[96] After the heist, Stalin settled in Baku with his wife and son. [448] According to historian James Harris, contemporary archival research shows that the motivation behind the purges was not Stalin attempting to establish his own personal dictatorship; evidence suggests he was committed to building the socialist state envisioned by Lenin. 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). [453] Between 1940 and 1941 he also purged the military, leaving it with a severe shortage of trained officers when war broke out. [559] At a banquet held for army commanders, he described the Russian people as "the outstanding nation" and "leading force" within the Soviet Union, the first time that he had unequivocally endorsed the Russians over other Soviet nationalities. [885] Dmitri Volkogonov characterised him as "one of the most powerful figures in human history. [26], In August 1894, Stalin enrolled in the Orthodox Spiritual Seminary in Tiflis, enabled by a scholarship that allowed him to study at a reduced rate. [217] He was reprimanded by Lenin at the 8th Party Congress for employing tactics which resulted in far too many deaths of Red Army soldiers. [400], Seeking improved international relations, in 1934 the Soviet Union secured membership of the League of Nations, from which it had previously been excluded. One of the most controversial and enigmatic figures in Russian history, he is still the subject of fierce discussions and assessments. [440] He was particularly concerned at the success that right-wing forces had in overthrowing the leftist Spanish government,[441] fearing a domestic fifth column in the event of future war with Japan and Germany. [362] The government's anti-religious campaign was re-intensified,[363] with increased funding given to the League of Militant Atheists. [774] He was a good organiser,[775] with a strategic mind,[776] and judged others according to their inner strength, practicality, and cleverness. [190] Unlike senior Bolsheviks like Kamenev and Nikolai Bukharin, Stalin never expressed concern about the rapid growth and expansion of the Cheka and Red Terror. (Library of Congress/Getty Images ) In 1943, when the Second World War had reached its most pitiless intensity, three of the world's most powerful menunlikely allies against the Axis onslaught . In his early years as leader, Stalin revamped the Soviet Union's economic policy, . [799] He enjoyed listening to classical music,[800] owning around 2,700 records,[801] and frequently attending the Bolshoi Theatre during the 1930s and 1940s. )[38] He also read Das Kapital, the 1867 book by German sociological theorist Karl Marx. [899] Socialist writers like Volkogonov have acknowledged that Stalin's actions damaged "the enormous appeal of socialism generated by the October Revolution". [506] That year, Hitler shifted his primary goal from an overall victory on the Eastern Front, to the goal of securing the oil fields in the southern Soviet Union crucial to a long-term German war effort. [342], Many of major construction projects, including the White Sea-Baltic Canal and the Moscow Metro, were constructed largely through forced labour. [553] Stalin pushed for reparations from Germany without regard to the base minimum supply for German citizens' survival, which worried Truman and Churchill who thought that Germany would become a financial burden for Western powers. [113] In June 1911, Stalin was given permission to move to Vologda, where he stayed for two months,[114] having a relationship with Pelageya Onufrieva. [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. [610] At the second Cominform conference, held in Bucharest in June 1948, East European communist leaders all denounced Tito's government, accusing them of being fascists and agents of Western capitalism. [85] At the conference Stalin met Lenin for the first time. [579] In 1949, he brought Nikita Khrushchev from Ukraine to Moscow, appointing him a Central Committee secretary and the head of the city's party branch. With these considerations in mind, this 4-step process can be used in any situation in which you want to ensure a fair and less-biased outcome: 1. [176] Trotsky and other later Bolshevik opponents of Stalin used this as evidence that his role in the coup had been insignificant, although later historians reject this. The existing government of landlords and capitalists must be replaced by a new government, a government of workers and peasants.The existing pseudo-government which was not elected by the people and which is not accountable to the people must be replaced by a government recognised by the people, elected by representatives of the workers, soldiers and peasants and held accountable to their representatives. [557] Aware that these countries had been pushed toward socialism through invasion rather than by proletarian revolution, Stalin referred to them not as "dictatorships of the proletariat" but as "people's democracies", suggesting that in these countries there was a pro-socialist alliance combining the proletariat, peasantry, and lower middle-class. [916], Khrushchev's de-Stalinisation process in Soviet society ended when he was replaced as leader by Leonid Brezhnev in 1964; the latter introduced a level of re-Stalinisation within the Soviet Union. [395] He declared that "socialism, which is the first phase of communism, has basically been achieved in this country". Copy. No one died on that day. [939], Yevstafy Zhakov, a pastor of St. Olga Strelna near St. Petersburg, caused an uproar after he hung a portrait of Stalin among sacred images, stating: "I remember him [Stalin] on appropriate occasions, the day of his birthday, his death and that of Victory. Asatar Bair, a self . [231], In mid-August 1920, the Poles repulsed the Russian advance, and Stalin returned to Moscow to attend the Politburo meeting. [100] In August 1907, he attended the Seventh Congress of the Second International an international socialist organisation in Stuttgart, Germany. [587] Tensions among these former Allies grew,[557] resulting in the Cold War. [933] A 2017 Pew Research survey had 57% of Georgians saying he played a positive role in history, compared to 18% of those expressing the same for Mikhail Gorbachev. [169] Lenin began calling for the Bolsheviks to seize power by toppling the Provisional Government in a coup d'tat. [407], When the Spanish Civil War broke out in July 1936, the Soviets sent 648 aircraft and 407 tanks to the left-wing Republican faction; these were accompanied by 3,000 Soviet troops and 42,000 members of the International Brigades set up by the Communist International. [825] Service cautioned that there was "no irrefutable evidence" of anti-Semitism in Stalin's published work, although his private statements and public actions were "undeniably reminiscent of crude antagonism towards Jews";[826] he added that throughout Stalin's lifetime, the Georgian "would be the friend, associate or leader of countless individual Jews". Stalin was clever in his tactics to become leader. [412], Stalin often gave conflicting signals regarding state repression. [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. [763] This gained widespread acceptance outside the Soviet Union during his lifetime but was misleading. [791] By the 1920s, he was also suspicious and conspiratorial, prone to believing that people were plotting against him and that there were vast international conspiracies behind acts of dissent. [703] Stalin adopted the Leninist view on the need for a revolutionary vanguard who could lead the proletariat rather than being led by them. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Stalin has retained popularity in Russia and Georgia as a victorious wartime leader who cemented the Soviet Union's status as a leading world power. [874] Although millions of Soviet citizens despised him, support for Stalin was nevertheless widespread throughout Soviet society. [147] In March 1914, concerned over a potential escape attempt, the authorities moved Stalin to the hamlet of Kureika on the edge of the Arctic Circle. [405] At the Communist International's 7th Congress, held in JulyAugust 1935, the Soviet government encouraged Marxist-Leninists to unite with other leftists as part of a popular front against fascism. He used no principles, no mercy, and no ethics. 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. Amid the war, the Soviets annexed the Baltic states and Bessarabia and North Bukovina, subsequently establishing Soviet-aligned governments throughout Central and Eastern Europe and in parts of East Asia. [209] In Tsaritsyn, Stalin commanded the local Cheka branch to execute suspected counter-revolutionaries, sometimes without trial[210] and in contravention of government orders purged the military and food collection agencies of middle-class specialists, some of whom he also executed. [869], Stalin strengthened and stabilised the Soviet Union. [640] He instructed the arrested doctors to be tortured to ensure confession. [74] Georgia was particularly affected. "Deeply saddened," he said. [764] Stalin had a complex mind,[765] great self-control,[766] and an excellent memory. He had to share power with a collection of other Soviet leaders, including Trotsky, Zinoviev, and Kamenev. the unchallenged leader of the Soviet Union. [111] In March 1910, he was arrested again and sent back to Solvychegodsk. [555], After the war, Stalin wasaccording to Serviceat the "apex of his career". Plans were made for the Soviet government to evacuate to Kuibyshev, although Stalin decided to remain in Moscow, believing his flight would damage troop morale. 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. [540] The Red Army withheld assistance to Polish resistance fighters battling the Germans in the Warsaw Uprising, with Stalin believing that any victorious Polish militants could interfere with his aspirations to dominate Poland through a future Marxist government. [864], It was long rumored that Stalin married a sister of Lazar Kaganovich. [416] State repression intensified after Kirov's death;[417] Stalin instigated this, reflecting his prioritisation of security above other considerations. [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. [519] When Stalin learned that people in Western countries affectionately called him "Uncle Joe" he was initially offended, regarding it as undignified. leader Sanjay Raut to join Rahul Gandhi's 'padyatra' in J&K . "[869] For most Westerners and anti-communist Russians, he is viewed overwhelmingly negatively as a mass murderer;[869] for significant numbers of Russians and Georgians, he is regarded as a great statesman and state-builder. [105] They also kidnapped the children of several wealthy figures to extract ransom money. [291] In 1925, the two moved into open opposition to Stalin and Bukharin. [63] There, he lived in a two-room peasant's house, sleeping in the building's larder. [828], Friendship was important to Stalin,[829] and he used it to gain and maintain power. [890] Kotkin observed that Stalin's ability to remain in power relied on him having a majority in the Politburo at all times. [573] Recognising the need for drastic steps to be taken to combat inflation and promote economic regeneration, in December 1947 Stalin's government devalued the rouble and abolished the ration-book system. [6] His birth name was Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili,[d] and he was nicknamed "Soso", a diminutive of "Ioseb". [229] On 16 July, the Central Committee decided to take the war into Polish territory. [237] Stalin felt disgraced and increased his antipathy toward Trotsky. [307] Here, he argued for the concept of "Socialism in One Country", which he presented as an orthodox Leninist perspective. Stalin was Georgian, but during his revolutionary campaigns, adopted the Soviet Nationality law and also changed his Georgian name to a Russian Name. [377] Social unrest, previously restricted largely to the countryside, was increasingly evident in urban areas, prompting Stalin to ease on some of his economic policies in 1932. [741], During his youth, Stalin cultivated a scruffy appearance in rejection of middle-class aesthetic values. [9], Besarion was a cobbler who was employed in a workshop owned by another man;[10] it was initially a financial success but later fell into decline,[11] and the family found itself living in poverty. 03:28. The Congress, and Zhukov constantly critised Stalin for things that he would do, and propose better ideas. [795] Stalin also enjoyed watching films late at night at cinemas installed in the Kremlin and his dachas. Leon Trotsky (1879-1940), was the co-leader of the 1917 Russian Revolution, socialist opponent of Joseph Stalin, founder of the Fourth International, and strategist of world socialist revolution . For this reason, he retained the Leninist view that world revolution was still a necessity to ensure the ultimate victory of socialism. The Kremlin became home to Stalin, Trotsky, Sverdlov, and Lenin. [522] Churchill flew to Moscow to visit Stalin in August 1942 and again in October 1944. [93] By that year according to the historian Robert Service Stalin had established himself as "Georgia's leading Bolshevik". [425] There were mass expulsions from the party,[426] with Stalin commanding foreign communist parties to also purge anti-Stalinist elements. [602], After the war, Stalin sought to retain Soviet dominance across Eastern Europe while expanding its influence in Asia. [75] Stalin was in Baku in February when ethnic violence broke out between Armenians and Azeris; at least 2,000 were killed. [780] Stalin denied to foreign visitors that he was a dictator, stating that those who labelled him such did not understand the Soviet governance structure. [474] To demonstrate peaceful intentions toward Germany, in April 1941 the Soviets signed a neutrality pact with Japan. Fairness is based on someone's cultural background, religious affiliation, cognitive biases/dissonance and prejudices, promotes healthy workplace culture. [611], In October 1949, Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong took power in China. [285] Although Zinoviev was concerned about Stalin's growing authority, he rallied behind him at the 13th Congress as a counterweight to Trotsky, who now led a party faction known as the Left Opposition. Stalin has also been described as 5ft 4,5,6.Harry Truman once commented in Life "I was surprised at Stalin's stature - he was not over 5 feet 5 or . Polish territory to extract ransom money October 1944 Volkogonov characterised him as `` Georgia 's leading Bolshevik.! Extract ransom money other Soviet leaders, including Trotsky, Zinoviev, and.! Himself as `` was stalin a fair leader of the most powerful figures in human history a... 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