Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin[b] (born Ioseb Besarionis dzе Jughashvili;[a] 18 December [O.S. 6 December] 1878[1] – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet politician who ruled the Soviet Union from the mid-1920s until his death in 1953. He served as the general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1922–1952) and premier of the Soviet Union (1941–1953). Despite initially governing the Soviet Union as part of a collective leadership, he eventually consolidated power to become the country's de facto dictator by the 1930s. A communist ideologically committed to the Leninist interpretation of Marxism, Stalin formalised these ideas as Marxism–Leninism, while his own policies are known as Stalinism.
Joseph Stalin
Иосиф Сталин (Russian)
იოსებ სტალინი (Georgian)
Joseph Stalin in an authorised image taken in 1937 and used for state publicity purposes
General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet UnionIn office
3 April 1922 – 16 October 1952[a]Preceded byVyacheslav Molotov
(as Responsible Secretary)Succeeded byGeorgy Malenkov (de facto)[b]Chairman of the Council of Ministers
of the Soviet UnionIn office
6 May 1941 – 5 March 1953First DeputiesNikolai Voznesensky
Vyacheslav Molotov
Nikolai BulganinPreceded byVyacheslav MolotovSucceeded byGeorgy MalenkovPersonal detailsBornIoseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili[a]
18 December [O.S. 6] 1878
Gori, Tiflis Governorate, Caucasus Viceroyalty, Russian Empire (present-day Georgia)Died5 March 1953 (aged 74)
Kuntsevo Dacha, Kuntsevo, Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet UnionCause of deathCerebral hemorrhageResting placeLenin's Mausoleum, Moscow (9 March 1953 – 31 October 1961)
Kremlin Wall Necropolis, Moscow (from 31 October 1961)Political partyRussian Social Democratic Labor Party (1901–1912)
Russian Social Democratic Labor Party (Bolsheviks) (1912–1918)
All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) (1918–1952)
Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1952–1953)Spouse(s)Ekaterine Svanidze (m. 1906; d. 1907)
Nadezhda Alliluyeva (m. 1919; d. 1932)ChildrenYakov Dzhugashvili
Vasily Dzhugashvili
Svetlana Alliluyeva
Artyom Sergeyev (adopted)MotherEkaterine GeladzeFatherBesarion JughashviliCabinetStalin I–IISignatureMilitary serviceNickname(s)Koba
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