Summary
Highlights
Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili, later known as Stalin, was born in 1879. He endured a harsh childhood marked by poverty and was drawn to radical movements. He was imprisoned multiple times by Russian secret police before the 1917 Russian Revolution. After Lenin's death in 1924, Stalin masterfully manipulated his way to supreme power.
Under Stalin, Russia became the world's second-largest industrial economy through planned five-year plans. However, dissent was met with labor camps or execution, and his policies led to the deaths of millions, including 3 million kulaks, and the worst man-made famine in history. His rule was a 'reign of terror' where no one was safe.
Before WWII, Hitler and Stalin signed a non-aggression pact, which was broken by Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. Stalin's ruthlessness during the war, exemplified by actions like shooting children who helped German soldiers, helped consolidate his power. The Soviet Union lost 20 million people in WWII, more than any other nation. Post-war, Stalin demanded much of Eastern Europe, establishing an 'iron curtain' and turning the Soviet Union into a nuclear-armed global superpower by 1949.
Joseph Stalin died on March 5, 1953. While some Russians view him as a great leader who elevated their country, he is primarily remembered as one of the 20th century's greatest mass murderers. His legacy includes the KGB, Soviet labor camps, and countless summary executions for real or imagined opposition.