant the right of self-determination to all various nationalities within Russia. -
Commissar of Nationalities Continued
In his speech he promised the Soviet Union would grant freedom to all of it's people. Poor. Rich. Everyone. Stalin's goal in making that promise was to make a "voluntary and honest alliance" between Russia and all of the people that lives within it's borders. Over the next few years Stalin tried controlling the non-Russian civilians under his power, they began to set up new independent states and the governments from these states were cruel towards the Bolsheviks. -
Commissar of Nationalities Continued Continued
Stalin thought they would eventually agree to join Russia and the Socialist States. That time never came, Stalin had to put more force into his policy and restated that self-determination "ought to be understood as the right of self-determination not of the bourgeoise but of the toiling masses of a given nation.". He was implying that unless the independent states create a socialist government the Bolsheiks would not allow they have self-determination. -
Civil War
During the Civil War (1917-1920) Trotsky gathered the Red Army and sent them off to fight the White Army in Tsaritsyn. Stalin was involved in conducting strategies for the Red Army when they went up against the White Army. In the end the Red Army won, Stalin taking most of the credit in defeating them. -
Lenin's Death
Over a few years Lenin has been suffering major strokes throughout the time, losing his sense to talk, and after a year was shot twice, causing an even more dangerous stroke leading to his death. Afterwards Stalin began to destroy all of the old Soveit leaders, making sure his chances at becoming leader of the Soviet Union wasn't threatened. After they've been exiled and disabled of protesting against him, Stalin became the totalitarian leader of the Soviet Union. -
The Great Terror
Sergei Kirov, a popular, high-profile Russian politician was murdered by Leonid Nikolaev, a trained hitman. Stalin took the murder of Kirov to his advantage, he blamed Zinoviev and Kamenev for Kirov's muder and they were arrested then punished with long term sentences in prison. Anybody that would protest against Zinoviev and Kamenev's arrest were also arrested and put into jail. 1935 Stalin reopened the case, reinterrogating Zinoviev and Kamenev, he also began to blame the third member, Trotsky -
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The Great Terror
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The Great Terror Continued
After involving Trotsky, all three now had murder held over their heads. Stalin persuaded them, if they lied and confessed to have killed Kirov their familes and themselves would be allowed to live. This was a lie, in the very month they confessed they were executed. Stalin tried other generals in the murder and those generals were also "proven" gurilty. After 3 years, at the Eighteenth Party Congress Stalin announced that it was the end of the Great Terror. -
World War II
Only a month before did the Nazis and Soviets sign a pact. Now the outbreak of World War II has strucken. Stalin allied with America and Britain to assure the Nazis would be tooken down. Why did the Soviet Union go agaist the Nazis? It was because both wanted to over power but with each other in the way that goal could never be accomplished. World War II ended brutally with the Allies (Britain, France, the U.S. the Soviet Union, China, Canada, Australia, and others) taking the cake. -
The Death of the Soviet Leader
After the war Stalin remained the leader of the Soviet Union until he suffered from a major stroke, just as Linen before him. Even after years of his death, the Soviet Union still fought for more power, it was as if Stalin had never left the face of the Earth. That was until the Cold War, where after a hearty battle America and Russia grew tired and decided to sign a nuclear arms treaty to conclude peace through the two battling contries.
