Stalin Final Draft
Michael Mulholland, Hunter Mikson, Avery Fields
Mrs. Schrimsher
AICE International History Period 7
16 December 2014
Josef Stalin: A Totalitarian Tyrant Joseph Vissarionovitch Stalin, notoriously known as one of the most ruthless and inhumane tyrants, startlingly was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize because of his efforts to end Second World War. Yet Stalin was not flaccid in his rise to power from an irrelevant position to the dictator of the Soviet Union from 1941-1953. Joseph Stalin is ubiquitously considered a totalitarian due to his economic, social, a political policies of government. Joseph Stalin’s youth began in December 18, 1879, when he was born as the son of Besarion Jughashivili in Georgia. His youth was plagued by his contraction of smallpox, which left his face scarred and his left arm marginally deformed (PBS). These deformities elicited the village children that neighbored Stalin to treat him callously, causing a sense of inferiority within the young boy of seven years. Due to this cruelty, Stalin began his quest to acquire greatness and respect, consequentially developing a cruel streak for anyone who crossed him (PBS). In respect to his education, his mother, a devout Orthodox Christian, enrolled him in a denominational school in Gori in the hope that he would become a priest. Joseph’s efforts in school earned him a scholarship to Tiflis Theological Seminary in 1894, where within a year he came across Messame Dassy, a secret organization that supported Georgian independence from Russia (PBS). A majority of the members of this organization were socialists, responsible for introducing Stalin to the writings of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin. Despite his success in seminary schooling, Joseph left his schooling and joined the group in 1898, devoting some of his time to studying the revolutionary ideas that would influence his totalitarian reign of the USSR. In 1901 Stalin joined the Social Democratic Labor Party and quit his job as a tutor and
Mrs. Schrimsher
AICE International History Period 7
16 December 2014
Josef Stalin: A Totalitarian Tyrant Joseph Vissarionovitch Stalin, notoriously known as one of the most ruthless and inhumane tyrants, startlingly was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize because of his efforts to end Second World War. Yet Stalin was not flaccid in his rise to power from an irrelevant position to the dictator of the Soviet Union from 1941-1953. Joseph Stalin is ubiquitously considered a totalitarian due to his economic, social, a political policies of government. Joseph Stalin’s youth began in December 18, 1879, when he was born as the son of Besarion Jughashivili in Georgia. His youth was plagued by his contraction of smallpox, which left his face scarred and his left arm marginally deformed (PBS). These deformities elicited the village children that neighbored Stalin to treat him callously, causing a sense of inferiority within the young boy of seven years. Due to this cruelty, Stalin began his quest to acquire greatness and respect, consequentially developing a cruel streak for anyone who crossed him (PBS). In respect to his education, his mother, a devout Orthodox Christian, enrolled him in a denominational school in Gori in the hope that he would become a priest. Joseph’s efforts in school earned him a scholarship to Tiflis Theological Seminary in 1894, where within a year he came across Messame Dassy, a secret organization that supported Georgian independence from Russia (PBS). A majority of the members of this organization were socialists, responsible for introducing Stalin to the writings of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin. Despite his success in seminary schooling, Joseph left his schooling and joined the group in 1898, devoting some of his time to studying the revolutionary ideas that would influence his totalitarian reign of the USSR. In 1901 Stalin joined the Social Democratic Labor Party and quit his job as a tutor and
Cited: Hoyt, Edwin Palmer. Stalin’s War: Tragedy and Triumph. San Francisco: Cooper Square Press, 2006. Print. Marshi, Geoffrey Radzinsky,Edvard. Stalin: The First in-depth Biography Based on Explosive New Documents. New York: Anchor Books, 2011. Print. Todd, Allan. The European Dictatorships: Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 2002. Print.