STALINHISTORY YEAR 9

WHO WAS STALIN?• Joseph Stalin was a Russian dictator in the 20th century. • He was responsible for leading the Soviet Union through World War II

and into the Cold War with the United States. • He was also responsible for the deaths of millions of Russians

through purges and decisions that led to mass starvation.

DECEMBER 21, 1879• Stalin was born in the village of Gori in Georgia, which was part of

the Russian empire. • The boy who will later become known as Joseph Stalin was the third

child born to a poor shoemaker and his wife.

1888, STALIN ENROLLS IN GORI CHURCH SCHOOL

• Stalin begins basic studies at the Gori Church School. • Even though he speaks Georgian at home, he is permitted to speak

only Russian at school due to the rules of Tsar Alexander III.

1894, STALIN STUDIES AT THEOLOGICAL SCHOOL

• Stalin receives a scholarship to Tiflis Theological Seminary in Georgia but gets involved in revolutionary activities instead of studying. • He learns about the ideas of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels and is

expelled from the school when his revolutionary ideas are discovered.

1902, STALIN IS ARRESTED FOR THE FIRST TIME• Stalin is arrested for organizing strikes against an oil refinery. • This begins a 15-year period of his life when Stalin is routinely

arrested, exiled, and arrested again after he escapes from exile.

1903, STALIN JOINS THE BOLSHEVIKS• While in Siberia, Stalin learns that Vladimir Lenin has formed the

Bolsheviks, a political group that believes in the ideas of Karl Marx. • Stalin already admires Lenin and joins his group. • The Bolsheviks will go on to become the Communist Party.

1906, STALIN MARRIES EKATERINA SVANIDZE• Stalin and Ekaterina Svanidze marry at St. David's Church in Tiflis. • They have one son together, Yakov Iosifovich Dzhugashvili, before

Ekaterina dies of tuberculosis in 1907.

1917, LENIN APPOINTS STALIN• As a reward for his part in the October Revolution, Lenin names Stalin

Commissar of Nationalities. • This makes Stalin responsible for millions of non-Russians living under

the Tsar and gives him a tremendous amount of power.

1919, STALIN MARRIES NADEZHDA ALLILUYEVA• Stalin and 18 year-old Nadezhda Alliluyeva marry. • Nadezhda commits suicide in November 1932. • Their daughter, Svetlana, defects from the Soviet Union and moves to

the U.S. in 1967.

1922, STALIN IS NAMED GENERAL SECRETARY • As Russia becomes the Soviet Union, Stalin becomes General

Secretary of the Communist Party and is responsible for placing others in specific jobs. • He understands that controlling people and what they do is key to

gaining power and eventually has many key people in his debt for the jobs they have.

1928, FIVE-YEAR PLANS BEGINS• In a brutal and ill-fated attempt to bring the Soviet economy in to the

industrial age, Stalin seizes farms and factories that were crucial to the nation's agriculture. • Hundreds of thousands of people die for protesting or simply due to

starvation as Stalin continues to ship food out of the country to try and cover up the failure of his plan.

1942, SOVIET UNION ALLIANCE• After the Soviet Union is invaded by Germany, Stalin decides that the

Soviet Red Army will join forces with the United States and Great Britain in World War II. • Eventually, the Red Army defeats the Nazis and is responsible for

liberating the concentration camp at Auschwitz in 1945.

1947, STALIN REJECTS AID FROM MARSHALL PLAN

• When the Marshall Plan is enacted to provide aid to Europe after being devastated in World War II, Stalin rejects it. • He does not like the plan because it will also help Germany and he

thinks the U.S. is becoming too dominant. • His attempts to block food from arriving in West Berlin fail when the

U.S. airlifts supplies into the city (Berlin Blockade).

1950, NORTH KOREA TO INVADE THE SOUTH • Stalin gives permission to Kim Ill Sung of Communist North Korea to

invade non-Communist South Korea, leading to the Korean War. • The U.S. is a supporter of South Korea due to its foreign policy of

preventing the spread of communism, so the U.S. gets involved in the Korean War.

1952, NIGHT OF THE MURDERED POETS• Stalin orders the execution of 13 Soviet Jews, including five Yiddish

poets, who are accused of treason and of being spies. • This was the beginning of Stalin's plans to purge (clean) the Soviet

Union of Jews.

MARCH 5, 1953. STALIN DIES OF A STROKE• Already in poor health, Stalin dies four days after suffering a stroke at

his home. • Rumours persist long after his death that he was poisoned.