Stalin: Life and Rise to Power

• Born near Tiflis, Georgia, Stalin was expelled from priest training for radical Marxist ideas.
• After joining the Bolsheviks, he was sent to Siberia in 1904 and played a minor role in the October Revolution.
• As General Secretary, he seized power after Lenin's death, expelling and exiling Trotsky.
• Stalin's policies included collectivisation and purges to eliminate opposition.
• In 1939, Stalin signed a nonaggression pact with Nazi Germany, but in 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Stalin joined the Allies to defeat Germany.

• After the war, Stalin imposed communist governments on Eastern Europe and initiated the Berlin Blockade in 1948, marking the start of the Cold War.
• Stalin's health deteriorated, and by his death in 1953, the Soviet Union was a nuclear power.

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1. Birth and Early Life: Joseph Stalin was born in 1878 in Gori, Georgia, then part of the Russian Empire. He was born Ioseb Besarionis dzе Jughashvili and later adopted the name Stalin, meaning "man of steel".

2. Early Political Involvement: In his early years, Stalin joined the revolutionary movement against the Tsarist regime. In 1903, he became a member of the Bolshevik Party, led by Vladimir Lenin.

3. Role in the Revolution: During the Russian Revolution of 1917, Stalin played a key role in the Bolshevik seizure of power. After the revolution, he held several important positions in the new Soviet government.

   Rise to Power: After Lenin died in 1924, Stalin gradually consolidated power, eventually becoming the undisputed leader of the Soviet Union by the end of the 1920s. He transformed the country into an industrial power but at a great human cost.

4. Five-Year Plans: Stalin introduced the Five-Year Plans aimed at rapid industrialisation and collectivisation of agriculture. These policies led to significant economic transformation but also widespread famine and death.

5. Great Purge: In the late 1930s, Stalin initiated the Great Purge (or Great Terror), a campaign of political repression, persecution, and executions to consolidate his power. Millions of people were killed or sent to labour camps.

6. World War II: During World War II, Stalin led the Soviet Union against Nazi Germany after the breakdown of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. His leadership was critical in the Allied victory.

7. Post-War Period: After the war, Stalin established Communist regimes in Eastern Europe, leading to the start of the Cold War. He also initiated various development projects within the Soviet Union.

8. Death: Stalin died in 1953 from a cerebral haemorrhage. His death marked the end of a totalitarian regime marked by widespread human rights abuses.

9. Legacy: Stalin's legacy is deeply controversial. He is credited with turning the Soviet Union into a global superpower but is also criticised for the brutal tactics he used to achieve this, including mass repressions, purges, forced displacements, and famines.

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