What was joseph stalin known for

Under Stalin, the Soviet Union was transformed from a peasant society into an industrial and military superpower.

Was stalin a good leader

However, he ruled by terror, and millions of his own citizens died during his brutal reign. Stalin became involved in revolutionary politics, as well as criminal activities, as a young man. After Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin died, Stalin outmaneuvered his rivals for control of the party. After his death, the Soviets initiated a de-Stalinization process.

Joseph Stalin was born Josef Vissarionovich Djugashvili on December 18, , or December 6, , according to the Old Style Julian calendar although he later invented a new birth date for himself: December 21, He grew up in the small town of Gori, Georgia, then part of the Russian empire.

How old was stalin when he died

Did you know? In , the Russian city of Tsaritsyn was renamed Stalingrad. In , as part of the de-Stalinization process, the city, located along Europe's longest river, the Volga, became known as Volgograd. Today, it is one of Russia's largest cities and a key industrial center. Stalin grew up poor and an only child. His father was a shoemaker and an alcoholic who beat his son, and his mother was a laundress.

As a boy, Stalin contracted smallpox , which left him with lifelong facial scars. As a teen, he earned a scholarship to attend a seminary in the nearby city of Tblisi and study for the priesthood in the Georgian Orthodox Church. While there he began secretly reading the work of German social philosopher and Communist Manifesto author Karl Marx , becoming interested in the revolutionary movement against the Russian monarchy.