The Life and Death of Joseph Stalin

It was 133 years ago, on December 18^th, 1878, that evil unfolded in the form of human life, in a small, forgotten town in Georgia. The moment Loseb Besarionis dze Jugashvili, later to become known as Joseph Stalin, opened his eyes to the world, death marked the fates of tens of millions of people. As other dictators did before him, and others after him, Stalin made sure that a completely accurate account of his childhood and early life be erased, forever. Up to this day, much of the information known, including his birth date, remains a mystery, wrapped in the dark shadows of a violent, rough childhood. Stalin was the fourth born child. However, he was the one and only. His three siblings had died at early ages due to illnesses and poor living conditions. His mother, who was portrayed as a heroine in Soviet Russia's history books, was a very religious woman but her relationship with her son lacked any deep affection. His father, on the other hand, was a violent, alcoholic boot-maker, who drank his life away.

Even though the accurate facts might never be revealed, some argue that Stalin was a shy, quiet boy, who fell victim of other children's cruelty. His weak health didn't help the situation much, either. He was constantly sick and at age 7 he contracted small pox, which left him with a permanently scarred face. Another notable incident left him with a permanent arm injury, which would later save him from being drafted in World War I. At the age of 10, his mother enrolled him in a church school, against his will. Despite social difficulties, he was a model student and managed to earn a scholarship to the Tiflis Theological Seminary, one of the most prestigious educational facilities in Georgia at the time. Unfortunately, the studies of God and religion didn't fascinate young Stalin enough to keep him interested in his studies, not nearly as much as Marxist books did, to which he was first introduced by a group of students who were part of an underground, anti-government, pro-Georgian independence organization. It is quite ironic that it was during the years of his journey to becoming a man of God, that Joseph Stalin, the dictator, the mass murderer, shaped his basic beliefs which would lead the Russian population into 30 years of torture and famine.

It wasn't long before Stalin received note that he was kicked out of the Seminary. Some say it was because of financial reasons and he had failed to pay the part of his tuition which the scholarship didn't cover. Others say he questioned the Priests' and Nuns' authority and acted disrespectfully. However, Stalin wanted to be portrayed as the perfect revolutionary from the ground up. Therefore, in later historical articles and books he made sure to give a fake account of being kicked out because he was desperately trying to convert his fellow students to Marxism. Oh poor Stalin, how passionate he was...about his own lies. Unemployed and in desperate need of money, he turned to science and art. He took up a job at the local meteorological center, as a clerk. During his free time, Stalin was writing articles for a socialist newspaper. In the meantime, Vladimir Lenin, the leader of Social Democratic Labor Party, was working towards gaining power and popularity. Stalin decided to join the cause and dedicate his life to absolute loyalty and service towards Marxism and Lenin.

He became a professional in robbing, stealing, kidnappings and even murders. He acted in the name of the party and was fearless when it came to authority. He was arrested and exiled to Siberia, where Russian authorities thought he would be much less of a threat. He was sent there six times and sure enough, Stalin found his way back to the mainland six times. It was during one of these exile periods that young Loseb decided to change his name to “Joseph Stalin”, Stalin meaning steel. During these long years, Stalin also met his first wife, Nadezhda Alliluyeva, who bore his first child, a son named Yakov Dzhugashvili. His second son, of whom Stalin never spoke, came from a maid with whom Stalin had a short affair. The Socialist Party had been separated into two parts, the Bolsheviks, led by Lenin and the Mensheviks, led by Julius Martov. Stalin's loyalty proved to be impeccable when he decided to stay by Lenin's side. When Civil War broke out in 1917, the Bolshevik prisoners were released from all four corners of the Russian Empire and they didn't hesitate to join forces with their comrades to take over the government. After returning to St. Petersburg, Stalin took a writing job with his old socialist newspaper, Pravda. During the October Revolution of 1917, even though he had gained a spot in the Central Committee of the party, Stalin didn't play an important role in the seizing of power. In future Soviet films, he would be falsely portrayed as Lenin's right hand man during these important times.

Two years after the Bolsheviks came to power and after the Soviet Union was formed, another war front broke out. This time in Poland, the Bolsheviks were trying to expand their reach and regain Polish territory which they believed belonged originally to the Russian people. The Soviet-Polish war lasted for two years, years in which Stalin served as a commissioned officer in the front lines of some of the most decisive battles. His incompetence and stubbornness resulted in devastating effects. The two most important battles of the war, and the dream of a Soviet Poland, were vanquished. After returning to his original post in Party's Central Committee, Stalin resigned from the military and decided to take up politics as a full time occupation.

In 1922 Joseph Stalin was voted by his party members to serve as the General Secretary, a move most of his comrades would live to regret. At the time, this political position was newly introduced and therefore, it was regarded as “secondary” and “unimportant”. However, as Vladimir Lenin fell deep into sickness, Stalin took full advantage of the situation by acquiring more and more power. Lenin's geniality was still very much in play. He soon recognized the danger that Stalin posed to the Soviet Union and the Russian people. Some argue that one of Lenin's last death wishes was to revoke Stalin of his political position. He died on January 21^st, 1924. One of Stalin's first moves was to introduce a newly designed economical plan to industrialize the Soviet Union and create gigantic, collective, government owned farms. The second didn't prove as successful as the first. Millions of Russian farmers were forced to give up their private farms and dedicate themselves to working in large, collective, malnourished, communities. The government couldn't afford to keep up with the spendings these farms required. Millions starved.

Joseph Stalin's first wife died soon after his first son was born due to typhus, in 1907. He married Nadezhda Alliluyeva in 1919 and had two children with her. Unfortunately, Alliluyeva was a contemporary and intelligent woman. She openly criticized Stalin's ways and was astonished by the torturous living conditions in which the Soviet people were living in. As everyone else who dared to contradict Stalin's wishes, she was found dead. The real cause of death is still unknown. All his children, including his illegitimate son, enjoyed comfortable lives and privileges that were unheard of by common citizens. However, none of them enjoyed a close relationship with their father, and only remember fearing him.

Another notable creation of the Dictator was the NKVD, the secret Russian police. Millions were arrested and executed by the NKVD on charges of anti-government conspiracies. Stalin's paranoid personality came to be high in price for innocent Russians all over the Soviet Union. Despite his lack of diplomacy and monstrous ways, Stalin succeed in creating, what is called, a personality cult around himself and the dead image of Lenin. His propaganda techniques proved to be successful, even more successful than Adolf Hitler's. He soon became much more than a blood thirsty, paranoid, insecure dictator who signed of over 600 death lists. He became a “God” in the eyes of the common Soviet citizen. Stalin's image wasn't loved or appreciated, it was worshiped. He was portrayed as mystical, strong, fair and just, leader who would devoted his life to the creation of a Soviet paradise. He was portrayed as a friend of children and a servant of the people. He was portrayed as the perfect human being in a desperate society.

However, you can't fix a broken mirror. Despite all the luxury and admiration, Stalin always remained scarred from his childhood. He didn't even attend his mother's funeral, even though it was considered a national event of grief. Until her last breath, Stalin's mother, Ketevan Geladze, criticized her son for not following the path of God and becoming a priest. Ironically, the Dictator, who had spent most of his childhood and teenage years in theological educational facilities, outlawed religion in the Soviet Union. Marxist belief dictated that in order to achieve a perfect society, religion must seize to exist.

After Nazi Germany launched operation Barbarosa (the name appointed for the invasion of the Soviet Union), Stalin went into “hide mode”. He remained in Moscow, even when the Germans were only a few miles away. However, his people and soldiers, who were fighting and dying in his name, never saw his face until after the war was over. He still continued to command all the major operations of the Red Army and remained in total control of the Soviet government. After the Russians seized Berlin and Nazi Germany lay down its weapons, Joseph Stalin was considered such a hero, by his fellow citizens and the Allied nations, that his name was mentioned among one of the seven candidates for the 1948 Nobel Peace Prize. After the war, Stalin's image and power grew to unimaginable sizes. He controlled almost all of Eastern Europe, including half of Germany.

Soon after World War II, Stalin began suffering from atherosclerosis, a dangerous medical condition of the blood veins, attributed to his heavy smoking. “The Boss”, which was the nickname his trusted officials gave him, became extremely paranoid. He saw enemies everywhere he lay his eyes. He became obsessed that his doctors were trying to poison him to death. That is how the famous “Doctor's Plot”, a conspiracy theory involving hundreds of Stalin's doctors, who were apparently plotting to kill him, came to life. They were all arrested, and some even executed. On March 1^st, 1953, Stalin went to sleep to never rise again. Sources at the time claim he suffered an overnight stroke. The next morning his guards and fellow Party members noticed how unusual it was for “The Boss” to not have risen yet, since he was usually up bright and early. He was still alive when discovered. However, his “trusted” comrades did not rush him to a hospital or call in doctors. They left him there to die with the excuse that he was “peacefully resting” and didn't “want to be disturbed”. Stalin was declared dead that same day. And just like that, the dictator, the small town boy from Georgia who entered the world unnoticed, who had been responsible for more than 10 million deaths due to mass famine and another few million executions, vanished from the world in one of the most spectacular funeral services ever held. Millions of Soviet citizens waited in line for days just to get a final glimpse at their "savior's" lifeless body. His physical being left this earth approximately 58 years ago, but his legendary image will live in infamy, forever.

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