Stalin was ruthless in his methods to make Russia a classless society. The Bolshevik revolutionaries and supporters of Lenin and Trotsky who dared to challenge him were expelled from the party, imprisoned in labour camps, exiled from Russia and even assassinated. He would not tolerate any opposition within the Communist Party. Propaganda: False or exaggerated statements aimed at persuading people to support particular policies.Īfter securing leadership of Russia, Stalin established himself as a dictator. Once in power he expelled all those that were close to Lenin and centralized his control of the country until his death. Stalin managed to outdo Trotsky and to assume power.

When Lenin died in January 1924, there were two leaders jockeying for the leadership of the party, Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin. With Lenin's blessing he briefly edited Pravda until he was arrested in 1913.Īfter his contribution to the October Revolution in 1917, Stalin rose to become the first General Secretary of the Bolshevik Party in 1918. He travelled to Vienna, Stockholm and London at Lenin's request and was made a member of the party's central committee in 1912.

Stalin was so committed to Bolshevism that he organized bank raids to boost party funds. Stalin became a famous local revolutionary by supporting strikers, publishing illegal propaganda and serving several prison terms. He was expelled from school for neglecting his studies and found work at the City's meteorological observatory over the next decade. His father was a shoemaker and his mother a domestic servant. Joseph Stalin was born in Gori, Georgia, on 21 December 1879.

Another view of stalin