Joseph Stalin

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Joseph Stalin, whose real name is Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili, was born on December 21, 1879 in the small town of Gori, Georgia. His family was poor and he was the only child of four to survive. His father was a shoemaker. He was a heavy drinker and died from wounds in a brawl when Stalin was 11 years old. His mother was a pious and hardworking woman. She wanted her son to have a good life so she entered him into priesthood. He attended elementary school run by the Orthodox Church and went on to the Orthodox theological seminary in Tiflis. There he joined a secret study group that opposed the Russian tsarist government. They discussed the radical ideas of Karl Marx and Stalin became a devout Marxist. Eventually, Stalin was expelled from the seminary. Then for the next 18 years he was a revolutionary. He wrote articles for Marxist newspapers, worked as a propagandist among workers, and organized strikes. This is what led to him becoming a politician.

Stalin and many other dictators at this time are becoming totalitarian dictators. This is because of many aspects about their lives they had and the state of the country they controlled. In Stalin’s case, Russia is in ruins and it is in chaos. He also has a life that molds him into a communist and paranoid person. He also using his administrative skills and maneuvering establishes a place for him in his party. So Stalin was successful in becoming a totalitarian dictator and turning Russia into a communist state because Russia was in chaos, he maneuvers to establish a powerful place in the communist party, and his reign of terror gets rid of all the enemies he has.

Stalin is successful in turning Russia into a communist state because Russia is in chaos. Russia was already in ...

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...r could oppose him was removed so he was left unchallenged. He also created a climate of fear to keep everyone in check.

Although it seems that he was a horrible leader, he did many things for Russia. He made Russia from being one of the weakest and rural country to being one of the most powerful and industrial country in the world. He stabilized the country. When he died, many people wept. They were sad that their leader had left them. Now it all depends on if the good outweighed the evil. He did do some good things but he also did very horrific things as well.

Bibliography

Joseph Stalin. 11/29/2006 http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/kbank/profiles/stalin/

“Stalin, Joseph Vissarionovich”. The Columbia Encyclopedia. Sixth Edition, 2006.

Cunningham, Kevin. Joseph Stalin and the Soviet Union. Greensboro, N.C.: M. Reynolds Pub., 2006.

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