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Josef Stalin (1879-1953)Russian dictator. Born on 21 December 1879 in Georgia, Iosef Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili was educated at a church school and Orthodox seminary in Tbilisi, from which he was expelled for his revolutionary views in 1899. After being active in various Marxist groups, he joined the radical Bolshevik faction within the Social Democratic party in 1903. More a man of action than a thinker, he robbed banks to fund the party and then became involved in publishing its newspaper Pravda (Truth). Arrested in 1913, he was sent to Siberia, returning after the February Revolution of 1917. His efficiency and ability to work with people meant rapid promotion, and on 3 April 1922, Lenin appointed him general secretary of the Communist party. He built up a personal power base, and in the struggles for leadership during the last year of Lenin's life, he secured his position. By 1927, Stalin had eliminated his opponents, and silenced dissent in society at large. His fanatical idea that Communism could only be achieved by abolishing all forms of private property led to the first Five Year Plan (1928-33), which involved persecuting kulaks (peasant owners) and using slave labour for building up industry. His persecution of 'bourgeois elements' (managers and professionals) and purges of party members created an atmosphere of terror in the Soviet Union, and undermined economic progress. In the countryside, there was mass starvation, and in the cities, the population was ruled by the secret police. As Stalin tightened his grip on absolute power, ruthlessly disposing of former friends and allies and creating massive labour camps (gulags) for imprisoned dissidents, he needed international security. In 1939, he made a non-aggression pact with Adolf Hitler, which many historians believe he did to give him time to prepare for the inevitable invasion by the Nazis. On the outbreak of World War II, he invaded Poland and the Baltic republics. Then Hitler attacked the Soviet Union in 1941. After his initial panic, Stalin rallied and led the country against the Nazi invader, becoming a national hero and encouraging the cult of personality. After the war, he used the chaotic situation to transplant millions of different nationalities within the Soviet Union, thus breaking up communities of resistance. By 1948, he had occupied the Baltic states and eastern Europe, becoming paranoid about enemies within and without the country. One of the most ruthless and brutal dictators of the 20th century, he was planning another purge when he died on 5 March 1953. |
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