Why is Joseph Stalin important?

Widely considered to be one of the 20th century’s most significant figures, Stalin was the subject of a pervasive personality cult within the international Marxist–Leninist movement, which revered him as a champion of the working class and socialism.

What was Stalin’s plan to fix the economy?

In the Soviet Union, the first Five-Year Plan (1928–32), implemented by Joseph Stalin, concentrated on developing heavy industry and collectivizing agriculture, at the cost of a drastic fall in consumer goods. The second plan (1933–37) continued the objectives of the first.

How many people died under Stalin’s policies?

20 million
Prior to the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the archival revelations, some historians estimated that the numbers killed by Stalin’s regime were 20 million or higher.

When did Stalin became leader of the Soviet Union?

Grigory Zinoviev successfully had Stalin appointed to the post of General Secretary in March 1922, with Stalin officially starting in the post on 3 April 1922.

Who had first hand knowledge of Stalin’s foreign policy?

One man who had first hand knowledge was a Foreign Service officer, George F. Kennan. In 1946, while he was Chargé d’Affaires in Moscow, Kennan sent an 8,000-word telegram to the Department—the now-famous “long telegram”—on the aggressive nature of Stalin’s foreign policy.

What was the Soviet Union like at the end of WWII?

At the end of the war, the Soviet Union was a closed society under the iron grip of Joseph Stalin. Few in the West had experience with the communist state and even fewer understood what motivated the Soviets.

What happened to Joseph Stalin’s wife?

In 1906, Stalin married Ekaterina “Kato” Svanidze (1885-1907), a seamstress. The couple had one son, Yakov (1907-1943), who died as a prisoner in Germany during World War II. Ekaterina perished from typhus when her son was an infant.

What happened to the Soviet Union in the 1950s?

In these years, the country experienced another major famine and an anti-semitic campaign peaking in the doctors’ plot. Stalin died in 1953 and was eventually succeeded by Nikita Khrushchev, who denounced his predecessor and initiated the de-Stalinisation of Soviet society.