Joseph Stalin's Rise To Power

On December eighteenth 1879 in Gori, Georgia, a small peasant village in Russia, Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili (more commonly known as Joseph Stalin) was born into a large family. Stalin had two brothers, Georgy Jughashvili, born one year before Stalin, and Mikhail Jughashvili, born three years before Stalin. However, none of Stalin's siblings survived through infancy. Stalin's father, Besarion Jughashvili, was a cobbler though later became an alcoholic and later becoming a vagrant. Stalin’s mother, Ketevan Geladze worked as a washerwoman.
Stalin’s childhood seems to be what shaped him into the person he became. Stalin would often get sick as a baby and young child, sometimes to the point Stalin’s mother thought he would die. At …show more content…
Stalin was one of seven members of the Politburo, the other members included Zinoviev, Kamenev, Trotsky, Alexei Rykov, Mikhail Tomsky, and Nikolai Bukharin. Of the seven members, only five had the potential to become a leader of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Stalin, Trotsky, Bukharin, Zinoviev, and Kamenev. By late 1924 the only competitors with a chance was Stalin and Trotsky, Bukharin, Zinoviev, and Kamenev had been pushed to the side. Trotsky wanted a worldwide communist revolution. Stalin had his own ideas on the Marxist way of thinking, he came up with a new concept called “Socialism in One Country”. Stalin thought the success of Marxism in Russia was dependent on the construction of a successful Soviet Union. With these different ideas for the future, Russia once again had a conflict within the Central …show more content…
Collectivization was a policy of forced consolidation of individual land and labor into collective farms called “Kolkhozes”. This policy caused more factionalism within the Central Committee, Zinoviev and Kamenev supported it but Bukharin did not. This created an opportunity for Stalin to seize power. Stalin began using his political knowledge to increase his power and position in the Central Committee greatly. A short time later Stalin gained control of the secret police of the Communist Party (N.K.V.D.). Stalin used the N.K.V.D. to spy on his opponents, Trotsky, Bukharin, Kamenev, and Zinoviev. Stalin had Kamenev and Zinoviev removed from the Politburo and Trotsky was to be exiled. Bukharin stayed in to challenge Stalin for control of the Soviet Union. Stalin gained so much support and power within the Central Committee and the Soviet Union as a whole that Stalin became untouchable in the late 1920’s. Stalin being untouchable made him the new dictator of Communist Russia. Stalin’s first Five-Year Plans was launched in 1928 in the Soviet Union. The Five-Year Plan was emphasizing heavy industry to lay foundations for future industrial growth. Stalin’s plans were popular among the poor working class and peasants. Stalin stressed on the concept of collectivization of agriculture. Stalin stressed the collectivization of agricultural output because it would increase agricultural output and bring the lower class and