Joseph Stalin essays

Joseph Stalin essays When most people see or hear the name Joseph Stalin, they most commonly associate it with a violent and ruthless political leader of the Soviet Union who managed to send more Russians to their deaths than Hitler did Jews. Aside from this fact, most individuals know very little about Joseph Stalin and his rule over the Soviet Union. As surprising as it may (or may not) be, Stalin did much more than killing during his reign. In a matter of years he was able to transform Russia from a struggling nation into a world super-power. Despite Stalin's infamous reputation as a mass murderer and a fearful ruler, his economic and political achievements in Russia have made him one of the best socialist communist rulers of the 20th century. Joseph Stalin was born Joseph Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili on Dec 21st 1879 in Gori, Georgia of the Soviet Union to Vissarion (Beso) and Ekaterina Dzhugashvili. His parents were peasants who made little money. Joseph was routinely beat by his father in order to be "taught lessons" (this practice was not uncommon at this time). Joseph's father, Vissarion, abandoned the family and left for Tiflis. Joseph was enrolled in the Gori seminary at the age of eleven by his mother where he studied Russian Orthodox Christianity until he was nearly twenty years of age. Joseph involved himself in the socialist movement while enrolled in seminary school. Joseph spent a decade working in the political underground and constantly faced arrest and exile to Siberia. In 1912 he was elected to the Central Committee of Vladimir Lenin's ( first leader of Soviet Union) Bolshevik party. In 1913 he took on the surname Stalin after adapting it from the nickname "Stal", meaning "man of steel". After holding several high level administrative positions within the Soviet Union, he was elected to the office of General Secretary of the Communist Party. Stalin eventually built this position up as the most powerful position in the county, which p...