What was joseph stalin known for
- •
The Autobiography of Joseph Stalin
By RICHARD LOURIE
Counterpoint
Read the Review
Leon Trotsky is trying to kill me.
He has every right and reason. By hook or by crook, I defeated him in the power struggle after Lenin's death in '24. I expelled him from the Party. I banished him from Moscow. I exiled him from Russia. I hounded him across Europe and drove him to seek refuge in Mexico earlier this year.
I am destroying his organization, annihilating his followers. In his opinion, I have "betrayed" the Revolution and fouled its honor with unspeakable crimes.
As a communist, it is Trotsky's mission to rescue Soviet Russia from me. He knows he is the only man in the world capable of the task. Hitler could invade Russia and burn Moscow to the ground, but Hitler could never take my place in the Kremlin. But Trotsky could. And believes he should.
The past demands, that he kill me. The future demands that he kill me. In a word, history demands that he kill me.
- •
Joseph Stalin
(1878-1953)
Who Was Joseph Stalin?
Joseph Stalin rose to power as General Secretary of the Communist Party in Russia, becoming a Soviet dictator after the death of Vladimir Lenin. Stalin forced rapid industrialization and the collectivization of agricultural land, resulting in millions dying from famine while others were sent to labor camps. His Red Army helped defeat Nazi Germany during World War II.
Early Life
On December 18, 1879, in the Russian peasant village of Gori, Georgia, Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili - later known as Joseph Stalin - was born.
The son of Besarion Jughashvili, a cobbler, and Ketevan Geladze, a washerwoman, Stalin was a frail child. At age 7, he contracted smallpox, leaving his face scarred.
A few years later he was injured in a carriage accident which left arm slightly deformed (some accounts state his arm trouble was a result of blood poisoning from the injury).
The other village children treated him cruelly, instilling in him a sense of inferiority. Because of this, Stalin began a quest for greatness and respect. He also
- •
How did Stalin get away with murder?
Stalin’s name meant "man of steel" and he lived up to it. He oversaw the war machine that helped defeat Nazism and was the supreme ruler of the Soviet Union for a quarter of a century.
His regime of terror caused the death and suffering of tens of millions. But this powerful man began life as the son of an alcoholic cobbler and a doting mother who sent him to study to be a priest.
1879
Born into poverty
He is born on 18 December 1879 in Gori, Georgia in the Russian empire. He is first named Iosif (Joseph) Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili.
Joseph grows up in poverty. His mother is a washerwoman and his father is a cobbler. He catches small pox aged seven and is left with a pockmarked face and a slightly deformed left arm. He is bullied by the other children and feels a continual need to prove himself. His father is an alcoholic who deals out regular beatings. As young Joseph grows up, Georgia’s romantic folklore and anti-Russian traditions capture his imagination.
1899
Rebels against the priesthood
Josep
Copyright ©vanflat.pages.dev 2025