-
Birth of Joseph Stalin
He was born in a small town in Georgia when it was still a part of the Russian Empire. He was born to a cobbler and a housemaid. His father slid into alchoholism, which made him abusive and caused his business to fail. Also, he was born with the first of several health issues, two adjoined toes on his left foot. -
Got a scholarship to go to Tiflis Spiritual Seminary
When Joseph Stalin was 16, he got a scholarship to go to Tiflis spiritual seminary, which was a Russian Orthodox seminary. Stalin was trained as a priest when he was younger, but despite this he became an athiest in during his first year. He was an avid reader and a Gregorian cultural nationalist. -
Expelled from Tiflis Spiritual Seminary
Despite having a good performance in the school, Joseph Stalin was expelled. It was most likely due to him missing his final exams, but it is also speculated that he wasn't able to pay his tuition fees either. Around the time he was expelled, he found the works of Vladimir Lenin and joined the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party. Once Lenin formed the Bolsheviks, Stalin joined eagerly. He proved himself a very capable revolutionary. -
Started using the alias "Stalin" in his writings.
Around 1911, he started using the alias "Stalin" in his writing, which means "man of steel." Around the same time, he remarried after his previous wife died of typhus after bearing him a son. He met this new wife, named Nadezhda Alliluyeva, while in one of his many exiles to Serbia. -
Russian Revolution
Stalin was released from exile in the wake of the February Revolution. At first, after ousting the previous editors of the Pravda, the official Bolshevik newspaper, he was in favor of the Provisional Government, but then opposed it and wanted to oppose it after Lenin's success in overthrowing the Provisional Government. -
Armed revolt from Bolshevik militants.
When Bolshevik militants took to the streets and started killing army officers and bourgeois civilians, Stalin encouraged the uprising. They demanded the government be overthrown, but neither the Bolsheviks or the Soviets wanted to take control, as this revolt was not planned. -
Pravda raided by Loyalist troops.
When Pravda was raided by troops loyal to the Russian government, Stalin prevented Lenin from being captured and told the Bolsheviks in the Peter and Paul Fortress to surrender to avoid too much bloodshed. Stalin was afraid Lenin would be killed, so he smuggled him to Finland. -
Stalin Begins his Rise to Power
In 1922, Stalin was appointed secretary general by Lenin. This gave stalin the ability to appoint allies of his own to aid him in gaining power. Lenin suffered strokes later in 1922, and Stalin visited him often. The relationship between the two deteriorated, and Lenin became increasingly critical of Stalin. -
Lenin's Death allows Stalin to Sieze Power
Lenin died of a fatal stroke, and Stalin was made his successor as leader of the Communist Party and the Soviet Union. -
Stalin Begins the Great Terror
The Great Terror, starting in 1936, was a violent campaign of repression that resulted in the death of many for (supposedly) opposing Stalin's rule. -
Joseph Stalin's Death
It's most likely that Stalin was poisoned, which lead to a cerebral hemorrhage and eventually his death.