Profession: Soviet General Secretary
Biography: Came to prominence after Vladimir Lenin's death in 1924, leading the Communist state till his death in 1953.
Instituted policies of collective agriculture and rapid industrialization lead to rapid growth in the Soviet economy but at a huge cost to Soviet citizens.
Halted the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in World War II, helping defeat the axis powers and establishing the Eastern Bloc of communist countries.
Born: December 18, 1878
Birthplace: Gori, Tiflis Governorate, Russian Empire
Star Sign: Sagittarius
Died: March 5, 1953 (aged 74)
Cause of Death: Brain hemorrhage caused by a stroke
Articles and Photos
Soviet Union Founded
Signature page of the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR
December 30, 1922
Germany Invades the Soviet Union
German troops cross the border point between Nazi Germany and the Sovet Union on June 22, 1941
June 22, 1941
Casablanca Conference
Henri Giraud, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Charles de Gaulle and Winston Churchill at the Casablanca Conference
January 14, 1943
Siege of Leningrad
Two young girls help assemble Soviet submachine guns during the Siege of Leningrad
January 18, 1943
Nazi General Friedrich Paulus Surrenders
German field marshal Friedrich Paulus, the highest-ranking German officer to surrender during World War II
January 31, 1943
Yalta Conference
Conference of the Big Three at Yalta (from left to right) Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin
February 11, 1945
Nazi Germany Surrenders
German commander Wilhelm Keitel signs the final unconditional surrender of Germany in the ruins of Berlin
May 8, 1945
Potsdam Conference
Winston Churchill, Harry S. Truman and Josef Stalin in the garden of Cecilienhof Palace before meeting for the Potsdam Conference
July 17, 1945
Potsdam Declaration
Allied leaders in conference in the German city of Potsdam, after Germany's defeat but before Japan's surrender
July 26, 1945
The Berlin Candy Bombers
Children in Berlin await US aircraft dropping candy over the city during the Berlin Airlift in 1948
June 24, 1948
Mass Murderer Stalin Goes to His Grave
Countless millions of Russians were killed by the hand of Joseph Stalin, one of the most feared and brutal dictators of all time. He himself died on this day.
March 5, 1953
Married Life
- 1906-07-28 Future dictator of the Soviet Union Joseph Stalin (27) weds Ekaterina Svanidze (21) at St. David's Church in Tiflis (now Tbilisi, Georgia)
Historical Events
- 1913-01-12 After using other pseudonyms over the years, Josef Dzhugashvili signs himself as Stalin ("man of steel") in a letter to the newspaper Social Democrat
- 1917-11-07 The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic is proclaimed; first Council of People's Commissars is formed with Vladimir Lenin as leader and including Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin
- 1919-03-23 8th Congress of the Russian Communist Party re-establishes a five-member Politburo which becomes the center of political power in the Soviet Union. Original members Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky, Joseph Stalin, Lev Kamenev and Nikolai Krestinsky.
- 1922-04-03 Joseph Stalin is appointed General Secretary of the Russian Communist Party by an ailing Vladimir Lenin
- 1922-12-25 "Lenin's testament" - Vladimir Lenin dictates document criticizing his colleagues, suggests Stalin be removed as General Secretary (until Dec 26)
- 1924-01-21 Vladimir Lenin's Testament is handed over to the Communist Party; it calls for changes to the Soviet governing structure and criticizes Joseph Stalin, Leon Trotsky and other members
- 1925-01-06 Mikhail Frunze replaces Leon Trotsky as People's Commissioner of Military and Native Affairs (Minister of Defence) as Trotsky and Joseph Stalin battle for power in the aftermath of Vladimir Lenin's death
- 1927-11-12 Leon Trotsky is expelled from the Soviet Communist Party, paving the way for Joseph Stalin to consolidate complete power
- 1929-11-17 Nikolai Bukharin is expelled from the Soviet Politburo amidst a power struggle with Joseph Stalin
- 1932-10-09 Soviet leader Joseph Stalin expels Lev Kamenev and Grigory Zinoviev from the Communist Party after a power struggle
- 1934-12-01 Leningrad mayor Sergey Kirov is assassinated, Joseph Stalin uses it as an excuse to begin his Great Purge of 1934-38
- 1935-11-07 Addressing a meeting of Stakhanovites, Joseph Stalin utters his famous phrase "life has become better"
- 1936-01-26 Joseph Stalin views Dmitri Shostakovich's opera "Lady Macbeth" but he and his officials leave early and the play is denounced in state press
- 1937-01-23 Karl Radek and sixteen others go on trial in Moscow as part of the Great Purge, many are sentenced to death
- 1937-06-12 After a one-day show trial, eight Soviet generals are sentenced to death and executed by the NKVD
- 1937-11-01 Stalinists execute by shooting Pastor Paul Hamberg and seven members of Azerbaijan's Lutheran community (including three women).
- 1938-11-25 Lavrentiy Beria succeeds Nikolai Yezhov as the head of the Soviet secret police, NKVD, after Yezhov was executed on Joseph Stalin's orders
- 1939-04-16 The Soviet Union proposes an alliance with Britain and France to counter Nazi Germany; the Soviets would later sign a secret agreement with the Nazis
- 1941-04-03 British Prime Minister Winston Churchill warns Soviet leader Joseph Stalin that a German invasion is imminent
- 1941-05-06 Joseph Stalin becomes Premier of the Soviet Union, replacing his foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov
- 1942-08-12 British Prime Minister Winston Churchill arrives in Moscow for a conference with Joseph Stalin and US representative W. Averrell Harriman
- 1943-05-15 Joseph Stalin dissolves the Comintern (or Third International) to avoid upsetting his Western allies with claims he was trying to foment revolution globally
- 1943-11-28 Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin meet at the Tehran Conference in Iran to map out strategy
- 1943-12-01 At the end of the Tehran Conference, the Big Three (Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt) agree that the invasion of Normandy should take place in May 1944
- 1944-04-28 Soviet leader Joseph Stalin meets Polish-American priest Stanislaus Orlemanski in Moscow to discuss religion and the future of post-war Poland
- 1944-10-09 British Prime Minister Winston Churchill arrives in Russia for talks with Joseph Stalin
- 1945-02-04 Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin meet at Yalta in the Crimea to discuss the final phase of World War II
- 1945-02-11 Declaration of Liberated Europe signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin after the Yalta Conference
- 1945-07-17 Potsdam Conference: Harry Truman, Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill hold 1st post-World War II meeting
- 1945-08-02 Potsdam Conference between Joseph Stalin, Harry Truman and Winston Churchill (replaced by Clement Attlee after losing the 1945 general election) ends
- 1948-03-18 Soviet consultants leave Yugoslavia in first sign of Tito-Stalin split
- 1951-10-06 Joseph Stalin proclaims the Soviet Union has the atomic bomb
- 1952-08-20 Soviet leader Joseph Stalin meets Chinese premier Zhou Enlai
- 1952-11-20 Slánský trials begin - a series of Stalinist and anti-Semitic show trials in Czechoslovakia.
- 1953-03-01 After an all-night movie and dinner session with his top advisers, Joseph Stalin suffers a stroke and collapses. He dies four days later.
- 1953-03-09 Joseph Stalin's funeral is held in Moscow after four days of national mourning
- 1956-02-25 Nikita Khrushchev denounces Joseph Stalin at the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
- 1961-10-30 Soviet Party Congress unanimously approves a resolution removing Stalin's body from Lenin's tomb in Red Square as part of de-Stalinization efforts
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