Joseph Stalin – “Man of Steel” (1879-1953)

1. Joseph Stalin – “Man of Steel”(1879-1953) • Joseph Stalin was born on December 21, 1879 in Gori, Georgia (in the Soviet Union) • His original birth name IosefVissarionovichZhugashvili. • He was the fourth son of a peasant mother who’s other three children died in birth. • His mother was very religious and his father was abusive. As a child she encouraged him to become a priest.

2. Joseph Stalin (1879-1953) Joseph Stalin – after taking control of the Soviet Union

3. Early Life • Stalin’s mother highly encouraged him to become a priest as a teenager. • When the time came around, Stalin had received a full scholarship to a Seminary • Throughout his schooling, Stalin became more interested in joining secretive gangs. • Before he could graduate, Stalin was expelled for trying to convince fellow students to follow Marxism.

4. Participating in Politics • In later years Stalin took a great interest in politics and the way the government had been run. • It was obvious that Stalin had taken interest in becoming an important role in the Soviet Union. • Vladimir Lenin did not like Stalin much and informed party leaders about his doubts, but Stalin was never removed from the political party. • Around this time in interest, Stalin began seeking followers to help him plot a takeover.

5. Russia Takeover • Stalin participated in many secret gangs and built up power to overthrow the Russian government. • Stalin gained trust within the political party and used the power of elected officials to build up his own. • Stalin had planned to take over the Soviet Union after Lenin’s death, and that’s exactly what he did. • At this point in time, Stalin had millions of followers, he had participated in many secret meetings and conferences. • Recruiting was easy due to using the Red Army to threaten people to follow Stalin’s rule.

6. World War II • Before the war broke out, Stalin had completely industrialized Russia during his 5 year plan. • A city once called Tsaritsyn was renamed Stalingrad after it had become the largest industrial city benefiting from his economy and industry boom. • When war arrived, the Red Army was ready; the economy was in great condition and there was mass-production on weapons. • America and Britain teamed up with Stalin to defend against Germany. President Franklin and Winston Churchill met with Stalin to discuss the new team.

7. Joseph Stalin (1879-1953) November 28, 1943 This is a photograph of Joseph Stalin, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill meeting for the first time in Teheran, Iran.

8. Compromise with Hitler • As Hitler became more of a threat, Stalin became paranoid and nervous that Hitler would take over his rule. • Stalin at this point was extremely nervous of people overthrowing his command. He led to the death of about 20 million people including important officers and political leaders who he thought were a threat to him. • Hitler’s Germany composed a non-aggression pact to Russia so that they wouldn’t be involved in a two-front war. • This pact gave great relief to Stalin but after a month Hitler lost his word and attacked.

9. Victory • Even though Stalin’s army was strong, it has still lost power when he had all his military officials killed. • Stalin set extremely important and trusted commanders in charge of the military. • After being attacked by Hitler in Stalingrad, Stalin’s army beat Germany and started invading East Germany. • After the invasion, Russia took over the German city Berlin and built up its empire.

10. Death • After serving his country for almost 30 years, Stalin died on March 5, 1953. • Stalin suffered an extreme stroke which led to a brain hemorrhage and death soon later. • While sick, he accused 9 doctors of trying to poison him and kill him. These doctors were arrested and tortured then later tried for murder, when Stalin was already dead. • Stalin’s body was put on display then later put in the tomb on Vladimir Lenin. But 8 years later the government had removed the body.

11. Bibliography • BOOK CITATIONS • Lourie, Richard. The Autobiography of Joseph Stalin: a Novel. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo, 2000. Print. • Egan, David R., and Melinda A. Egan. Joseph Stalin: an Annotated Bibliography of English-language Periodical Literature to 2005. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 2007. Print. • INTERNET CITATION • "WWII Behind Closed Doors: Stalin, the Nazis and the West . Biographies . Joseph Stalin | PBS." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Web. 07 Feb. 2011. <http://www.pbs.org/behindcloseddoors/biographies/stalin.html>.