Joseph Stalin

{{Audio|ru-Stalin.ogg|Joseph Stalin}} (Russian, in full: ????? ????????????? ?????? (Josef Vissarionovich Stalin), real name: ????? ????????????? ?????????? (Josef Vissarionovich Dzhugashvilli), Georgian: ????? ????????? (Ioseb Jughashvili); December 6 (OS)/December 18 (NS), 1878{{ref|Register}} – March 5, 1953) was the leader of the Soviet Union from mid-1920s to his death in 1953 and General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1922-1953), a position which had later become that of party leader.

Rise to power

In 1912 Stalin was co-opted to the Bolshevik Central Committee at the Prague Party Conference. In 1917 Stalin was editor of Pravda while Lenin and much of the Bolshevik leadership were in exile. Following the February Revolution, Stalin and the editorial board took a position in favor of supporting Kerensky's provisional government and, it is alleged, went to the extent of declining to publish Lenin's articles arguing for the provisional government to be overthrown. When Lenin returned from exile, he wrote the April Theses which put forward his position.

Related Topics:
1912 - Prague Party Conference - 1917 - Pravda - February Revolution - Kerensky - Provisional government - April Theses

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In April 1917, Stalin was elected to the Central Committee with the third highest vote total in the party and was subsequently elected to the Politburo of the Central Committee (May 1917); he held this position for the remainder of his life.

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According to many accounts, Stalin only played a minor role in the revolution of November 7.Other writers such as Adam Ulam stressed that each man in the Central Committee had a job he was assigned to do.

Related Topics:
Revolution - November 7 - Adam Ulam

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During the Russian Civil War and Polish-Soviet War, Stalin was political commissar of the Red Army at various fronts. Stalin's first government position was as People's Commissar of Nationalities Affairs (1917–23). Also, he was People's Commissar of Workers and Peasants Inspection (1919–22), a member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the republic (1920–23) and a member of the Central Executive Committee of the Congress of Soviets (from 1917).

Related Topics:
Russian Civil War - Polish-Soviet War - Political commissar - Red Army - People's Commissar - 23 - Workers and Peasants Inspection - 1919 - 22 - Revolutionary Military Council - 1920 - Central Executive Committee of the Congress of Soviets

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In April 1922 Stalin became general secretary of the ruling Communist Party, a post that he subsequently built up into the most powerful in the country. This position was an unwanted one within the party (Stalin was sometimes referred to as "Comrade Card-Index" by fellow party members) but Stalin saw its potential as a power base. The position had great influence on who joined the party. This allowed him to fill the party with his allies. Stalin's accumulation of personal power increasingly alarmed the dying Lenin, and in Lenin's Testament he famously called for the removal of the "rude" Stalin, also stating that Stalin's views were too extreme and violent. However, this document was suppressed by members of the Central Committee, many of whom were also criticised by the Bolshevik leader in the testament.

Related Topics:
1922 - Communist Party - Lenin - Lenin's Testament - Central Committee

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After Lenin's death in January 1924, Stalin, Kamenev and Zinoviev together governed the party, placing themselves ideologically between Trotsky (on the left wing of the party) and Bukharin (on the right).

Related Topics:
Lenin - Death - 1924 - Kamenev - Zinoviev - Ideologically - Trotsky - Bukharin

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During this period, Stalin abandoned the traditional Bolshevik emphasis on international revolution in favor of a policy of building "Socialism in One Country", in contrast to Trotsky's theory of Permanent Revolution. Stalin would soon switch sides and join with Bukharin. Together they fought a new opposition of Trotsky, Kamenev and Zinoviev. By 1928 (the first year of the Five-Year Plans) Stalin was supreme among the leadership, and the following year Trotsky was exiled because of his intrigues. Having also outmaneuvered Bukharin's Right Opposition and now advocating collectivization and industrialization, Stalin can be said to have exercised control over the party and the country. However, as the popularity of other leaders such as Sergei Kirov and the so-called Ryutin Affair were to demonstrate, Stalin did not achieve absolute power until the Great Purge of 1936–38.

Related Topics:
Socialism in One Country - Permanent Revolution - 1928 - Five-Year Plan - Right Opposition - Sergei Kirov - Ryutin Affair - Great Purge - 1936 - 38

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