Essay about Joseph Stalin - 2651 Words

Joseph Stalin was the leader of the Soviet Union from 1922-1953, when he died. He was responsible for one of the most notable and devastating genocides, the Great Purge. His vicious reign took the lives of around 20-60 million people by his rigid and cruel treatment. Through his exploitation of the lower class and his manipulative abuse of power, Stalin created one of the worst examples of leadership in history. It takes an interesting character to be able to execute the cruelties displayed in his regime and the traits that Stalin developed into his cult of personality were likely acquired as a child and adolescent. This paper will discuss how Stalin’s background helped build the qualities of a ruthless leader and how he displayed them†¦show more content†¦Stalin had two wives; Ekaterina Svanidze (m. 1906–1907) and Nadezhda Alliluyeva (m. 1919–1932). He had three children with his first wife; Vasily Dzhugashvili, Svetlana Alliluyeva, and Yakov Dzhugashvili. He adopted a fourth son, Artem Sergeev. Stalin had an incredibly similar attitude to Vissorian as a child. He had a very cold personality and lacked a sense of empathy, especially towards his peers. One of his classmates reported that he had never seen him cry and that he greeted his peers with a snide chuckle instead of showing sympathy or compassion when he saw they were suffering. He was top and center in his school portrait. (This bared an unusual similarity to Adolf Hitler who took the same position in his school portrait). Stalin was born into poverty and suffered a series of health complications growing up. He suffered from small pox at a young age and his face was left permanently marked, resulting in nicknames like ‘pocky’ and ‘pock-marked-joe’. He was born with his second and third toe conjoined and due to blood poisoning; his right arm was made shortened and stiff. Stalin was abused by both his parents, his father in particular, although his mother claimed he had a wonderful childhood a nd home life. Stalin and Marxism Stalin learned about Marxism at a young age. He even studied and wrote about it prior to the revolution. However, once he was tasked with preserving it as a power in the USSR, he quickly demonstrated thatShow MoreRelatedEssay Joseph Stalin3070 Words   |  13 PagesJoseph Stalin Joseph Stalin was one of the biggest mass murderers of the twentieth century. From the purges in the Red Army to forced relocations, Stalin had the blood of millions on his hands. This essay is not going to debate the fact that this was indeed a brutal and power hungry individual, because he was indeed just that. 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Stalin had many influences that led him to his Soviet Leadership in which gave him many admirers but even more non-supporters. At the age of 10, Joseph â€Å"Stalin† Djugashvili attended Gori’s religious elementary school. His mother, Yekaterina, wanted himRead MoreEssay on The life of Joseph Stalin554 Words   |  3 PagesThe life of Joseph Stalin Joseph Stalin. One of the Russias most supreme leaders. But one of its most horrid as well. He brought them up while also letting them down. Some could say where would we be without him. But others wish they never were led by him. He went from nothing to the most powerful man in the now most powerful country. In the early years. He was first born Josef Vissarionovich Djugashvili to a poor shoemaker of a father on December 21 1879. It was a small village calledRead MoreExecution By Hunger, By Joseph Stalin1081 Words   |  5 PagesExecution by Hunger 1. Collectivization was peasants being forced to give up their goods to the government. 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