Josef+Stalin

Early life of Josef Stalin - Josef Stalin was born on December 18, 1878 in Gori, Gorgia which was part of the Russian Empire. His real name was Josef Vissarionovich Djugashvili. He later changed his name to Stalin which means man of steel. Josef was the third child born to Vassarion Dzhugashvili and Yekaterina. Vassaion was a shoe maker who was very poor and Yekaterina worked as a domestic servant. Josef was the only child of his family to survive childhood. He had terrible face scars because he had small pox when he was a child. Josef went to seminary but was kicked out. He was involved in some criminal activities and was arrested several times. Stalin was married two times and had children with his wives.

Josef Stalin led the soviet union from 1929-1953. He helped Russia become a strong military power in the world. He was a cruel ruler and many citizens died under his reign. Josef first gained power when the leader, Vladimir Lenin died. When Lenin died, Josef beat out his rivals for control. When he gained power, he got rid of his enemies by killing them or sending them to labor camps. Stalin worked with the United States and Britain in World War II. After the war, his relationship with those countries became bad and the Cold War began. When Stalin died the Soviets had to make a lot of changes to the way he had ruled.