Joseph Stalin

Joseph Stalin


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Joseph Stalin (December 21, 1949)

Introduction

Joseph Stalin, the unrivalled dictator of the Soviet Union, ruled from 1928 until his death in 1953. He came to power by a brand of totalitarianism that relied on widespread propaganda and a secret police force to eliminate opposition. He modernized the country through “Five Year Plans,” which consisted of forced collectivization and industrialization. Farmers were denied private property, and food was exported for foreign industrial technology. The resulting food shortages became a planned famine known as the “Holodomor” in the Ukraine, where farmers had actively opposed his attempts at collectivization. Despite Stalin’s harsh rule, the Soviet Union under his leadership became a world power and even acquired a brief technological lead in space exploration.

Essential Facts

  1. As a young man, Stalin trained to be a priest but was expelled from the seminary with 20 of his classmates for “revolutionary activities.”
  2. The titles Stalin acquired over his years as dictator included “Father of Nations,” “Brilliant Genius of Humanity,” “Great Architect of Communism,” and “Gardener of Human Happiness.”
  3. The Soviet Union suffered the most casualties during WWII (around 20 million) but lost more people from Stalin’s political purges, famine, and banishment (estimated between 30 and 35 million). The population of the former Soviet Union is actually smaller today than when Stalin took office.
  4. The conflict between Germany and the Soviet Union in WWII became a clash of personalities between Hitler and Stalin. Against the advice of his generals, Hitler insisted on humiliating Stalin by invading the city of Stalingrad. During the invasion, Hitler lost 25% of his army, eventually causing Germany to lose the war.
  5. Stalin’s tenure as dictator was so harsh that when Nikita Khrushchev took over in 1953 he started a policy of “de-Stalinization.”

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