Joseph Stalin: Biography And Stages Of His Mandate
Joseph Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili, better known as Joseph Stalin (1879 – 1953) is certainly the most important political figure in the entire history of the Slavic people, of the Russian ethnic group more specifically. Many will not know that Joseph or Josef was born in Gori, Georgia under the rule of the Russian tsars. He was born into a somewhat unfortunate family (because his father was an alcoholic).
His passage through the history and politics books is not unworthy of mention since Stalin, in addition to creating a state of almost total domination over the citizens, transformed Russia from a feudal character to an economic and military power, thanks to his agrarian reforms promoted under Soviet communism, the militarization and modernization of the army and the great responsibility that played a role in the end of World War II (1939 – 1945).
Joseph Stalin was orphaned in his teens, and since his father could not take care of his education (he was poor and often whipped his son), he entered a religious boarding school. From a good beginning stood out for his insubordination and contempt at school before the teaching authorities.
At that time, Stalin joined the ranks of socialist revolutionary struggles and activities, opposing the absolutism of the tsars. In 1903 the Russian Social Democratic Party divided in two, with Iosif following the insignia of the most radical wing called “Bolshevik”.
It was at that moment that Joseph He acquired the name “Stalin,” which means “iron man.” to honor his implacable character when it came to carrying out his ideas, resorting to practices of dubious legitimacy, such as the purge he began against another revolutionary like León Trotsky, his archenemy in the struggle for power.
Refounded the Social Democratic party as a Communist party Stalin became the general secretary in 1922, after the triumph of the Russian Revolution in 1917, he saw in the chaos the opportunity to rise in power and become the strong man of change.
The USSR and Stalinism
The Union of Soviet Republics was established in 1922, until it fell into total collapse in 1991. The idea of the Marxist republic was the emergence of a socialist world power and geographical expansion in its area of influence. This means its assimilation throughout the Eurasian part, reaching even the Arab and Latin American countries.
As it could not be otherwise, Joseph Stalin was the greatest supporter and exponent of such a project, and with great cunning he knew how to impose his law. It turned the country into a power not only economic or military, but also ideological It represented a meteoric evolution at an industrial level for Russia, competing with the United States for world hegemony.
However, everything has a price. Price that the local population had to pay, subjected to a police state , with oppressive touches and eliminating any type of political dissidence. He purged his most direct collaborators, imposed harsh labor laws to accelerate technological development and tyrannized the rest of the Satellite States (countries subject to the communist regime).
Joseph Stalin did not leave – nor does he leave – anyone indifferent. Admirers glorify him and even pay tribute to him annually in his native Georgia, turning the rite into a kind of pilgrimage. On the other hand, There are many who classify him as one of the most bloodthirsty dictators that history has never known.
The socio-economic measures carried out by “the iron man” are indisputable: agrarian reform, the technological revolution, development of the aeronautical industry which led the Russians to be the first to orbit space, and the collectivization of the means of production, marked a before and after at an international level that lasts to this day.
Likewise, he achieved all this with an iron fist, by decimating individual rights such as freedom of expression, the prohibition of exile and with the creation of fearsome secret services such as the KGB. It is said that he murdered more communists than his own enemies.
His death in 1953 due to natural causes, led to the decline of the Socialist Union and its degree of supremacy, contributing to the so-called “Cold War”, where the USSR would gradually lose influence and power until it came to an end in 1991.
