Joseph Stalin

Joseph Stalin is a former Soviet dictator and former General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee. He lead the soviet union from 1924 to 1957, until his death. He modernized infrastructure, and prepared the nation for World War II. He is criticized for causing famines due to farm collectivization and being a ruthless leader. He is credited with making the USSR a superpower. He remains one of the most known figures of Russia, even though he was Georgian.

1. 1894: Receives scholarship to Tbilisi Theological Seminary
2. 1903: Inspired by Lenin, becomes a Bolshevik
3. 1919: Elected political commissar of Red Army
4. 1929: Following Bolshevik victory in Civil War and Lenin's death, Stalin becomes dictator of USSR
5. 1936-1938: The "Great Purge"
6. 1945: Nazis retreat from Russia, Stalin establishes "Iron Curtain" over Eastern Europe

During the so-called Great Purge that was set in motion during the 1930s, Stalin brutally eliminated all potential political rivals to maintain a complete hold on his dictatorship in the USSR. The campaign, sometimes referred to as the "Soviet Holocaust" or "The Great Terror," has death estimates ranging from around 700,000 into the millions. There is no known exact number of people killed.

• Google News

• 

  Portrait of Joseph Stalin (Photo from Wikimedia Commons)

• Google Image search: Joseph Stalin

• Yahoo! Image Search: Joseph Stalin

• University of Pittsburgh: Joseph Stalin Images

• YouTube & Google Video: Joseph Stalin Search

• YouTube: USSR National Anthem with Joseph Stalin (Time: 4:03)

• YouTube: Josef Stalin and the Soviet Red Army (Time: 2:41)

• YouTube: Declassified, Joseph Stalin (Time: 00:49)

• December 18, 1878: born

• 1907: Attends the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party

• 1917: Is the editor of Pravda

• 1917-1923: Serves as People's Commisar of Nationalities Affairs

• 1922: Is made General Secretary of the Bolsheviks

• 1930: Writes Dizzy With Success

• 1936-1938: Achieves absolute power during the Great Purge

• 1939: Prepares the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact with Nazi Germany

• 1940: Katyn Massacre kills 25,000 Polish activists

• 1941: Meets with Winston Churchill and Roosevelt to plan his military strategy

• 1948: Supports the creation of Israel

• 1950: Signs the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship

• March 5, 1953: dies under suspicious circumstances