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{{Infobox revolutionary | |||
| name = Josef Stalin | | name = Josef Stalin | ||
| native_name = Иосиф Сталин<br>იოსებ სტალინი | | native_name = Иосиф Сталин<br>იოსებ სტალინი | ||
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Stalin's revolutionary activities can be traced to his time as a student after 1894, when he joined the Orthodox Theological Seminary in Tiflis.<ref>{{Citation|author=Marx-Engels-Lenin Institute|year=1949|title=Joseph Stalin: a political biography|page=5|quote=In the autumn of 1888 Stalin entered the church school in Gori, from which, in 1894, he passed to the Orthodox Theological Seminary in Tiflis. | Stalin's revolutionary activities can be traced to his time as a student after 1894, when he joined the Orthodox Theological Seminary in Tiflis.<ref>{{Citation|author=Marx-Engels-Lenin Institute|year=1949|title=Joseph Stalin: a political biography|page=5|quote=In the autumn of 1888 Stalin entered the church school in Gori, from which, in 1894, he passed to the Orthodox Theological Seminary in Tiflis. | ||
This was a period when, with the development of industrial capitalism and the attendant growth of the working-class movement, Marxism had begun to spread widely throughout Russia. The St. Petersburg League of Struggle for the Emancipation of the Working Class, founded and led by Lenin, had given a powerful stimulus to the Social-Democratic movement all over the country.|lg=https://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=26C959185500A43A5CFF3947ECEF2FCB}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|year=1931|title=[[Library:Stalin interview with Emil Ludwig|Stalin interview with Emil Ludwig]]|quote=I joined the revolutionary movement at the age of fifteen, when I became connected with certain illegal groups of Russian Marxists in Transcaucasia. These groups exerted a great influence on me and instilled in me a taste for illegal Marxian literature.}}</ref> In 1896 and 1897, Stalin was a part of Marxist study groups in the seminary, and in August 1898, he formally joined the Tiflis branch of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) and began to conduct [[propaganda]] work among the workers in the Tiflis railway workshops. An avid reader, he read ''[[Capital, vol. I|Capital]]'' and the ''[[Manifesto of the communist party]]'', written by [[Marx|Karl Marx]], subsequently taking a profound interest in [[Marxism]]. At that time, he became acquainted with some of Lenin's articles criticizing the [[Narodniks]] and the "Legal Marxists".<ref>{{Citation|author=Marx-Engels-Lenin Institute|year=1945|title=Joseph Stalin: a short biography|page=5|quote=Jn 1896 and 1897, Stalin | This was a period when, with the development of industrial capitalism and the attendant growth of the working-class movement, Marxism had begun to spread widely throughout Russia. The St. Petersburg League of Struggle for the Emancipation of the Working Class, founded and led by Lenin, had given a powerful stimulus to the Social-Democratic movement all over the country.|lg=https://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=26C959185500A43A5CFF3947ECEF2FCB}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|year=1931|title=[[Library:Stalin interview with Emil Ludwig|Stalin interview with Emil Ludwig]]|quote=I joined the revolutionary movement at the age of fifteen, when I became connected with certain illegal groups of Russian Marxists in Transcaucasia. These groups exerted a great influence on me and instilled in me a taste for illegal Marxian literature.}}</ref> In 1896 and 1897, Stalin was a part of Marxist study groups in the seminary, and in August 1898, he formally joined the Tiflis branch of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) and began to conduct [[propaganda]] work among the workers in the Tiflis railway workshops. An avid reader, he read ''[[Capital, vol. I|Capital]]'' and the ''[[Manifesto of the communist party]]'', written by [[Marx|Karl Marx]], subsequently taking a profound interest in [[Marxism]]. At that time, he became acquainted with some of Lenin's articles criticizing the [[Narodniks]] and the "Legal Marxists".<ref>{{Citation|author=Marx-Engels-Lenin Institute|year=1945|title=Joseph Stalin: a short biography|page=5|quote=Jn 1896 and 1897, Stalin conduoled Marxist study circles in the seminary, and in August 1898 he formally enrolled as a member of the Tiflis Branch of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party. [...] | ||
Stalin worked hard to broaden his knowledge. He studied Capital, the Communist Manifesto and other works of Marx and Engels. He acquainted himself with Lenin's polemical writings against Narodism, "Legal Marxism" and "Economism." His theoretical interests were extremely broad. He studied philosophy, political economy, history and natural science. He read widely in the classics. He thus trained himself to he an educated Marxist. Even at this early date Lenin's writings made a deep impression on him. "I must meet him | Stalin worked hard to broaden his knowledge. He studied Capital, the Communist Manifesto and other works of Marx and Engels. He acquainted himself with Lenin's polemical writings against Narodism, "Legal Marxism" and "Economism." His theoretical interests were extremely broad. He studied philosophy, political economy, history and natural science. He read widely in the classics. He thus trained himself to he an educated Marxist. Even at this early date Lenin's writings made a deep impression on him. "I must meet him al all costs," one of Stalin's friends. reports him to have said. after reading an article by Tulin (Lenin).|lg=https://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=034C4C1A4DBC437BC939DCF13A1D9EBD}}</ref> In 1899, Stalin was expelled from the seminary for the propaganda of Marxism, and he went to an illegal position and became a professional revolutionary. | ||
=== Beginning of revolutionary activities (1900–1917) === | === Beginning of revolutionary activities (1900–1917) === | ||
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=== Civil War (1918–1920) === | === Civil War (1918–1920) === | ||
In summer 1919, the Central Committee sent Stalin, [[Kliment Voroshilov|Voroshilov]], [[Sergo Orjonikidze|Orjonikidze]], and [[Semyon Budyonny|Budyonny]] to the southern front, where he organized an attack against [[Anton Denikin]] from the [[Donbass]]. The [[Workers' and Peasants' Red Army|Red Army]] defeated Denikin in October 1919 and liberated all of [[Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (1919–1991)|Ukraine]] by early 1920.<ref>{{Citation|author=Joseph Stalin|year=1939|title=History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Bolsheviks)|chapter= | In summer 1919, the Central Committee sent Stalin, [[Kliment Voroshilov|Voroshilov]], [[Sergo Orjonikidze|Orjonikidze]], and [[Semyon Budyonny|Budyonny]] to the southern front, where he organized an attack against [[Anton Denikin]] from the [[Donbass]]. The [[Workers' and Peasants' Red Army|Red Army]] defeated Denikin in October 1919 and liberated all of [[Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (1919–1991)|Ukraine]] by early 1920.<ref>{{Citation|author=Joseph Stalin|year=1939|title=History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Bolsheviks)|chapter=The Bolshevik Party in the Period of Foreign Military Intervention and Civil War|mia=https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1939/x01/ch03.htm|chapter-url=https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1939/x01/ch08.htm}}</ref> | ||
=== Establishment of the USSR (1921–1924) === | === Establishment of the USSR (1921–1924) === | ||
[[File:Stalin painting 1920s.png|thumb|270x270px|Painting of Stalin from the 1920s]] | [[File:Stalin painting 1920s.png|thumb|270x270px|Painting of Stalin from the 1920s]] | ||
After the defeat of the interventionists and the [[Russian Civil War| | After the defeat of the interventionists and the [[Russian Civil War|civil war]], when in connection with the transition to a peaceful economic construction of the anti-party groups launched a struggle against the party line developed by Lenin, Stalin defended the [[Leninist]] line and fought against anti-party groups and factions ([[Trotskyism|Trotskyists]], "workers' opposition"). At the 10th Congress of the Party (1921) Stalin presented "The Report on the next tasks of the Party in the [[national question]]". After the 11th Party Congress (1922) the Plenum of the Party Central Committee elected Joseph Stalin as the Secretary General of the Central Committee. | ||
Under the leadership of V. I. Lenin, the Party during this period carried out extensive work on the creation of the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1922–1991)|Union of Soviet Socialist Republics]]. Lenin believed that the USSR should be a voluntary union of equal and sovereign [[Soviet republic|union republics]]. On this question, Stalin at first took the wrong stand, putting forward the project of so-called "autonomization", i.e., the entry into the RSFSR of other Soviet republics on the rights of autonomous units. V. I. Lenin strongly opposed this proposal, criticized Stalin's mistakes in conducting the national policy, his partiality to the manifestations of great-power [[chauvinism]]. The Leninist principles were accepted by the Central Committee and formed the basis of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The report on the formation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1922) was made at the 1st Congress of Soviets of the USSR by the order of the Central Committee of the RCP(b) by I.V. Stalin in view of Lenin's illness. | Under the leadership of V. I. Lenin, the Party during this period carried out extensive work on the creation of the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1922–1991)|Union of Soviet Socialist Republics]]. Lenin believed that the USSR should be a voluntary union of equal and sovereign [[Soviet republic|union republics]]. On this question, Stalin at first took the wrong stand, putting forward the project of so-called "autonomization", i.e., the entry into the RSFSR of other Soviet republics on the rights of autonomous units. V. I. Lenin strongly opposed this proposal, criticized Stalin's mistakes in conducting the national policy, his partiality to the manifestations of great-power [[chauvinism]]. The Leninist principles were accepted by the Central Committee and formed the basis of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The report on the formation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1922) was made at the 1st Congress of Soviets of the USSR by the order of the Central Committee of the RCP(b) by I.V. Stalin in view of Lenin's illness. | ||
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==== Death ==== | ==== Death ==== | ||
Stalin's health declined during the early 1950s due to overwork during the war. He rejected to take a break in the autumn or winter of 1952, despite recommendations from doctors.<ref name=":2" /> In the last few months before his death, his security was dismantled. [[Alexander Proskryobychev|Proskryobychev]], Stalin's personal secretary since 1928, was put under house arrest, and [[Nikolai Vlasik]], Stalin's bodyguard, was arrested in December 1952 and died in prison. [[Pyotr Kosynkin]], Vice-Commander of the Kremlin Guard, died of a supposed heart attack on 17 February 1953. [[Lavrentiy Beria|Beria]] was the only one capable of such a plot, and [[Vyacheslav Molotov|Molotov]] suspected that MVD chief [[Lavrentiy Beria|Beria]] poisoned Stalin, while [[Enver Hoxha|Hoxha]] believed [[Nikita Khrushchev|Khrushchev]] and [[Anastas Mikoyan|Mikoyan]] had planned to assassinate him. | Stalin's health declined during the early 1950s due to overwork during the war. He rejected to take a break in the autumn or winter of 1952, despite recommendations from doctors.<ref name=":2" /> In the last few months before his death, his security was dismantled. [[Alexander Proskryobychev|Proskryobychev]], Stalin's personal secretary since 1928, was put under house arrest, and [[Nikolai Vlasik]], Stalin's bodyguard, was arrested in December 1952 and died in prison. [[Pyotr Kosynkin]], Vice-Commander of the Kremlin Guard, died of a supposed heart attack on 17 February 1953. [[Lavrentiy Beria|Beria]] was the only one capable of such a plot, and [[Vyacheslav Molotov|Molotov]] suspected that MVD chief [[Lavrentiy Beria|Beria]] poisoned Stalin, while [[Enver Hoxha|Hoxha]] believed [[Nikita Khrushchev|Khrushchev]] and [[Anastas Mikoyan|Mikoyan]] had planned to assassinate him. | ||
On 1 March 1953, at 23:00 Stalin's guards found him unconscious in his room but did not call a doctor. He did not receive first aid until twelve hours after his collapse and died on 5 March.<ref name=":02233232" /> | On 1 March 1953, at 23:00 Stalin's guards found him unconscious in his room but did not call a doctor. He did not receive first aid until twelve hours after his collapse and died on 5 March.<ref name=":02233232" /> | ||
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===Antisemitism=== | ===Antisemitism=== | ||
While anti-semitism has been a historical tool of the [[Far-right politics|far-right]] and [[Fascism|fascists]] in particular, " | While anti-semitism has been a historical tool of the [[Far-right politics|far-right]] and [[Fascism|fascists]] in particular, "Judeo-Bolshevism" and "cultural bolshevism" being classic fascist [[Conspiracy theory|conspiracy theories]] linking the communist movement with fictional [[Judaism|Jewish]] cabals plotting world domination or ethnic domination, some historians still claim that Stalin too was an [[Anti-Semitism|anti-Semite]]. While [[Russian Empire (1721–1917)|Russia]] had a long and troubled history with [[Mikhail Bakunin|anti-Semitism]] before revolution, there is no evidence that Stalin held these views. The below letter from Stalin opposes this notion. | ||
{{Quote|In answer to your inquiry: | {{Quote|In answer to your inquiry: | ||
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=== Autocratic rule === | === Autocratic rule === | ||
It is accepted in bourgeois circles that Stalin was a dictator who imposed his personal will on the entire country. However, during the Great Patriotic War, the Politburo and military leadership made collective decisions. If they could not agree, they would create a commission of opposing sides to create a proposal. Stalin, as Commander in Chief of the Red Army, took his generals' opinions into account and listened to their advice.<ref name=":0223323" /> The CIA itself admitted in now-declassified documents that the USSR always operated under collective leadership, and that Stalin was not the 'dictator' that the Western powers portrayed him to be.<ref name=":0">{{Web citation|newspaper=Central Intelligence Agency|title=Comments in the Change in Soviet Leadership|date=2008-02-26|url=https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP80-00810A006000360009-0 | It is accepted in bourgeois circles that Stalin was a dictator who imposed his personal will on the entire country. However, during the Great Patriotic War, the Politburo and military leadership made collective decisions. If they could not agree, they would create a commission of opposing sides to create a proposal. Stalin, as Commander in Chief of the Red Army, took his generals' opinions into account and listened to their advice.<ref name=":0223323" /> The CIA itself admitted in now-declassified documents that the USSR always operated under collective leadership, and that Stalin was not the 'dictator' that the Western powers portrayed him to be.<ref name=":0">{{Web citation|newspaper=Central Intelligence Agency|title=Comments in the Change in Soviet Leadership|date=2008-02-26|url=https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP80-00810A006000360009-0.pdf|quote=Even in Stalin's time there was collective leadership. The western idea of a dictator within the communist setup is exaggerated. Misunderstandings on that subject are caused by lack of comprehension of the real nature and organization of the Communist power structure.}}</ref> | ||
Stalin was elected Chairman of the CPSU several times by the Plenum of the Central Committee.<ref name=":1" /> He also tried to resign four times, but each time was turned down by the Central Committee.<ref>{{Web citation|newspaper=Socialist Musings|title=Stalin’s Four Attempts at Resignation|date=2017-02-23|url=https://socialistmlmusings.wordpress.com/2017/02/23/stalins-four-attempts-at-resignation/}}</ref> | Stalin was elected Chairman of the CPSU several times by the Plenum of the Central Committee.<ref name=":1" /> He also tried to resign four times, but each time was turned down by the Central Committee.<ref>{{Web citation|newspaper=Socialist Musings|title=Stalin’s Four Attempts at Resignation|date=2017-02-23|url=https://socialistmlmusings.wordpress.com/2017/02/23/stalins-four-attempts-at-resignation/}}</ref> | ||
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== See also == | == See also == | ||
[[Quotes:Joseph Stalin]] | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
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=== Notes === | === Notes === | ||
<references group="lower-alpha" /> | <references group="lower-alpha" /> | ||
[[Category:Joseph Stalin]] | [[Category:Joseph Stalin]] | ||
[[Category:Marxist theorists]] | [[Category:Marxist theorists]] | ||
[[Category:Former heads of state]] | |||
[[Category:Targets of bourgeois media]] | |||
[[Category:Russian Marxists]] | [[Category:Russian Marxists]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:Communist leaders]] |