Where did Stalin study? Joseph Stalin - biography, photo, personal life. Joseph Stalin - biography

Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (real name - Dzhugashvili, Georgian იოსებ ჯუღაშვილი). Born on December 6 (18), 1878 (according to the official version, December 9 (21), 1879) in Gori (Tiflis province, Russian Empire) - died on March 5, 1953 in the village. Volynskoye (Kuntsevo district, Moscow region). Russian revolutionary, Soviet political, state, military and party leader. From the late 1920s until his death, the permanent leader of the Soviet state.

Joseph Dzhugashvili was born on December 6 (18 according to the new style) 1878 in Gori, Tiflis province.

For a long time it was believed that he was born on December 9 (21), 1879, but later researchers established the real date of birth of Joseph Stalin: December 6 (18), 1878. The date of his baptism, December 17 (29), 1878, also became known.

Born into a Georgian family that belonged to the lower class. A number of sources express versions about the Ossetian origin of Stalin’s ancestors.

Father- Vissarion (Beso) Dzhugashvili, came from peasants in the village of Didi-Lilo, Tiflis province, and was a shoemaker by profession.

A lover of drink, in fits of rage he brutally beat his wife Catherine and little Coco (Joseph). There was a case when a child tried to protect his mother from being beaten. He threw a knife at Vissarion and took off running. According to the recollections of the son of a policeman in Gori, another time Vissarion burst into the house where Ekaterina and little Coco were and attacked them with beatings, causing a head injury to the child.

Mother- Ekaterina Georgievna - came from the family of a serf peasant (gardener) Geladze in the village of Gambareuli, worked as a day laborer. She was a hard-working Puritan woman who often beat her only surviving child, but was infinitely devoted to him.

Stalin’s childhood friend David Machavariani said that “Kato surrounded Joseph with excessive maternal love and, like a she-wolf, protected him from everyone and everything. She worked herself to the point of exhaustion to make her darling happy.” Catherine, however, according to some historians, was disappointed that her son never became a priest.

Joseph was the third son in the family; the first two died in infancy. Some time after Joseph's birth, things didn't go well for his father, and he started drinking. The family often changed housing. Ultimately, Vissarion left his wife and tried to take his son, but Catherine did not give him up.

When Coco was eleven years old, Vissarion “died in a drunken brawl - someone hit him with a knife.”

In 1886, Ekaterina Georgievna wanted to enroll Joseph to study at the Gori Orthodox Theological School, however, since he did not know the Russian language at all, he was unable to enroll.

In 1886-1888, at the request of his mother, the children of the priest Christopher Charkviani began teaching Joseph Russian. As a result, in 1888, Soso did not enter the first preparatory class at the school, but immediately entered the second preparatory class, and in September of the following year he entered the first class of the school, which he graduated in June 1894.

In September 1894, Joseph passed the entrance exams and was enrolled in the Orthodox Tiflis Theological Seminary. There he first became acquainted with Marxism and by the beginning of 1895 he came into contact with underground groups of revolutionary Marxists expelled by the government to Transcaucasia.

Subsequently, Stalin himself recalled: “I joined the revolutionary movement at the age of 15, when I contacted underground groups of Russian Marxists who then lived in Transcaucasia. These groups had a great influence on me and gave me a taste for underground Marxist literature."

Stalin was an extremely gifted student who received high marks in all subjects: mathematics, theology, Greek, Russian. Stalin liked poetry, and in his youth he himself wrote poems in Georgian, which attracted the attention of connoisseurs.

In 1931, in an interview with the German writer Emil Ludwig, when asked “What prompted you to be an oppositionist?” Perhaps bad treatment from parents?” Stalin replied: “No. My parents treated me quite well. Another thing is the theological seminary where I studied then. Out of protest against the mocking regime and the Jesuit methods that existed in the seminary, I was ready to become and actually became a revolutionary, a supporter of Marxism...”

In 1898, Dzhugashvili gained experience as a propagandist at a meeting with workers at the apartment of the revolutionary Vano Sturua and soon began to lead a workers’ circle of young railway workers, he began teaching classes in several workers’ circles and even drew up a Marxist training program for them.

In August of the same 1898, Joseph joined the Georgian social democratic organization “Mesame-Dasi” (“Third Group”). Together with V.Z. Ketskhoveli and A.G. Tsulukidze, Dzhugashvili forms the core of the revolutionary minority of this organization, the majority of which stood on the positions of “legal Marxism” and was inclined towards nationalism.

On May 29, 1899, in the fifth year of study, he was expelled from the seminary “for failure to appear for exams for an unknown reason” (probably the actual reason for the expulsion was Joseph Dzhugashvili’s activities in promoting Marxism among seminarians and workers in railway workshops). The certificate issued to him stated that he had completed four classes and could serve as a teacher in primary public schools.

After being expelled from the seminary, Dzhugashvili spent some time as a tutor. Among his students, in particular, was his closest childhood friend Simon Ter-Petrosyan (future revolutionary Kamo).

From the end of December 1899, Dzhugashvili was accepted into the Tiflis Physical Observatory as a computer-observer.

On April 23, 1900, Joseph Dzhugashvili, Vano Sturua and Zakro Chodrishvili organized a work day, which brought together 400-500 workers. Joseph himself spoke at the meeting among others. This speech was Stalin's first appearance before a large gathering of people.

In August of the same year, Dzhugashvili participated in the preparation and conduct of a major action by Tiflis workers - a strike in the Main Railway Workshops. Revolutionary workers took part in organizing workers’ protests: M. I. Kalinin (exiled from St. Petersburg to the Caucasus), S. Ya. Alliluyev, as well as M. Z. Bochoridze, A. G. Okuashvili, V. F. Sturua. From August 1 to August 15, up to four thousand people took part in the strike. As a result, more than five hundred strikers were arrested.

On March 21, 1901, the police searched the physical observatory where Dzhugashvili lived and worked. He himself, however, avoided arrest and went underground, becoming an underground revolutionary.

In September 1901, the illegal newspaper Brdzola (Struggle) began printing at the Nina printing house, organized by Lado Ketskhoveli in Baku. The front page of the first issue belonged to twenty-two-year-old Joseph Dzhugashvili. This article is Stalin's first known political work.

In November 1901, he was included in the Tiflis Committee of the RSDLP, on whose instructions in the same month he was sent to Batum, where he participated in the creation of the Social Democratic Party organization.

After the Russian Social Democrats split into Bolsheviks and Mensheviks in 1903, Stalin joined the Bolsheviks.

In December 1905, a delegate from the Caucasian Union of the RSDLP at the First Conference of the RSDLP in Tammerfors (Finland), where I first met in person.

In May 1906, a delegate from Tiflis at the IV Congress of the RSDLP in Stockholm, this was his first trip abroad.

On the night of July 16, 1906, in the Tiflis Church of St. David, Joseph Dzhugashvili married Ekaterina Svanidze. From this marriage, Stalin's first son, Yakov, was born in 1907. At the end of the same year, Stalin's wife died of typhus.

In 1907, Stalin was a delegate to the V Congress of the RSDLP in London.

According to a number of historians, Stalin was involved in the so-called. “Tiflis expropriation” in the summer of 1907 (the stolen (expropriated) money was intended for the needs of the party).

Since 1910, Stalin has been the representative of the Central Committee of the party (“agent of the Central Committee”) for the Caucasus.

In January 1912, at the plenum of the Central Committee of the RSDLP, which took place after the VI (Prague) All-Russian Conference of the RSDLP, which took place in the same month, at the suggestion of Lenin, Stalin was co-opted in absentia into the Central Committee and the Russian Bureau of the Central Committee of the RSDLP.

In 1912-1913, while working in St. Petersburg, he was one of the main employees in the first mass Bolshevik newspaper Pravda.

In 1912, Joseph Dzhugashvili finally adopted the pseudonym “Stalin”.

In March 1913, Stalin was once again arrested, imprisoned and exiled to the Turukhansk region of the Yenisei province, where he remained until the end of autumn 1916. In exile he corresponded with Lenin.

Having gained freedom as a result of the February Revolution, Stalin returned to St. Petersburg. Before Lenin’s arrival from exile, he was one of the leaders of the Central Committee of the RSDLP and the St. Petersburg Committee of the Bolshevik Party, and was on the editorial board of the newspaper Pravda.

At first, Stalin supported the Provisional Government, based on the fact that the democratic revolution was not yet complete and overthrowing the government was not a practical task. At the All-Russian meeting of the Bolsheviks on March 28 in Petrograd, during a discussion of the Menshevik initiative on the possibility of reunification into a single party, Stalin noted that “unification is possible along the Zimmerwald-Kinthal line.” However, after Lenin returned to Russia, Stalin supported his slogan of transforming the “bourgeois-democratic” February revolution into a proletarian socialist revolution.

April 14 - 22 was a delegate to the First Petrograd City Conference of Bolsheviks. On April 24 - 29, at the VII All-Russian Conference of the RSDLP(b), he spoke in the debate on the report on the current situation, supported Lenin’s views, and made a report on the national question; was elected a member of the Central Committee of the RSDLP(b).

In May - June he participated in anti-war propaganda; was one of the organizers of the re-election of the Soviets and participated in the municipal campaign in Petrograd. June 3 - 24 participated as a delegate in the First All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies; was elected a member of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and a member of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee Bureau from the Bolshevik faction. Also participated in the preparation of the failed demonstration scheduled for June 10 and the demonstration on June 18; published a number of articles in the newspapers Pravda and Soldatskaya Pravda.

Due to Lenin's forced departure into hiding, Stalin spoke at the VI Congress of the RSDLP(b) (July - August 1917) with a report to the Central Committee. At a meeting of the Central Committee of the RSDLP(b) on August 5, he was elected a member of the narrow composition of the Central Committee. In August - September he mainly carried out organizational and journalistic work. On October 10, at a meeting of the Central Committee of the RSDLP (b), he voted for the resolution on an armed uprising and was elected a member of the Political Bureau, created “for political leadership in the near future.”

On the night of October 16, at an extended meeting of the Central Committee, he spoke out against the position of L. B. Kamenev and G. E. Zinoviev, who voted against the decision to revolt, and at the same time he was elected a member of the Military Revolutionary Center, which joined the Petrograd Military Revolutionary Committee.

On October 24 (November 6), after the cadets destroyed the printing house of the newspaper Pravda, Stalin ensured the publication of a newspaper in which he published the editorial “What do we need?” calling for the overthrow of the Provisional Government and its replacement by a Soviet government elected by "representatives of workers, soldiers and peasants." On the same day, Stalin and Trotsky held a meeting of the Bolsheviks - delegates of the 2nd All-Russian Congress of Soviets of the RSD, at which Stalin made a report on the course of political events. On the night of October 25 (November 7) - participated in a meeting of the Central Committee of the RSDLP (b), which determined the structure and name of the new Soviet government.

After the victory of the October Revolution, Stalin entered the Council of People's Commissars (SNK) as the People's Commissar for Nationalities (at the end of 1912-1913, Stalin wrote the article “Marxism and the National Question” and from that time was considered an expert on national problems).

On November 29, Stalin joined the Bureau of the Central Committee of the RSDLP(b), together with Lenin and Sverdlov. This body was given “the right to resolve all emergency matters, but with the mandatory involvement of all members of the Central Committee who were in Smolny at that moment in the decision.”

From October 8, 1918 to July 8, 1919 and from May 18, 1920 to April 1, 1922, Stalin was a member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the RSFSR. Stalin was also a member of the Revolutionary Military Councils of the Western, Southern, and Southwestern Fronts.

During the Civil War, Stalin gained extensive experience in the military-political leadership of large masses of troops on many fronts (defense of Tsaritsyn, Petrograd, on the fronts against, Wrangel, the White Poles, etc.).

As many researchers note, during the defense of Tsaritsyn, Stalin and Voroshilov had a personal quarrel with the People’s Commissar for Military Trotsky. The parties made accusations against each other. In response, Trotsky accused Stalin and Voroshilov of insubordination, in response receiving reproaches for excessive trust in “counter-revolutionary” military experts.

In 1919, Stalin was ideologically close to the “military opposition”, condemned personally by Lenin at the Eighth Congress of the RCP (b), but never officially joined it.

Under the influence of the leaders of the Caucasian Bureau, Ordzhonikidze and Kirov, Stalin in 1921 advocated the Sovietization of Georgia.

At the Plenum of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) on April 3, 1922, Stalin was elected to the Politburo and Organizing Bureau of the Central Committee of the RCP (b), as well as General Secretary of the Central Committee of the RCP (b). Initially, this position meant only the leadership of the party apparatus, and the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR, Lenin, continued to be perceived by everyone as the leader of the party and government.

Since 1922, due to illness, Lenin actually retired from political activity. Within the Politburo, Stalin, Zinoviev and Kamenev organized a “troika” based on opposition to Trotsky. All three party leaders at that time held a number of key positions. Zinoviev headed the influential Leningrad party organization, at the same time being the chairman of the Executive Committee of the Comintern. Kamenev headed the Moscow party organization and at the same time also led the Council of Labor and Defense, which united a number of key people's commissariats. With Lenin's retreat from political activity, it was Kamenev who most often began to chair meetings of the Council of People's Commissars in his place. Stalin united the leadership of both the Secretariat and the Organizing Bureau of the Central Committee, also heading the Rabkrin and the People's Commissariat of Nationalities.

In contrast to the Troika, Trotsky led the Red Army in the key positions of the People's Commissar for Military and Marine Affairs and the Pre-Revolutionary Military Council.

In September 1922, Stalin proposed a plan for “autonomization” (the inclusion of the outskirts into the RSFSR on the basis of autonomy), in particular Georgia was to remain part of the Transcaucasian Republic. This plan met with fierce resistance in Ukraine, and especially in Georgia, and was rejected under pressure from Lenin personally. The outskirts became part of the Soviet federation with the rights of union republics with all the attributes of statehood, however, under the conditions of a one-party system they were fictitious. From the name of the federation itself (“USSR”) the word “Russian” (“Russian”), and geographical names in general, were removed.

At the end of December 1922 - beginning of January 1923, Lenin dictated a “Letter to the Congress”, in which he gave critical characteristics to his closest party comrades, including Stalin, proposing to remove him from the post of General Secretary. The situation was aggravated by the fact that in the last months of Lenin’s life there was a personal quarrel between Stalin and N.K. Krupskaya.

The letter was announced among members of the Central Committee on the eve of the XIII Congress of the RCP (b), held in May 1924. Stalin submitted his resignation, but it was not accepted. At the congress, the letter was read out to each delegation, but at the end of the congress, Stalin remained in his position.

After the XIII Congress (1924), at which Trotsky suffered a crushing defeat, Stalin began an attack on his former allies in the Troika. After the “literary discussion with Trotskyism” (1924), Trotsky was forced to resign from the post of the pre-revolutionary military council. Following this, Stalin’s bloc with Zinoviev and Kamenev completely collapsed.

At the XIV Congress (December 1925) the so-called “Leningrad opposition”, also known as the “platform of 4”, was condemned: Zinoviev, Kamenev, People’s Commissar of Finance Sokolnikov and N.K. Krupskaya (a year later they left the opposition). To fight them, Stalin chose to rely on one of the largest party theorists of that time, N.I. Bukharin, and those close to him, Rykov and Tomsky (later - “right deviationists”).

The congress itself took place in an atmosphere of noisy scandals and obstruction. The parties accused each other of various deviations (Zinoviev accused the Stalin-Bukharin group of “semi-Trotskyism” and “kulak deviation,” especially focusing on the slogan “Get rich”; in return, he received accusations of “Axelrodism” and “underestimation of the middle peasants”), used directly opposite quotes from Lenin's rich heritage. Directly opposite accusations of purges and counter-purges were also used; Zinoviev was directly accused of turning into the “governor” of Leningrad, of purging from the Leningrad delegation all persons who had the reputation of “Stalinists.”

Kamenev’s statement that “Comrade Stalin cannot fulfill the role of a unifier of the Bolshevik headquarters” was interrupted by mass shouts from the place: “The cards have been revealed!”, “We will not give you commanding heights!”, “Stalin! Stalin!”, “This is where the party united! The Bolshevik headquarters must unite!”, “Long live the Central Committee! Hooray!".

Trotsky, who did not share Stalin’s theory of the victory of socialism in one country, in April 1926 joined Zinoviev and Kamenev. The so-called “United Opposition” was created, putting forward the slogan “let’s move the fire to the right - against the NEPman, the kulak and the bureaucrat.”

In 1926-27, intra-party relations became particularly tense. Stalin slowly but surely squeezed the opposition out of the legal field. Among his political opponents were many people with rich experience in pre-revolutionary underground activities.

To publish propaganda literature, the oppositionists created an illegal printing house. On the anniversary of the October Revolution on November 7, 1927, they held a “parallel” opposition demonstration. These actions became the reason for the expulsion of Zinoviev and Trotsky from the party (November 16, 1927).

In 1927, Soviet-British relations sharply deteriorated, and the country was gripped by war psychosis. Stalin considered that such a situation would be convenient for the final organizational defeat of the left.

However, the following year the picture changed dramatically. Under the influence of the grain procurement crisis of 1927, Stalin made a “left turn”, in practice intercepting Trotskyist slogans that were still popular among students and radical workers dissatisfied with the negative aspects of the NEP (unemployment, sharply increased social inequality).

In 1928-1929, Stalin accused Bukharin and his allies of “right deviation” and actually began to implement the “left” program to curtail the NEP and accelerated industrialization. Among the defeated “rightists” were many active fighters with the so-called “Trotskyist-Zinoviev bloc”: Rykov, Tomsky, Uglanov and Ryutin, who led the defeat of the Trotskyists in Moscow, and many others. The third Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR, Syrtsov, also became an oppositionist.

Stalin declared 1929 the year of the “great turning point.” Industrialization, collectivization and cultural revolution were declared as the strategic objectives of the state.

One of the last opposition was Ryutin's group. In his 1932 seminal work, Stalin and the Crisis of the Proletarian Dictatorship (better known as the Ryutin Platform), the author made his first serious attack on Stalin personally. It is known that Stalin perceived this work as incitement to terrorism and demanded execution. However, this proposal was then rejected by the OGPU, which sentenced Ryutin to 10 years in prison (he was shot later, in 1937).

The expulsion of Zinoviev and Trotsky from the party in 1927 was carried out by a mechanism developed personally by Lenin in 1921 to combat the “workers' opposition” - a joint plenum of the Central Committee and the Central Control Commission (party control bodies).

At the XV Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), held from December 2 to 19, 1927, it was decided to carry out the collectivization of agricultural production in the USSR - the liquidation of individual peasant farms and their unification into collective farms (collective farms). Collectivization was carried out in 1928-1933 (in the western regions of Ukraine and Belarus, as well as in Moldova, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, annexed to the USSR in 1939-1940, after the war, in 1949-1950).

The background for the transition to collectivization was the grain procurement crisis of 1927, aggravated by the war psychosis that gripped the country and the mass purchasing of essential goods by the population. The idea was widely spread that peasants were holding back grain, trying to inflate prices (the so-called “kulak grain strike”). From January 15 to February 6, 1928, Stalin personally made a trip to Siberia, during which he demanded maximum pressure on the “kulaks and speculators.”

In 1926-27, the “Trotskyist-Zinoviev bloc” widely accused supporters of the “general line” of underestimating the so-called kulak danger, and demanded the introduction of a “forced grain loan” at fixed prices among the wealthy strata of the village. In practice, Stalin even exceeded the demands of the “left”; the scale of grain confiscation was significantly increased and fell heavily on the middle peasants. This was also facilitated by the widespread falsification of statistics, which created the idea that the peasants had some fabulous hidden reserves of bread. According to the recipes of the Civil War, attempts were also made to set one part of the village against another; up to 25% of the confiscated grain was sent to the rural poor.

Collectivization was accompanied by the so-called “dekulakization” (a number of historians speak of “de-peasantization”) - political repressions applied administratively by local authorities on the basis of the resolution of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks of January 30, 1930 “On measures to eliminate kulak farms in the regions complete collectivization."

According to OGPU order No. 44.21 of February 6, 1930, an operation began to “seize” 60 thousand “first category” fists. Already on the first day of the operation, the OGPU arrested about 16 thousand people, and on February 9, 1930, 25 thousand people were “seized.”

In total, in 1930-1931, as indicated in the certificate of the Department for Special Resettlements of the GULAG OGPU, 381,026 families with a total number of 1,803,392 people were sent to special settlements. During the years 1932-1940, another 489,822 dispossessed people arrived in special settlements.

The authorities' measures to carry out collectivization led to massive resistance among the peasants. In March 1930 alone, the OGPU counted 6,500 riots, eight hundred of which were suppressed using weapons. In total, during 1930, about 2.5 million peasants took part in 14 thousand protests against collectivization.

The situation in the country in 1929-1932 was close to a new civil war. According to OGPU reports, local Soviet and party workers took part in the unrest in a number of cases, and in one case even the district representative of the OGPU. The situation was aggravated by the fact that the Red Army was, for demographic reasons, mainly peasant in composition.

In 1932, a number of regions of the USSR (Ukraine, Volga region, Kuban, Belarus, Southern Urals, Western Siberia and Kazakhstan) were struck by famine.

At the same time, starting at least from the summer of 1932, the state allocated extensive assistance to starving areas in the form of so-called “food loans” and “semssuds”; grain procurement plans were repeatedly reduced, but even in a reduced form were disrupted. The archives contain, in particular, a coded telegram from the secretary of the Dnepropetrovsk regional committee, Khataevich, dated June 27, 1933, with a request to allocate an additional 50 thousand pounds of bread to the region; The document contains Stalin’s resolution: “We must give. I. St.”

The five-year plan for the construction of 1.5 thousand factories, approved by Stalin in 1928, required huge expenses for the purchase of foreign technologies and equipment. To finance purchases in the West, Stalin decided to increase the export of raw materials, mainly oil, furs, and grain. The problem was complicated by the decline in grain production. So, if in 1913 pre-revolutionary Russia exported about 10 million tons of bread, then in 1925-1926 the annual export was only 2 million tons. Stalin believed that collective farms could be a means to restore grain exports, through which the state intended to extract from the countryside agricultural products needed to finance military-oriented industrialization.

Rogovin V.Z. points out that the export of bread was by no means the main item of export income of the USSR. Thus, in 1930, the country received 883 million rubles from the export of bread, oil products and timber produced 1 billion 430 million, furs and flax - up to 500 million. At the end of 1932-33, bread provided only 8% of export revenues.

Industrialization and collectivization brought about enormous social changes. Millions of people moved from collective farms to cities. The USSR was engulfed in a massive migration. The number of workers and employees increased from 9 million people. in 1928 to 23 million in 1940. The population of cities increased sharply, in particular, Moscow from 2 million to 5, Sverdlovsk from 150 thousand to 500. At the same time, the pace of housing construction was completely insufficient to accommodate such a number of new citizens. Typical housing in the 30s remained communal apartments and barracks, and in some cases, dugouts.

At the January plenum of the Central Committee of 1933, Stalin announced that the first five-year plan had been completed in 4 years and 3 months. During the years of the first five-year plan, up to 1,500 enterprises were built, entire new industries appeared (tractor building, aviation industry, etc.). However, in practice, growth was achieved due to industry of group “A” (production of means of production), there was no plan for group “B” completed. According to a number of indicators, the plans of group “B” were fulfilled by only 50%, and even less. In addition, agricultural production fell sharply. In particular, the number of cattle should have increased by 20-30% over the years 1927-1932, but instead it fell by half.

The euphoria of the first years of the Five-Year Plan led to storming, to an unrealistic inflation of planned indicators. According to Rogovin, the plan of the first five-year plan, drawn up at the XVI Party Conference and the V Congress of Soviets, was actually not implemented, not to mention the increased indicators approved by the XVI Congress (1930). Thus, instead of 10 million tons of cast iron, 6.2 million tons were smelted; in 1932, 23.9 thousand cars were produced instead of 100 thousand. The planned targets for the main indicators of group “A” industry were actually achieved in 1933-35, and the increased ones, according to cast iron, tractors and cars - in 1950, 1956 and 1957, respectively.

Official propaganda in every possible way glorified the names of the leader of production Stakhanov, the pilot Chkalov, the construction site of Magnitka, Dneproges, Uralmash. During the Second Five-Year Plan period in the USSR, there was a definite increase in housing construction, and, as part of the Cultural Revolution, theaters and holiday homes.

Commenting on a certain increase in the standard of living that emerged with the beginning of the Stakhanov movement, on November 17, 1935, Stalin noted that “Life has become better, life has become more fun.” Indeed, just a month before this statement, cards were abolished in the USSR. However, at the same time, the standard of living of 1913 was again achieved only in the 50s (according to official statistics, the 1913 level in terms of GDP per capita was reached in 1934).

The cultural revolution was declared one of the strategic goals of the state. Within its framework, educational campaigns (which began in 1920) were carried out; in 1930, universal primary education was introduced in the country for the first time. In parallel with the massive construction of holiday homes, museums, and parks, an aggressive anti-religious campaign was also carried out.

After Hitler came to power, Stalin sharply changed traditional Soviet policy: if previously it was aimed at an alliance with Germany against the Versailles system, and through the Comintern - at fighting the Social Democrats as the main enemy (the theory of “social fascism” is Stalin’s personal attitude ), now it consisted of creating a system of “collective security” within the USSR and the former Entente countries against Germany and an alliance of communists with all left forces against fascism (the “popular front” tactics).

A week after the start of the war (June 30, 1941), Stalin was appointed Chairman of the newly formed State Defense Committee. On July 3, Stalin made a radio address to the Soviet people, beginning with the words: “Comrades, citizens, brothers and sisters, soldiers of our army and navy! I am addressing you, my friends!” On July 10, 1941, the Headquarters of the Main Command was transformed into the Headquarters of the Supreme Command, and Stalin was appointed chairman instead of Timoshenko.

On July 19, 1941, Stalin replaced Timoshenko as People's Commissar of Defense. On August 8, 1941, by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Stalin was appointed Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the USSR.

On July 31, 1941, Stalin received the personal representative and closest adviser of US President Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Hopkins. On December 16 - 20 in Moscow, Stalin negotiates with British Foreign Minister Eden Eden on the issue of concluding an agreement between the USSR and Great Britain on an alliance in the war against Germany and on post-war cooperation.

During the Battle of Moscow in 1941, after Moscow was declared under a state of siege, Stalin remained in the capital. On November 6, 1941, Stalin spoke at a ceremonial meeting held at the Mayakovskaya metro station, which was dedicated to the 24th anniversary of the October Revolution. In his speech, Stalin explained the unsuccessful start of the war for the Red Army, in particular, to the “shortage of tanks and partly aviation.”

The next day, November 7, 1941, at the direction of Stalin, a traditional military parade was held on Red Square.

On February 11, 1943, Stalin signed a GKO decree to begin work on the creation of an atomic bomb. The beginning of a radical turning point in the war, which began at the Battle of Stalingrad, continued during the Winter Offensive of the Red Army in 1943. In the Battle of Kursk, what began at Stalingrad was completed, a radical turning point occurred not only in the Second World War, but in the entire Second World War.

On November 25, Stalin, accompanied by the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR V. M. Molotov and a member of the State Defense Committee, Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR K. E. Voroshilov, travels to Stalingrad and Baku, from where he flies by plane to Tehran (Iran). From November 28 to December 1, 1943, Stalin participated in the Tehran Conference - the first conference of the Big Three during the Second World War - the leaders of three countries: the USSR, the USA and Great Britain.

February 4 - February 11, 1945 Stalin participates in the Yalta Conference of the Allied Powers, dedicated to the establishment of the post-war world order.

Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin at the Yalta Conference

On December 14, 1947, Stalin signed Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks No. 4004 “On carrying out monetary reform and the abolition of cards for food and industrial goods.”

On October 20, 1948, Resolution No. 3960 of the Council of Ministers of the USSR and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks was adopted “On the plan for field protective forest plantations, the introduction of grass crop rotations, the construction of ponds and reservoirs to ensure high sustainable yields in the steppe and forest-steppe regions of the European part of the USSR,” which was included in history as Stalin's plan for the transformation of nature. An integral part of this grandiose plan was the large-scale construction of industrial power plants and canals, which were called the Great Construction Projects of Communism.

On July 24, 1945, in Potsdam, Truman informed Stalin that the United States “now has weapons of extraordinary destructive power.” According to Churchill's recollections, Stalin smiled, but did not become interested in the details. From this, Churchill concluded that Stalin did not understand anything and was not aware of events. That same evening, Stalin ordered Molotov to talk with Kurchatov about accelerating work on the atomic project.

On August 20, 1945, to manage the atomic project, the State Defense Committee created a Special Committee with emergency powers, headed by L.P. Beria. An executive body was created under the Special Committee - the First Main Directorate under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR (PGU). Stalin's directive obliged the PGU to ensure the creation of atomic bombs, uranium and plutonium, in 1948.

On January 25, 1946, Stalin first met with the developer of the atomic bomb, Academician I.V. Kurchatov; Present at the meeting are: Chairman of the Special Committee on the Use of Atomic Energy L. P. Beria, People's Commissar of Foreign Affairs V. M. Molotov, Chairman of the USSR State Planning Committee N. A. Voznesensky, Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars G. M. Malenkov, People's Commissar of Foreign Trade A. I. Mikoyan, Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks A. A. Zhdanov, President of the USSR Academy of Sciences S. I. Vavilov, Academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences S. V. Kaftanov.

In 1946, Stalin signed about sixty documents that determined the development of atomic science and technology, the result of which was the successful test of the first Soviet atomic bomb on August 29, 1949 at a test site in the Semipalatinsk region of the Kazakh SSR and the construction of the world's first nuclear power plant in Obninsk (1954) .

Death of Stalin

Stalin died at his official residence - the Near Dacha, where he lived permanently in the post-war period. On March 1, 1953, one of the guards found him lying on the floor of a small dining room. On the morning of March 2, doctors arrived at Nizhnyaya Dacha and diagnosed paralysis on the right side of the body. On March 5 at 21:50, Stalin died. According to the medical report, death was caused by a cerebral hemorrhage.

Medical history and autopsy results indicate that Stalin had several ischemic strokes (lacunar, but probably also atherothrombotic).

There are numerous versions suggesting the unnaturalness of death and the involvement of Stalin’s entourage in it. According to the historian I.I. Chigirin, the killer-conspirator should be considered. Other historians consider Stalin to be involved in the death. Almost all researchers agree that Stalin's associates contributed (not necessarily intentionally) to his death by not rushing to call for medical help.

In the obituary on the death of J.V. Stalin in the Manchester Guardian newspaper dated March 6, 1953, his truly historical achievement is called the transformation of the Soviet Union from an economically backward one to the level of the second industrialized country in the world.

Stalin's embalmed body was placed in the Lenin Mausoleum, which in 1953-1961 was called the “Mausoleum of V. I. Lenin and I. V. Stalin.”

After Stalin's death, public opinion about Stalin was largely shaped in accordance with the position of officials of the USSR and Russia. After the 20th Congress of the CPSU, Soviet historians assessed Stalin taking into account the position of the ideological bodies of the USSR. In the index of names to the Complete Works of Lenin, published in 1974, it is written about Stalin: “In Stalin’s activities, along with a positive side, there was also a negative side. While in the most important party and government posts, Stalin committed gross violations of the Leninist principles of collective leadership and the norms of party life , violation of socialist legality, unjustified mass repressions against prominent government, political and military figures of the Soviet Union and other honest Soviet people."

On October 30, 1961, the XXII Congress of the CPSU decided that “Stalin’s serious violations of Lenin’s covenants ... make it impossible to leave the coffin with his body in the Mausoleum.” On the night of October 31 to November 1, 1961, Stalin's body was taken out of the Mausoleum and buried in a grave near the Kremlin wall.

Awards of Joseph Stalin:

● November 27, 1919 - Order of the Red Banner No. 400 (replaced by duplicate No. 3) - “in commemoration of his services in the defense of Petrograd and selfless work on the Southern Front”;
● August 18, 1922 - Order of the Red Star, 1st degree (Bukhara People's Soviet Republic);
● February 13, 1030 - Order of the Red Banner No. 19 (with the number “2” in the shield) - “at numerous requests from organizations, general meetings of workers, peasants and Red Army soldiers... for enormous services on the front of social construction”;
● 1938 - Jubilee medal “XX years of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army”;
● December 20, 1939 - Medal “Hammer and Sickle” of Hero of Socialist Labor No. 1 - “for exceptional services in organizing the Bolshevik Party, building a socialist society in the USSR and strengthening friendship between the peoples of the Soviet Union... on the day of the sixtieth anniversary”;
● December 20, 1939 - Order of Lenin (order book No. 59382) - “for exceptional services in organizing the Bolshevik Party, building a socialist society in the USSR and strengthening friendship between the peoples of the Soviet Union... on the day of the sixtieth anniversary”;
● 1943 - Order of the Republic (Tuva Arat Republic);
● 1943 - Military Cross (Czechoslovakia);
● November 6, 1943 - Order of Suvorov, 1st degree No. 112 - “for the correct leadership of the operations of the Red Army in the Patriotic War against the German invaders and the successes achieved”;
● July 20, 1944 - Medal “For the Defense of Moscow” (Certificate for medal No. 000001) - “For participation in the heroic defense of Moscow”; “for leading the heroic defense of Moscow and organizing the defeat of German troops near Moscow”;
● July 29, 1944 - Order of Victory (Order Book No. 3) - “for exceptional services in organizing and conducting offensive operations of the Red Army, which led to the largest defeat of the German army and to a radical change in the situation on the front of the fight against the German invaders in favor of the Red Army ";
● November 3, 1944 - Order of the Red Banner No. 1361 (with the number “3” in the shield) - “for 20 years of service”;
● 1945 - Medal “For victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945”;
● 1945 - Order of Sukhbaatar (Mongolian People's Republic);
● June 26, 1945 - Gold Star Medal of Hero of the Soviet Union No. 7931 - “who led the Red Army in the difficult days of our Motherland and its capital Moscow, who led the fight against Nazi Germany”;
● June 26, 1945 - Order of Lenin No. 117859 - “who led the Red Army in the difficult days of our Motherland and its capital Moscow, who led the fight against Nazi Germany”;
● June 26, 1945 - Order of Victory (Order Book No. 15) - “for exceptional services in organizing all the armed forces of the Soviet Union and their skillful leadership in the Great Patriotic War, which ended in complete victory over Nazi Germany”;
● 1945 - Military Cross (Czechoslovakia);
● 1945 - Order of the White Lion, 1st degree (Czechoslovakia);
● 1945 - Order of the White Lion “For Victory”, 1st degree (Czechoslovakia);
● 1945 - Medal “For Victory over Japan”;
● 1945 - Medal “For Victory over Japan” (Mongolian People's Republic);
● 1946 - Medal “25 Years of the Mongolian People's Revolution” (Mongolian People's Republic);
● 1947 - Medal “In memory of the 800th anniversary of Moscow”;
● December 17, 1949 - Gold Star Medal of the Hero of the Mongolian People's Republic (Mongolian People's Republic);
● December 17, 1949 - Order of Sukhbaatar (Mongolian People's Republic);
● December 20, 1949 - Order of Lenin No. 117864 - “in connection with the seventieth anniversary of the birth of comrade. Stalin I.V. and taking into account his exceptional merits in strengthening and developing the USSR, building communism in our country, organizing the defeat of the Nazi invaders and Japanese imperialists, as well as in restoring the national economy in the post-war period.”

Joseph Stalin (documentary)

Joseph Stalin's height: 167 centimeters.

Personal life of Joseph Stalin:

Ekaterina Svanidze died of tuberculosis (according to other sources, the cause of death was typhoid fever), leaving behind an eight-month-old son. She was buried in Tbilisi at the Kuki cemetery.

Ekaterina Svanidze - Stalin's first wife

On the night of November 8-9, 1932, Nadezhda Sergeevna shot herself in the heart with a Walter pistol after locking herself in her room.

Artyom Sergeev was brought up in Stalin’s family, whom Stalin adopted after the death of his close friend, revolutionary F.A. Sergeev.

According to some allegations, Stalin's actual wife was Valentina Vasilievna Istomina (nee Zhbychkina; 1917-1995).

Istomina was born on November 7, 1917 in the village of Donok (now in the Korsakovsky district of the Oryol region). At the age of eighteen, she came to Moscow, where she got a job at a factory, and attracted the attention of the security chief, I.V. Stalin, after which she was hired as a cook at the Near Dacha. Over time, she married Ivan Istomin, who also worked in military structures. Subsequently, Istomina became so close to Stalin himself and his entourage that she practically became a member of his family and was with him inseparably until his death. Stalin trusted Istomina so much that he allowed only her to be served food or medicine.

After Stalin's death, Istomina was relieved of her post and sent to a personal pension; she no longer worked. She took in the son of her brother who died in the war. During the years of perestroika, she categorically avoided contact with journalists and did not tell anyone about her work at the Blizhnaya Dacha. She died in December 1995 and was buried at the Khovanskoye cemetery.

Bibliography of Joseph Stalin:

Stalin I.V. Works. Volume 1. - M.: State Publishing House of Political Literature, 1951;
Stalin I.V. Works. Volume 2. - M.: State Publishing House of Political Literature, 1951;
Stalin I.V. Works. Volume 3. - M.: State Publishing House of Political Literature, 1951;
Stalin I.V. Works. Volume 4. - M.: State Publishing House of Political Literature, 1951;
Stalin I.V. Works. Volume 5. - M.: State Publishing House of Political Literature, 1951;
Stalin I.V. Works. Volume 6. - M.: State Publishing House of Political Literature, 1951;
Stalin I.V. Works. Volume 7. - M.: State Publishing House of Political Literature, 1951;
Stalin I.V. Works. Volume 8. - M.: State Publishing House of Political Literature, 1951;
Stalin I.V. Works. Volume 9. - M.: State Publishing House of Political Literature, 1951;
Stalin I.V. Works. Volume 10. - M.: State Publishing House of Political Literature, 1951;
Stalin I.V. Works. Volume 11. - M.: State Publishing House of Political Literature, 1951;
Stalin I.V. Works. Volume 12. - M.: State Publishing House of Political Literature, 1951;
Stalin I.V. Works. Volume 13. - M.: State Publishing House of Political Literature, 1951;
Stalin I.V. Works. Volume 14. March 1934 - June 1941. - M.: Information and Publishing Center "Soyuz", 2007;
Stalin I.V. Works. Volume 15. Part 1. June 1941 - February 1943. - M.: ITRK, 2010;
Stalin I.V. Works. Volume 15. Part 2. February 1943 - November 1944. - M.: ITRK, 2010;
Stalin I.V. Works. Volume 15. Part 3. November 1944 - September 1945. - M.: ITRK, 2010;
Stalin I.V. Works. Volume 16. Part 1. September 1945 - December 1948. - M.: ITRK, 2011;
Stalin I.V. Works. Volume 16. Part 2. January 1949 - February 1953. - M.: Rychenkov, 2012;
Stalin I.V. Works. Volume 17. 1895-1932. - Tver: Scientific publishing company “Northern Crown”, 2004;
Stalin I.V. Works. Volume 18. 1917-1953. - M.: Information and Publishing Center “Soyuz”, 2006;
Stalin I.V. Questions of Leninism. / 11th edition. - M.: OGIZ, State Publishing House of Political Literature, 1953;
Stalin I.V. Poems. Correspondence with mother and relatives. - M.: FUAinform, 2005;
Stalin I.V. About Lenin. - M.: Partizdat of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, 1937;
Stalin I.V. Marxism and the national-colonial question. - M.: Partizdat of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, 1936;
Stalin I.V. Marxism and questions of linguistics. - M.: State Publishing House of Political Literature, 1952;
Stalin I.V. About the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union. - M.: State Publishing House of Political Literature, OGIZ, 1947;
Stalin I.V. About the industrialization of the country and the right deviation in the CPSU (b). - M.: Partizdat of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, 1935;
Stalin I.V. On dialectical and historical materialism. - M.: State Publishing House of Political Literature, 1950;
Stalin I.V. Marxism and the national question. - M.: State Publishing House of Political Literature, 1953;
Stalin I.V. Economic problems of socialism in the USSR. - M.: State Publishing House of Political Literature, 1952;
Stalin I.V. On the shortcomings of party work and measures to eliminate Trotskyist and other double-dealers. - M.: Partizdat of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, 1937;
Orders of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief during the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union. - M.: Military Publishing House, 1975;
Correspondence of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR with the Presidents of the USA and Prime Ministers of Great Britain during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. Tt. 1-2.;
Stalin I.V. The October Revolution and the tactics of Russian communists. The international character of the October Revolution. - M.: State Publishing House of Political Literature, 1954;
Stalin I.V. Report on the draft Constitution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Constitution (basic law) of the USSR. - M.: State Publishing House of Political Literature, 1951;
Stalin I.V. Anarchism or socialism? - M.: State Publishing House of Political Literature, 1950;
Stalin I.V. The National Question and Leninism - M.: State Publishing House of Political Literature, 1950.

The image of Stalin in cinema:

1934 - “British Agent”, USA - Joseph Mario;
1937 - “Lenin in October” - Semyon Goldshtab;
1938 - “Vyborg Side” -;
1938 - “Man with a Gun” - Mikhail Gelovani;
1938 - “The Great Glow” - Mikhail Gelovani;
1938 - “If there is war tomorrow”;
1939 - “Lenin in 1918” - Mikhail Gelovani;
1940 - “Siberians” - Mikhail Gelovani;
1940 - “Yakov Sverdlov” - Andro Kobaladze;
1941 - “Valery Chkalov” - Mikhail Gelovani;
1941 - “First Cavalry” - Semyon Goldshtab;
1942 - “Defense of Tsaritsyn” - Mikhail Gelovani;
1942 - “Alexander Parkhomenko” - Semyon Goldshtab;
1942 - “His name is Sukhbaatar” - Semyon Goldshtab;
1943 - “Mission to Moscow” (Mission to Moscow, USA) - Manart Kippen;
1946 - “Oath” - Mikhail Gelovani;
1947 - “Light over Russia” - Mikhail Gelovani;
1947 - “Private Alexander Sailors” - Alexey Dikiy;
1948 - “The Third Strike” - Alexey Dikiy;
1949 - “Battle of Stalingrad” - Alexey Dikiy;
1949 - “The Fall of Berlin” - Mikhail Gelovani

1950 - “Lights of Baku” - Mikhail Gelovani;
1951 - “Unforgettable 1919” - Mikhail Gelovani;
1953 - “Hostile Whirlwinds” (“Felix Dzerzhinsky”) - Mikhail Gelovani;
1953 - Soldier of Victory (Żołnierz Zwycięstwa, Poland) - Kazimierz Wilamowski;
1954 - “Ernst Thälmann - the son of his class” (Ernst Thälmann - Sohn seiner Klasse, GDR) - Gerd Jäger;
1957 - The Girl in the Kremlin - Maurice Manson;
1957 - “Truth” - Andro Kobaladze;
1958 - “In the days of October” - Andro Kobaladze;
1960 - “Morning” (Azerbaijan) - Andro Kobaladze;
1965 - “On the same planet” - Andro Kobaladze

1965 - “Bürgerkrieg in Rußland”, television series (Germany) - Hubert Sushka;
1968-1971 - “Liberation” - Bukhuti Zakariadze;
1970 - “Why Russians Are Revolting”, USA - Saul Katz;
1971 - “Nicholas and Alexandra” - James Haseldine;
1974-1977 - “Blockade” - Boris Gorbatov;
1972 - “Taming the Fire” - Andro Kobaladze;
1973 - “Seventeen Moments of Spring” - Andro Kobaladze;
1975 - “Choosing a target” - Yakov Tripolsky;
1977 - “Soldiers of Freedom” - Yakov Tripolsky;
1978 - “Sodan ja rauhan miehet” (Finland) - Mikko Niskanen;
1979 - “To the last drop of blood” - Andro Kobaladze;
1979 - “Stalin - Trotsky” (Staline - Trotsky: Le pouvoir et la révolution), France - Maurice Barrier;
1980 - “Tehran-43” - Georgy Sahakyan;
1981 - “December 20” - Vladimir Zumakalov;
1981 - “Through the Gobi and Khingan” - Andro Kobaladze;
1982 - “State border. Eastern Frontier" - Andro Kobaladze;
1982 - “Lenin” Lénine (France) - Jacques Giraud;
1982 - “If the enemy does not surrender...” - Yakov Tripolsky

1983 - “Red Bells” - Tengiz Daushvili;
1983 - “Reilly - King of Spies (TV series)” - David Bourke;
1983 - “Red Monarch” “Red Monarch” (England, 1983) - Colin Blakely;
1984 - “Yalta” (France, 1984) - Danilo Bata Stojkovic;
1985 - “Battle for Moscow” - Yakov Tripolsky;
1985 - “Victory” - Ramaz Chkhikvadze;
1986 - “State border. Year forty-one” - Archil Gomiashvili;
1988 - “Testament” (USA) - Terence Rigby;
1989 - “Stalingrad” - Archil Gomiashvili;
1989 - “Black rose is the emblem of sadness, red rose is the emblem of love” - Georgy Sahakyan;
1989 - “The Feasts of Belshazzar, or a Night with Stalin” - Alexey Petrenko

1990 - “10 years without the right to correspondence” - Georgy Sahakyan;
1990 - “Yakov, son of Stalin” - Evgeny Dzhugashvili;
1990 - “Enemy of the People - Bukharin” - Sergei Shakurov;
1990 - “The Tale of the Unextinguished Moon” - Viktor Proskurin;
1990 - “War in the Western Direction” - Archil Gomiashvili;
1990 - “Nikolai Vavilov” - Georgy Kavtaradze;
1991 - “Inner Circle” - Alexander Zbruev;
1992 - “Stalin” (USA) - Robert Duvall;
1991 - “The Journey of Comrade Stalin to Africa” - Ramaz Chkhikvadze;
1992 - “Waiter with a Golden Tray” - Ramaz Chkhikvadze;
1992 - “In the First Circle” (USA) - Murray Abraham;
1992 - “Cooperative “Politburo”, or It will be a long farewell” (Belarus) - Alexey Petrenko;
1993 - “Lenin in the Ring of Fire” - Levan Mskhiladze;
1993 - “Trotsky” - Evgeny Zharikov;
1993 - “Angels of Death” - Archil Gomiashvili;
1993-1994 - “Tragedy of the Century” - Yakov Tripolsky, Archil Gomiashvili, Bukhuti Zakariadze;
1994 - “The Hammer and Sickle” - Vladimir Steklov;
1994 - “World War II: When Lions Roared” - Michael Caine;
1995 - “The Great Commander Georgy Zhukov” - Yakov Tripolsky;
1995 - “Under the sign of Scorpio” - Igor Kvasha;
1996 - “Children of the Revolution” (Australia) - Murray Abraham;
1996 - “Mrs. Kolontaj” (Gospodja Kolontaj) (Yugoslavia) - Mihailo Yanketich;
1997 - “All my Lenins” (Estonia) - Eduard Toman;
1998 - “Khrustalev, car!” - Ali Misirov;
2000 - “In August 44th...” - Ramaz Chkhikvadze;
2001 - “Taurus” - Sergey Razhuk;
2002 - “The Adventures of a Magician” - Igor Guzun;
2003 - “Spy Sorge” (Japan-Germany);
2004 - “Moscow Saga” - Vladimir Mironov;
2004 - “Children of Arbat” - Maxim Sukhanov;
2004 - “The Death of Tairov” - Alexey Petrenko;
2005 - “In the first circle” - Igor Kvasha;
2005 - “Star of the Epoch” - Armen Dzhigarkhanyan;
2005 - “Yesenin” - Andrey Krasko;
2005 - “Archangel” - Avtandil Makharadze;
2005 - “Tehran-43” (Canada) - Igor Guzun;
2006 - “Stalin’s Wife” - Duta Skhirtladze;
2006 - “Utesov. A song that lasts a lifetime” - Evgeniy Paperny;
2006 - “6 frames” - Fedor Dobronravov;
2007 - “Stalin. Live" - ​​David Giorgobiani;
2008 - “Mustafa Shokay” (Kazakhstan) - Igor Guzun;
2009 - “Hour of Volkov-3” - Igor Guzun;
2009 - “Ordered to destroy! Operation: “Chinese box” - Gennady Khazanov;
2009 - “Wolf Messing: who saw through time” - Alexey Petrenko;
2009 - “The Legend of Olga” - Malkhaz Zhvania;
2009 - “One and a half rooms, or a sentimental journey to the homeland”;
2010 - “Burnt by the Sun 2: Imminent” - Maxim Sukhanov;
2010 - “Tukhachevsky: Marshal’s Conspiracy” - Anatoly Dzivaev;
2011 - “Battle of Warsaw. 1920" (Poland) - Igor Guzun;
2011 - “Comrade Stalin” - Sergei Yursky;
2011 - “Hotel Lux” (Germany) - Valery Grishko;
2011 - “Countergame” - Levan Mskhiladze;
2011 - “People’s Commissar Convoy” - Ivan Matskevich;
2011 - “House of exemplary maintenance” - Igor Guzun;
2011 - “Furtseva” - Gennady Khazanov;
2011 - “Burnt by the Sun 2: Citadel” - Maxim Sukhanov;
2012 - “Zhukov” - Anatoly Dzivaev;
2012 - “Chkalov” - Viktor Terelya;
2012 - “Spy” - Mikhail Fillipov;
2012 - “The Second Rebellion of Spartak” - Anatoly Dzivaev;
2012 - “It all started in Harbin” - Alexander Voitov;
2012 - El efecto K. El montador de Stalin (Spain) - Antonio Bachero;
2013 - “Stalin is with us” - Roman Kheidze;
2013 - “Kill Stalin” - Anatoly Dzivaev;
2013 - “Son of the Father of Nations” - Anatoly Dzivaev;
2013 - “The hundred-year-old man who climbed out the window and disappeared” (Sweden) - Algirdas Romualdas; David Giorgobiani;
;
(5 films);
Yakov Tripolsky (6 films);
Igor Kvasha (“Under the Sign of Scorpio”, “In the First Circle”);
Andrey Krasko (“Yesenin”);
Victor Proskurin;
Sergei Shakurov (“Enemy of the People - Bukharin”);
Evgeny Zharikov (“Trotsky”);
(“Lenin in the Ring of Fire”, “Vlasik. Shadow of Stalin”);
Ali Misirov (“Khrustalev, car!”);
Vladimir Mironov (“Moscow Saga”);
("Hammer and sickle");
David Bourke (“Reilly King of Spies”);
Robert Duvall (Stalin);
Terence Rigby ("The Testament");
Murray Abraham (Children of the Revolution);
Ilya Oleynikov (in the program “Town”);
Fyodor Dobronravov (in the program “6 frames”);
Igor Guzun (7 films);
Gennady Khazanov;
Mikhail Fillipov;
Ivan Matskevich;
Victor Terelya;
Georgy Kavtaradze;
(“Tukhachevsky. The Marshal’s Conspiracy”, “Zhukov”, “The Second Rebellion of Spartak”, “Son of the Father of Nations”, “Kill Stalin”, “Sorge”)

Historians call the dates of Stalin's reign from 1929 to 1953. Joseph Stalin (Dzhugashvili) was born on December 21, 1879. He is the founder. Many contemporaries of the Soviet era associate the years of Stalin’s reign not only with the victory over Nazi Germany and the increasing level of industrialization of the USSR, but also with numerous repressions of the civilian population.

During Stalin's reign, about 3 million people were imprisoned and sentenced to death. And if we add to them those sent into exile, dispossessed and deported, then the victims among the civilian population in the Stalin era can be counted at about 20 million people. Now many historians and psychologists are inclined to believe that Stalin’s character was greatly influenced by the situation within the family and his upbringing in childhood.

The emergence of Stalin's tough character

It is known from reliable sources that Stalin’s childhood was not the happiest and most cloudless. The leader's parents often argued in front of their son. The father drank a lot and allowed himself to beat his mother in front of little Joseph. The mother, in turn, took out her anger on her son, beat and humiliated him. The unfavorable atmosphere in the family greatly affected Stalin's psyche. Even as a child, Stalin understood a simple truth: whoever is stronger is right. This principle became the future leader’s motto in life. He was also guided by him in governing the country. He was always strict with his.

In 1902, Joseph Vissarionovich organized a demonstration in Batumi; this step was his first in his political career. A little later, Stalin became the Bolshevik leader, and his circle of best friends includes Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (Ulyanov). Stalin fully shares Lenin's revolutionary ideas.

In 1913, Joseph Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili first used his pseudonym - Stalin. From that time on, he became known by this last name. Few people know that before the surname Stalin, Joseph Vissarionovich tried on about 30 pseudonyms that never caught on.

Stalin's reign

The period of Stalin's reign begins in 1929. Almost the entire reign of Joseph Stalin was accompanied by collectivization, mass death of civilians and famine. In 1932, Stalin adopted the “three ears of corn” law. According to this law, a starving peasant who stole ears of wheat from the state was immediately subject to capital punishment - execution. All saved bread in the state was sent abroad. This was the first stage of industrialization of the Soviet state: the purchase of modern foreign-made equipment.

During the reign of Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin, massive repressions of the peaceful population of the USSR were carried out. The repressions began in 1936, when the post of People's Commissar of Internal Affairs of the USSR was taken by N.I. Yezhov. In 1938, on the orders of Stalin, his close friend Bukharin was shot. During this period, many residents of the USSR were exiled to the Gulag or shot. Despite all the cruelty of the measures taken, Stalin's policy was aimed at raising the state and its development.

Pros and cons of Stalin's rule

Minuses:

• strict board policy:
• the almost complete destruction of senior army ranks, intellectuals and scientists (who thought differently from the USSR government);
• repression of wealthy peasants and the religious population;
• the widening “gap” between the elite and the working class;
• oppression of the civilian population: payment for labor in food instead of monetary remuneration, working day up to 14 hours;
• propaganda of anti-Semitism;
• about 7 million starvation deaths during the period of collectivization;
• the flourishing of slavery;
• selective development of sectors of the economy of the Soviet state.

Pros:

• creation of a protective nuclear shield in the post-war period;
• increasing the number of schools;
• creation of children's clubs, sections and circles;
• space exploration;
• reduction in prices for consumer goods;
• low prices for utilities;
• development of industry of the Soviet state on the world stage.

During the Stalin era, the social system of the USSR was formed, social, political and economic institutions appeared. Joseph Vissarionovich completely abandoned the NEP policy and, at the expense of the village, carried out the modernization of the Soviet state. Thanks to the strategic qualities of the Soviet leader, the USSR won the Second World War. The Soviet state began to be called a superpower. The USSR joined the UN Security Council. The era of Stalin's rule ended in 1953, when. He was replaced as Chairman of the USSR Government by N. Khrushchev.

More than half a century has passed since Stalin's death, and heated debates surrounding the true origin of the leader and other controversial facts of his biography continue to this day. For example, historians never tire of putting forward the most provocative versions about the name of the real father of Joseph Vissarionovich. And the further we go, the more questions that remain unanswered.

Faktrum talks about five strange and ambiguous moments in the biography of the leader.

Joseph Stalin in his youth

1. Date of birth

According to one version, Stalin (Dzhugashvili is his real name) himself changed the date of his birth in the documents, and his political activities had absolutely nothing to do with this event. He changed 18 to December 21, 1878, because in his youth one of his fellow students, who at some point was immersed in the study of horoscopes and the practice of clairvoyance, allegedly warned the future leader that the date of his birth did not promise him a great future. However, historians do not have any reliably confirmed data on the veracity of this version.

2. The leader's father

Vissarion Ivanovich Dzhugashvili

Stalin's official parents are Vissarion Ivanovich and Ekaterina Georgievna. The father was a shoemaker and, as witnesses said, he liked to drink heavily. When Joseph turned 11 years old, Vissarion died - he was killed during a brawl. Much later, after Stalin’s death, new details of the life of his parents began to emerge, followed by shocking versions of the leader’s true origins.

For example, Edward Radzinsky in his book “Stalin” put forward the hypothesis that the real father of Joseph Vissarionovich was Nikolai Przhevalsky, a famous traveler, the same one after whom the horse breed was named. Allegedly, Ekaterina Georgievna, being legally married, accidentally met Przhevalsky while visiting relatives, and they immediately struck up a very “warm friendly” relationship. And soon little Joseph was born. According to another version, Stalin’s father could well have been Davrishevi, the head of the police department, where Ekaterina Georgievna repeatedly ran to escape the beatings of her drunken husband. Eyewitnesses claimed that an affair quickly began between Davrishevi and the woman.

3. Repeated arrests

Stalin's young years, even before the revolution, were spent in constant battle with the current regime. The future dictator was arrested more than once, was in exile, served on many committees of the RSDLP, and was also one of the honorary employees of the Pravda newspaper. According to some reports, he had to serve a prison sentence as many as six times, all for robbery, except for one case - criminal punishment for political reasons.

4. Party nicknames

Stalin is just a pseudonym, besides which Joseph Dzhugashvili had many other nicknames. So, for example, he was called “Ivanovich”, “Osip”, “Vasiliev”, “Vasily”. But his most famous nickname is Koba. This was the name of the character in Alexander Kazbegi’s adventure story “The Patricide.” It is believed that he was the leader's favorite literary hero. But the people called Stalin in his own way. Among the many nicknames of the dictator, the name “Shoe Shoe Shoe” or “Shoe Shoe Man” has taken root best. Everything is simple here: obviously, Stalin was named so because of his relationship with the shoemaker, who was his father.

5. Nobel Prize nominee

Stalin was nominated for the Nobel Prize twice. First in 1945, then in 1948 - both times for his leading role in liberating the world from the Nazi invaders and ending the Second World War. The candidate was proposed by a British historian, putting the Soviet leader on a par with Churchill and Roosevelt. It's hard to believe that we are talking about a man who ruined millions of human lives. However, the prize was never given to Joseph Vissarionovich, and his nomination became known only 50 years later. According to the established procedure, the names of applicants are kept secret for that long.

Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin is one of the most controversial personalities in history. Stalin's personality has been and will be the subject of heated discussions all the time. He is respected and criticized, loved and hated. Some consider Stalin the greatest leader who was able to create order in the country and led the people to success in the bloodiest war of our state. Others are convinced that he was a real tyrant who indiscriminately shot and raped innocent people. Modern historians argue and will continue to argue about this. Most likely, this is one of those cases when it is impossible to come to a compromise and definitely say something about this person.

Childhood and youth of the future ruler

Joseph Dzhugashvili (the ruler's real name) was born in the small Georgian town of Gori in 1879, on December 21. His family was not rich, they belonged to the lower class. His father worked as a shoemaker, and his mother was the daughter of a serf. Joseph was the third child, but grew up alone because his older brother and sister died as children. Joseph himself was not a completely healthy child. One of his defects was that the toes on his left foot were fused. In addition, Joseph had problems with the skin of his face and back.

When little Soso (a diminutive name) turned seven years old, his left hand deteriorated. He received this injury after the boy was hit by a phaeton.

Among other things, Soso’s father, Vissarion, was very fond of drinking, and while intoxicated he more than once beat his wife and boy. Stalin noted how in one of these cases, he threw a knife at his father and almost killed him. Soon Vissarion left his family and began to wander. The date and time of his death remain a mystery to this day. Stalin's neighbor, Joseph Iremashvili, spoke of seeing Stalin's father killed in a drunken brawl. According to another version, Vissarion died of natural causes.

The mother of the future ruler, Ketevan Geladze, was a strict and wise woman, but she loved her child very much and dreamed of making him a successful career. Ketevan saw her son as a priest. Stalin's mother died in 1937. Joseph was unable to attend the funeral, giving his opponents reason to talk about the fact that there was a bad relationship between mother and son.

In 1888, Stalin was able to enter an Orthodox institution in the city of Gori. After graduating from college, he was enrolled in a religious institution in Tiflis. At this very time, he joined the ranks of revolutionaries, having studied the teachings of Marxism. Stalin studied well, all subjects were very easy for him and he never had any problems with it. While studying at the seminary, Joseph becomes the head of the Marxist movement, actively engaged in propaganda.
Joseph was never able to graduate from the institution; he was expelled for absenteeism and failure to appear for tests. He was given a document allowing him to work as a tutor. For some time he had to earn money through tutoring. At the beginning of 1900, he was accepted into the Tiflis Observatory of Physical Phenomena as a calculator.

The road to power

After Stalin was accepted into the observatory, a new stage of his life began. He began to promote Marxism with even greater activity, thanks to which the position of the future ruler of the Soviet Union was strengthened. He began to engage in revolutionary activities. In 1905, he personally met Vladimir Lenin and other influential revolutionaries. In 1912, Joseph definitely decided to change his last name and became Stalin. The origin of this pseudonym is unknown, but there is a version that this is the correct translation from Georgian into Russian of his real surname. In Georgian “juga” means “steel”.

Before becoming the ruler of the USSR, Stalin had to go through and experience a lot. He spent from 1913 to 1917 in exile. While in prison, Joseph often corresponded with Vladimir Ilyich. After the February Revolution he came back to Petrograd.
Upon arrival in Petrograd, Lenin appointed Stalin to the post of People's Commissar for Nationalities. Joseph received a seat on the Council of People's Commissars. Lenin decided to appoint Stalin to this position because of his article “Marxism and the National Question,” which greatly impressed the “leader.” The future ruler gained a reputation as the main expert on nationalities.

The next stage on the path to Stalin's rule was the Civil War. From 1918 to 1922, with a short break, Stalin was on the Revolutionary Military Council. The civil war became a huge experience for the future ruler. As one historian argued, the Civil War contributed to the development of Stalin's military-political qualities. Here he led large troops on several fronts, including the defense of Tsaritsyn and Petrograd.

Most famous historians noted that during the defense of Tsaritsyn, there were disagreements between Stalin and Voroshilov with Trotsky. Trotsky accused these two of insubordination, and the leader was dissatisfied with the great trust in the “counter-revolutionary” military experts.
In 1922, at the next Plenum of the Central Committee of the RCP (b), Joseph Stalin was appointed General Secretary of the party. Formally, he led only the party apparatus, and Lenin was still considered the leader of the party and the entire people.

At the same time, Lenin became seriously ill and could no longer engage in politics. In his absence, Stalin, Kamenev and Zinoviev organized the so-called “troika”, whose main goal was to counter Trotsky. The Troika members held good positions and had influence. Trotsky was the head of the Red Army.

In September 1922, Joseph Stalin showed an inclination towards Russian autocracy. He developed a plan according to which all nearby republics were to join the RSFSR as autonomous ones. This action of Stalin caused indignation among almost everyone, even Lenin. Under his personal pressure, the republics were included as allies with all the possibilities of statehood.

After this, Lenin’s health condition worsened even more, and a struggle for power began. Stalin turned out to be the strongest of all the contenders. In fact, he was the ruler of the state, gradually eliminating all his opponents. In the end, he achieved his goal and became chairman of the government of the Soviet Union.

Already in 1930, power was completely concentrated in the hands of Joseph Stalin. Very great anxiety and restructuring began in the Soviet Union. This time became one of the most terrible in the entire history of our country. Mass repressions and collectivization took place, which ultimately led to the death of millions of peasants. Ordinary workers were deprived of food and forced to starve. The ruler of the USSR sold all the products that were taken from the peasants abroad. The leader invested the profits earned from the products into the development of the industry, thereby making the Union the second country in the world in terms of industrial production in the shortest possible time. Only the price of such a rise turned out to be too high.

Years of Stalin's power

In 1940, Stalin's power was undeniable; he was the sole leader of the Soviet Union. It is no secret that under Stalin we had a totalitarian regime in our state; he was a dictator. Stalin is known, of course, for his power as a ruler; he was extremely efficient. The ruler knew how to make the most important decision in the shortest possible time. He managed to control absolutely all the processes that took place in the state. All actions were coordinated with him personally; he knew about everything that was happening in the USSR.

During his years at the helm of the Soviet Union, Stalin was able to achieve truly great results. Experts in the field of history highly appreciate his contribution to the development of the USSR. Despite his tough management style, he was able to make the USSR victorious in the Great Patriotic War, thanks to him agriculture was intensified. He was able to make his state a superpower, which rivaled the greatness and power of only the United States. The USSR had enormous geopolitical influence in the world, and all this thanks to Joseph Vissarionovich.

However, the means by which such greatness was achieved scares and horrifies many even now. The basis for governing the country for Stalin was dictatorship, violence, and terror. Many accuse him of major murders of scientists and engineers; this caused enormous harm to the scientific activities of the state.

Despite this, many people who grew up in the USSR deeply respect Stalin and consider him a great man, an outstanding ruler and an honorary citizen.

Personal life

Stalin at one time did everything so that no one knew about his personal life. However, historians, despite all the efforts of the ruler, still managed to restore the sequence of events. The ruler's first marriage took place in 1906; his chosen one was Ekaterina Svanidze. She gave birth to a son, who received the name Yakov. After living with Stalin for a year, Catherine fell ill with typhus and died.

Stalin's second and last marriage happened 14 years later, in 1920. This time Nadezhda Alliluyeva became his wife, who was able to give birth to his daughter Svetlana and son Vasily. 12 years after marriage, Stalin found himself a widower twice. Nadezhda committed suicide as a result of a quarrel with her husband. This was the last marriage of the ruler.

Death of Stalin

The death of the ruler occurred in 1953, on March 5. USSR doctors determined that the cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage. After the autopsy, it turned out that Stalin suffered several strokes during his lifetime, which caused heart problems.

At first, Stalin’s body was placed in the Mausoleum next to Lenin, but after 9 years it was decided to rebury the ruler near the Kremlin. There are many versions about the death of the ruler. Many believe that his subordinates specifically did not allow doctors to see the ruler so that they could not raise Stalin. His comrades did this because they considered his policies to be incorrect in governing the state.

Joseph Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili is one of the most controversial political figures of the twentieth century. He was considered and is now considered by many to be a tyrant and despot; he was hated and adored at the same time.

Stalin’s biography is not easy, and many of its aspects still remain a mystery to historians. It abruptly changed its direction several times. A tough, strong-willed man who did not bow to difficulties - that’s who Joseph Stalin was. His biography was described by a variety of people. I. was accused of connections with the royal secret police and of treason. But, despite everything, the USSR found itself at the peak of its economic and military power at the beginning of the second half of the 20th century, and Stalin made a significant contribution to this. The short biography presented below is unlikely to fully describe the talent of this person.

On December 18, 1878, Joseph Stalin was born in the small Georgian village of Gori. At the age of ten, he entered the theological seminary, where he showed himself at his best, and on the advice of teachers, at the age of 16 he went to study at the theological seminary in the city of Tiflis.

In 1897, young Dzhugashvili learned about Marxism. From that moment on, his fate began to change dramatically. A year later, in August 1898, he became a member of Mesame Dasi, a small social democratic organization, and already in the fall of 1901 I. V. Dzhugashvili became a member of the RSDLP committee of the city of Tiflis. There he took the name Koba in honor of one of the heroes of the novel by Alexander Kazbegi. After the second congress of the RSDLP, a split emerged in the organization, the party was divided into Bolsheviks and Mensheviks. Koba took the side of the former, their principles and norms.

Party comrades characterized Stalin as an unprincipled revolutionary: for him the cause was much more important, and people were only a means to an end. His acquaintance with Lenin, which occurred in 1905, made an unpleasant impression on him: Stalin became disillusioned with the Leader as a person. By 1917, a significant part of the Russian population was already inclined towards the Bolshevik movement. At this time, Stalin, together with Kamenev, headed the newspaper Pravda.

Dzhugashvili entered the Soviet government already as People's Commissar for Nationalities. His desire to centralize power led to numerous conflicts with the leaders of Georgia and Ukraine.

In 1922, Stalin accepted the post of General Secretary. After the death of V.I. Lenin, Koba appeared before the people as his successor. In his farewell speech, he spoke on behalf of the party and the people. He was supported by friends whom Koba appointed to high positions in the country's governing apparatus.

Having defeated the opposition, Stalin threw all his efforts into spreading socialism throughout the planet. People in his understanding were pawns. They had to either die or complete the task. His collectivization program caused a wave of protests. Dispossessed peasants formed gangs and went into the forests.

Stalin conducted his political struggle in the same way. Increasing talk about his removal from office was voiced at the XVII Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks). The name Kirov was also pronounced on it. A shot fired on the first day of winter in 1931 ended the life of a man who could have succeeded Stalin in his post. Koba blamed his longtime opponents, Zinoviev and Kamenev, for the murder.

The so-called purge that began after this process affected about four to five million people, of whom about 10 percent were shot. The “population” of the Gulag archipelago at that time was about 13 million people. Against the backdrop of such events, the name of Stalin was praised. He was extolled as the true savior of the people: the so-called

By 1939 the purge was complete, Stalin turned his attention to foreign policy. The USSR was faced with a choice: to move towards rapprochement with England and France, who did not want to get closer at all, to remain alone or to come to an agreement with Hitler. The last option turned out to be the most profitable. The war was postponed by two whole years. The training of military personnel began, and then the first consequences of the purge were revealed, manifested in the shortage of senior command personnel. The rearmament of the army was carried out slowly, the factories were just mastering new production.

The outbreak of the war completely unsettled I.V. Dzhugashvili; for a month the army was virtually without leadership. At this time, Stalin was depressed, he was in severe psychological shock. He had to work 18 hours a day, his face became haggard, his character became angry and irritable. Not being a good strategist, he studied the basics of military art from Zhukov, Shaposhnikov and other military leaders. After the USSR's victory over Nazi Germany, the Leader of the Nations, as Stalin was called, had several more vivid epithets: “the greatest commander”, “wise strategist”.

Victory in World War II became the apogee. Gradually, especially after his seventieth birthday, he began to give up. His blood pressure rose, and his fear of conspiracies turned into mania. He did not allow doctors to approach him, because he did not trust them and was afraid of them. Shattered nerves and a weak heart caused the death of Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin at the age of 75.

Joseph Stalin - his biography will be completely rewritten, his name will be thrown into the mud and a lot of myths will be invented that show this man in an unsightly light. But, be that as it may, the people no longer lived in a poor, devastated country, but in a superpower dictating its terms to dozens of countries around the world. In the 20th century there was no more “effective” leader of the country than Stalin. His biography, written, dispels most of the myths about the life and actions of this man. He ruled the country harshly, but cruel times demanded it. There were many mistakes in Koba's life, and most of them were paid for with the blood of ordinary people. But from a devastated country, he built a great superpower, victorious in the world war and prepared to enter space.