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Today we will speak about Top 7 Facts About Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin was a ruthless dictator who transformed the Soviet Union into a world
superpower. Here are 7 facts that help paint a picture of this man who changed the world.
1. His last name is a title meaning, “Man of Steel.”
Stalin was awarded the title “Man of Steel.” Why this Superman-esque name? It fit perfectly
with his stern image as leader of the industrial-powerhouse of the USSR. Moreover, it hid his true identity,
protecting his family from the many assassination attempts and deceptions that plagued him,
as well as the communist party.
2. He had another nickname, “Comrade Index Card.”
The name came from a joke made by Stalin’s rival in the communist party, Leon Trotsky.
A play on Stalin being only a small contributor to the party, the name was given when the
Man of Steel took his first major political position as General Secretary of the Russian
communist party. It was in fact a secretarial position, thus the nickname “Comrade Index
Card” mocked Stalin’s duties. However, Trotsky would not be laughing as history would
unfold to see Stalin at the head of the country and Trotsky on the run for his life.
3. He would not even give ransom for the return of his own son.
During World War II, Stalin’s son, Yakov, was taken prisoner by the Nazis and of course,
Hitler was ready to make as audacious a ransom offer as possible. True to his Man of Steel
moniker, Stalin refused any ransoming agreement. No matter what torture Hitler threatened would
befall his son, Stalin did not budge. His son would go on to die in prison. Tough love.
4. He was very paranoid. His goal of uniting the nation with him as
the leader grew to frightening heights. Stalin enacted a series of purges known as “Stalin’s
Terror,” whereby millions of people were sent to forced labor, assassinated, or publicly
executed, out of fear that they were enemies of the state. With the state police, the NKVD,
at the helm of the purges, millions were condemned for having even a single contact with questionable
individuals on Stalin’*** list. Interestingly enough, it was found out after his death that
Stalin had been suffering from atherosclerosis (fatty tissue build-up in the arteries) of
the brain, possibly explaining his deranged “terror.”
5. He ordered the development of a half-human, half-ape hybrid.
With a desire to create a new human that would be resilient to pain beyond normal man and
would not care about the quality of food eaten, Stalin ordered his top scientists to create
a hybrid ape-man. In the dictator’s eyes, this hybrid man would be the greatest solider,
capable of great strength but with an underdeveloped brain so as to be easily controlled. Aside
from military purposes, such a man would provide greater manpower to speed up Russia’s industrial
development. Unfortunately, the chief scientist for the job, Ilya Ivanov, was unsuccessful.
Because of this failure, in typical Stalin-fashion, Ivanov was arrested and exiled to Kazakhstan.
6. He was not actually Russian. Stalin was actually not a native Russian.
Rather, he hailed from impoverished beginnings in the country of Georgia. However, as he
became acclimated to Marxist thought, he grew in power, slowly rising up in the communist
party of Russia. His home country would not escape him, however. He played a key role
in the forced military imposition of Vladimir Lenin’s communist movement in Georgia. This
military campaign in his home country was the first of many that exemplified Stalin’s
hard-liner approach to spreading the communist ideology.
7. He had a rough childhood. Stalin’s father, Besarion, was an alcoholic,
leading to business failures and violence towards Joseph and the boy’s mother. On
top of this, Joseph experienced many physical calamities in his youth. He grew up constantly
getting into brawls with others his age, and smallpox left his face extremely scarred.
Moreover, he was struck by a horse-drawn carriage not once, but twice, leading to permanent
damage of his left arm, which in turn exempted him from fighting in World War I, where he
would likely have died.