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Birth of Stalin
Stalin was born under the name Josef Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili. He was born in Gori, Georgia. Stalin often lied about the time and whereabouts of his birth. -
Early Life
By the time Stalin had joined the Tiflis Theological Seminary at age 14, he was involved with revolutionary political activity. He earned himself the nickname "Koba" after the legendary Georgian bandit and rebel. He left the seminary to become a full time revolution organizer. -
Getting Close with Lenin
In 1903, when the Social Democrats split into two groups,the Bolsheviks and the Menshviks, Stalin sided with the Bolsheviks. Stalin eventually made his way up in the faction, and got close to Lenin. In 1913, Stalin made it into the Bolshevik Central Commitee. He became editor of "Pravada", and earned the name Stalin-"Man of Steel". -
Stalin's Exile
In 1913, Stalin was exiled from Siberia. After 4 years in exile, Stalin returned to Russia after the overthrow of Nicholas II, and tried to reorganize the Bolshevik party. Lenin promoted him to general secretary of th Central Commitee after coming out of hiding. -
Outbreak of WWI
WWI started in July of 1914. It began when the Allied Powers rebelled against the German Empire for the invasions that had been taking place under the Germans. The Allied Powers came out of the war victorious. -
Stalin Rises to Power
After the death of Lenin, Stalin promoted himself as Lenin's succssor. By 1928, he managed to get himself to faction leadershp. As leader, he managed to kill off those opposed to him, and eventually rose to absolute dictatorship of the
Soviet Union. -
Stalin Transforms the Soviet Union
To transform the Soviet Union into a big industrialization empire, Stalin was willing to put lives at risk. He was going to kill middle class farmers who spoke against this. He was trying to develop the industrialization of the empire at a fast speed. -
Show Trials
1937 was the beginning of the show trials in Moscow. These were famous trials of Old Bolsheviks that was led by Stalin. Many of the defendents were executed, and said to be part of Stalin's Great Purge. -
Outbreak of WWII
WWII was the second global war. It started when the Nazi party rose conflict. The war was fought between the Allies and the Axis. The Allies came out victorious, bringing the Nazi party out of power. -
Hitler Broke Pact with Stalin
Hitler invaded Russia to Stalin's surprise. The USSR, being unprepared, suffered heavy losses from the invasion. This broke the Hitler-Stalin Pact. -
The Battle of Stalingrad Begins
A major battle in WWII in which Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union fought for control of Stalingrad. -
End of War in Europe
On this date Hitler was cornered into a bomb shelther in Berlin. While in the shelter, Hitler committed suicide. This ended WWII in Europe. -
First Lightning
On this date, the Soviets successfully launched their first atomic bomb. Nobody was harmed as it was only a test at a remote test site. The bomb was nicknamed the First Lightning. -
Korean War
In 1950, the Korean war began. This war was fought between North and South Korea that led to the division of Korea. Backed by the UN, South Korea came out victorious in the Korean war. -
The Doctors Plot
The Doctors Plot was an anti-Jewish episode in Stalin's regime. He convicted a group of mostly Jewish Moscow doctors of being assasains of Soviet leaders. The case was dropped after Stalin's death due to a lack of evidence. -
Stalin's Death
In 1953, Stalin announced physicians had found health problems. That same year, Stalin died of a cerebral hemorrhage. Stalin died at the age of 73.
