1. [432] His personal writings from the period were according to Khlevniuk "unusually convoluted and incoherent", filled with claims about enemies encircling him. [307] In 1927, there was some argument in the party over Soviet policy regarding China. [534] Cautiously regarding the responses from the Western Allies, Stalin avoided immediately installing Communist Party governments across Eastern Europe, instead initially ensuring that Marxist-Leninists were placed in coalition ministries. [556] In June 1945, Stalin adopted the title of Generalissimus,[558] and stood atop Lenin's Mausoleum to watch a celebratory parade led by Zhukov through Red Square. On December 1, 1934, less than a year after he was mentioned as a possible replacement for Stalin, Sergei Kirov was assassinated. [716] He was of the view that if they became fully autonomous, then they would end up being controlled by the most reactionary elements of their community; as an example he cited the largely illiterate Tatars, whom he claimed would end up dominated by their mullahs. [435] These purges replaced most of the party's old guard with younger officials who did not remember a time before Stalin's leadership and who were regarded as more personally loyal to him. "[729], Stalin had a soft voice,[730] and when speaking Russian did so slowly, carefully choosing his phrasing. [72], In January 1905, government troops massacred protesters in Saint Petersburg. Fair leadership doesn't use power to make arbitrary and . U.S. led forces pushed the North Koreans back. [196] That month, he travelled to Helsinki to talk with the Finnish Social-Democrats, granting Finland's request for independence in December. [92] In March 1907 she bore a son, Yakov. "[838] Montefiore described Stalin's favoured types as "young, malleable teenagers or buxom peasant women,"[839] who would be supportive and unchallenging toward him. [341] Large debts were accrued purchasing foreign-made machinery. [282] Stalin saw Trotsky whom he personally despised[283] as the main obstacle to his dominance within the party. [795] Other historians linked his brutality not to any personality trait, but to his unwavering commitment to the survival of the Soviet Union and the international MarxistLeninist cause. At that point, the country was only about a decade old and was. Stalin, however, did this strategically, executing the murder of Vladimir Lenin in a guiltless manner. [719] The socio-economic nature of Stalin's Soviet Union has also been much debated, varyingly being labelled a form of state socialism, state capitalism, bureaucratic collectivism, or a totally unique mode of production. The U.S. also offered financial assistance to countries as part of the Marshall Plan on the condition that they opened their markets to trade, aware that the Soviets would never agree. [215] In September he was returned to the Southern Front. He had to share power with a collection of other Soviet leaders, including Trotsky, Zinoviev, and Kamenev. [722] It has been argued that his ancestry was Ossetian, because his genetic haplotype (G2a-Z6653) is considered typical of the Ossetians, but he never acknowledged an Ossetian identity. [591] In August 1949, the bomb was successfully tested in the deserts outside Semipalatinsk in Kazakhstan. There were two Five Year Plans - first from 1928 to 1933 and the second from 1932 to 1937. [242] In taking this view, some Marxists accused him of bending too much to bourgeois nationalism, while others accused him of remaining too Russocentric by seeking to retain these nations within the Russian state. [586] Much of this was constructed by prison labour. [881] Montefiore argued that while Stalin initially ruled as part of a Communist Party oligarchy, the Soviet government transformed from this oligarchy into a personal dictatorship in 1934,[882] with Stalin only becoming "absolute dictator" between March and June 1937, when senior military and NKVD figures were eliminated. [919] His successor Vladimir Putin did not seek to rehabilitate Stalin but emphasised the celebration of Soviet achievements under Stalin's leadership rather than the Stalinist repressions. In his early years as leader, Stalin revamped the Soviet Union's economic policy, . [136], Stalin's article Marxism and the National Question[137] was first published in the March, April, and May 1913 issues of the Bolshevik journal Prosveshcheniye;[138] Lenin was pleased with it. [122] The new newspaper was launched in April 1912,[123] although Stalin's role as editor was kept secret. Stalin and a fellow senior Bolshevik Leon Trotsky both endorsed Lenin's plan of action, but it was initially opposed by Kamenev and other party members. [394], In 193536, Stalin oversaw a new constitution; its dramatic liberal features were designed as propaganda weapons, for all power rested in the hands of Stalin and his Politburo. 6 December]1878[1] 5 March 1953) was a Georgian-born[h] Soviet revolutionary and political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. [906] Historian and archival researcher Stephen G. Wheatcroft and Michael Ellman attribute roughly 3million deaths to the Stalinist regime, including executions and deaths from criminal negligence. [279] In his private life, he divided his time between his Kremlin apartment and a dacha at Zubalova;[280] his wife gave birth to a daughter, Svetlana, in February 1926. [545] Stalin refused to punish the offenders. [594] It launched the Marshall Plan in June 1947, with which it sought to undermine Soviet hegemony in eastern Europe. Joseph Stalin epitomised the 'New Prince', who Machiavelli described, somehow unifying love and fear whilst simultaneously pursuing his ambitious political plan for Russia. The Russian Empire became a de facto republic, headed by a Provisional Government dominated by liberals. Fair warning: if the title isn't enough of a clue, there's a lot in this game . [682] The historian Alfred J. Rieber noted that he had been raised in "a society where rebellion was deeply rooted in folklore and popular rituals". [670] The collective leadership included the following eight senior members of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, listed according to the order of precedence presented formally on 5 March 1953: Georgy Malenkov, Lavrentiy Beria, Vyacheslav Molotov, Kliment Voroshilov, Nikita Khrushchev, Nikolai Bulganin, Lazar Kaganovich and Anastas Mikoyan. Some of the photos may be from earlier dates, but it is believed that this photo of Stalin was taken in 1893. The Stalin memorial in Moscow's Red Square is a shrine for some Russians. 00447, listing 268,950 people for arrest, of whom 75,950 were executed. Stalin is too crude, and this defect which is entirely acceptable in our milieu and in relationships among us as communists, becomes unacceptable in the position of General Secretary. [91], Stalin married Kato Svanidze in an Orthodox church ceremony at Senaki in July 1906. [175] Although he had been tasked with briefing the Bolshevik delegates of the Second Congress of Soviets about the developing situation, Stalin's role in the coup had not been publicly visible. [362] The government's anti-religious campaign was re-intensified,[363] with increased funding given to the League of Militant Atheists. [526] There, Stalin and Roosevelt got on well, with both desiring the post-war dismantling of the British Empire. [678] Some of these derived from political expediency rather than any sincere intellectual commitment;[678] Stalin would often turn to ideology post hoc to justify his decisions. [431] During these years, approximately 1.6million people were arrested,[432] 700,000 were shot, and an unknown number died under NKVD torture. [201] The treaty gave vast areas of land and resources to the Central Powers and angered many in Russia; the Left Socialist Revolutionaries withdrew from the coalition government over the issue. [213], In December 1918, Stalin was sent to Perm to lead an inquiry into how Alexander Kolchak's White forces had been able to decimate Red troops based there. [580] In the Leningrad Affair, the city's leadership was purged amid accusations of treachery; executions of many of the accused took place in 1950. "Deeply saddened," he said. [910], Shortly after his death, the Soviet Union went through a period of de-Stalinization. [194] In November 1917, he signed the Decree on Nationality, according ethnic and national minorities living in Russia the right of secession and self-determination. In 1956, after Stalin's death, came a watershed moment: Communist leader Nikita Khrushchev denounced the Stalin personality cult and dictatorship, in a secret speech to the 20th Party Congress. Stalin contained a lot of bad leadership characteristics but I have cut it down to some of the worst in my opinion. [767] He was a hard worker,[768] and displayed a keen desire to learn;[769] when in power, he scrutinised many details of Soviet life, from film scripts to architectural plans and military hardware. [293] In mid-1926, Kamenev and Zinoviev joined with Trotsky's supporters to form the United Opposition against Stalin;[294] in October they agreed to stop factional activity under threat of expulsion, and later publicly recanted their views under Stalin's command. [263] A compromise was reached, in which the federation would be renamed the "Union of Soviet Socialist Republics" (USSR). [424] By late 1937, all remnants of collective leadership were gone from the Politburo, which was controlled entirely by Stalin. [853] Conversely, Stalin had an affectionate relationship with Svetlana during her childhood,[854] and was also very fond of Artyom. Smallpox as a child left him with lasting scars and a deformity. [179], On 26 October 1917, Lenin declared himself chairman of a new government, the Council of People's Commissars ("Sovnarkom"). "[824] Conquest stated that although Stalin had Jewish associates, he promoted anti-Semitism. Repeatedly arrested, he underwent several internal exiles to Siberia. [683] Volkogonov believed that Stalin's Marxism was shaped by his "dogmatic turn of mind", suggesting that this had been instilled in the Soviet leader during his education in religious institutions. [671] Reforms to the Soviet system were immediately implemented. [465] International opinion backed Finland, with the Soviets being expelled from the League of Nations. [832] Stalin was sociable and enjoyed a joke. [593], The U.S. began pushing its interests on every continent, acquiring air force bases in Africa and Asia and ensuring pro-U.S. regimes took power across Latin America. [45] He had a light workload and therefore had plenty of time for revolutionary activity. [742] By 1907, he grew his hair long and often wore a beard; for clothing, he often wore a traditional Georgian chokha or a red satin shirt with a grey coat and black fedora. Ideologically adhering to the Leninist interpretation of Marxism, he formalised these ideas as MarxismLeninism, while his own policies are called Stalinism. [30] According to Stalin's biographer Simon Sebag Montefiore, they became "minor Georgian classics"[31] and were included in various anthologies of Georgian poetry over the coming years. [608] Stalin had a particularly strained relationship with Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito due to the latter's continued calls for Balkan federation and for Soviet aid for the communist forces in the ongoing Greek Civil War. [741], During his youth, Stalin cultivated a scruffy appearance in rejection of middle-class aesthetic values. His introduction of the command . Using the idea of collective responsibility as a basis, Stalin's government abolished their autonomous republics and between late 1943 and 1944 deported the majority of their populations to Central Asia and Siberia. [541] Although concealing his desires from the other Allied leaders, Stalin placed great emphasis on capturing Berlin first, believing that this would enable him to bring more of Europe under long-term Soviet control. After Stalin's death in 1953, he was eventually succeeded by Nikita Khrushchev, who subsequently denounced his rule and initiated the de-Stalinisation of Soviet society. [466] Embarrassed by their inability to defeat the Finns, the Soviets signed an interim peace treaty, in which they received territorial concessions from Finland. [321] By July 1930, over 320,000 households had been affected by the de-kulakisation policy. [659], Stalin's death was announced on 6 March. [340] The USSR underwent a massive economic transformation. [607] Stalin did not personally attend the meeting, sending Zhdanov in his place. Conclusion. [759] In 1934, his new Kuntsevo Dacha was built; 9km from the Kremlin, it became his primary residence. [63] There, he lived in a two-room peasant's house, sleeping in the building's larder. [542], In April 1945, the Red Army seized Berlin, Hitler committed suicide, and Germany surrendered in May. He undermined them by: Establishing a new ideological orthodoxy and branding opponents enemies of Leninism. [764] Stalin had a complex mind,[765] great self-control,[766] and an excellent memory. [645] He was very interested in the reigns of Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great and Catherine the Great. [328] Many of the collectivised peasants resented the loss of their private farmland,[329] and productivity slumped. [525], In November 1943, Stalin met with Churchill and Roosevelt in Tehran, a location of Stalin's choosing. [259] Another disagreement came over the Georgian affair, with Lenin backing the Georgian Central Committee's desire for a Georgian Soviet Republic over Stalin's idea of a Transcaucasian one. [134] Lenin, who encouraged Stalin to write an article on the subject,[135] wanted to attract those groups to the Bolshevik cause by offering them the right of secession from the Russian state, but also hoped they would remain part of a future Bolshevik-governed Russia. Lenin called for establishment of a new federation named the "Union of Soviet Republics of Europe and Asia", reflecting his desire for expansion across the two continents and insisted that the Russian state should join this union on equal terms with the other Soviet states. [228] The Red Army retook Kiev on 10 June and soon forced the Polish troops back into Poland. "[865], The historian Robert Conquest stated that Stalin perhaps "determined the course of the twentieth century" more than any other individual. [795] Stalin also enjoyed watching films late at night at cinemas installed in the Kremlin and his dachas. He was good at coercing people. )[38] He also read Das Kapital, the 1867 book by German sociological theorist Karl Marx. [261] Stalin believed this would encourage independence sentiment among non-Russians, instead arguing that ethnic minorities would be content as "autonomous republics" within the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. [850] In any event, she suspected that he was unfaithful with other women,[851] and committed suicide in 1932. [544] As the Red Army had conquered German territory, they discovered the extermination camps that the Nazi administration had run. [130] In late 1912, Stalin twice crossed into the Austro-Hungarian Empire to visit Lenin in Cracow,[131] eventually bowing to Lenin's opposition to reunification with the Mensheviks. Why would we let them have guns?" Joseph Stalin 18 likes Like Stalin was successful in becoming the new leader of the USSR for many complex reasons. [804] Little of this was fiction,[805] although he could cite passages from Alexander Pushkin, Nikolay Nekrasov, and Walt Whitman by heart. [429] That month, Stalin and Yezhov signed Order No. One is the political scientist Rudolph Rummel (1932-2014), a non-China specialist who made wildly higher estimates than any other historianthat Mao was responsible for 77 million deaths. He officially ruled the country from 1924-1953. [29] He continued writing poetry; five of his poems, on themes such as nature, land and patriotism, were published under the pseudonym of "Soselo" in Ilia Chavchavadze's newspaper Iveria (Georgia). [436] Party functionaries readily carried out their commands and sought to ingratiate themselves with Stalin to avoid becoming the victim of the purge. For this reason, he retained the Leninist view that world revolution was still a necessity to ensure the ultimate victory of socialism. However, as many of the following . 2 [728] Montefiore was of the view that "after 1917, [Stalin] became quadri-national: Georgian by nationality, Russian by loyalty, internationalist by ideology, Soviet by citizenship. Stalin was born in the Georgian town of Gori,[2] then part of the Tiflis Governorate of the Russian Empire and home to a mix of Georgian, Azeri, Armenian, Russian, and Jewish communities. [248] There was also internal turmoil in the Communist Party, as Trotsky led a faction calling for abolition of trade unions; Lenin opposed this, and Stalin helped rally opposition to Trotsky's position. [548] On 8 August, in between the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Soviet army invaded Japanese-occupied Manchuria and defeated the Kwantung Army. [243] Stalin opposed the idea of separate Georgian, Armenian, and Azeri autonomous republics, arguing that these would likely oppress ethnic minorities within their respective territories; instead he called for a Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic. [287] Stalin built up a retinue of his supporters in the Central Committee,[288] while the Left Opposition were gradually removed from their positions of influence. Lenin was seen as the figure head of the Communist Party, Stalin used this to his advantage in winning over the Russia population. He initially refused, leading to an international crisis in 1946, but one year later Stalin finally relented and moved the Soviet troops out. [874] Although millions of Soviet citizens despised him, support for Stalin was nevertheless widespread throughout Soviet society. [463] The two states continued trading, undermining the British blockade of Germany. [652] Svetlana and Vasily were called to the dacha on 2 March; the latter was drunk and angrily shouted at the doctors, as a result of which he was sent home. [271] During the 13th Party Congress in May 1924, "Lenin's Testament" was read only to the leaders of the provincial delegations. [922] In recent years, the government and general public of Russia has been accused of rehabilitating Stalin. Eight years have passed since the last elections to the Supreme Soviet. [897] After the dissolution of the Union in 1991, the rest of the archives were opened to historians, resulting in much new information about Stalin coming to light,[898] and producing a flood of new research. He held power as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (19221952) and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (19411953). Instead, the KMT repressed the Communists and a civil war broke out between the two sides.[308]. 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