Joseph Stalin was one of the worst dictators the world has ever seen. He ruled Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.) from 1929 to 1953.
Born December 21, 1879, Stalin grew up in horrible poverty. His real name was Iosif Vissarionovich Djugashvili but he used Stalin instead because it meant man of steel. He grew up with a shoemaker and a washerwoman as parents and was an only child because the three children before him had died at birth. He go small pox as a little boy which scarred his face for life. In 1888 he was sent to a little church school and was a very bright student there. From there he received a scholarship for the Georgian Orthodox Church school and it was there that he learned about Karl Marx and his new idea of communism. Young Joseph joined a revolutionist group for Marxism (communism) but was expelled from his school for missing a test. The theory was that his revolutionary group had something to do with this.
Through the years, Stalin jumped up in the Revolution which was growing stronger. Led by Lenin (read about him on the cold war page) this underground party was dangerous and Stalin was arrested and put in exile many times. He personally met Lenin in 1905 in Finland. Between 1906 and 1913 Stalin spent seven years in exile or prison. In 1912 he was elected to a high position in the Bolshevik party (the revolutionist). During World War I Stalin was again in exile in Siberia and when he came back the country was in shambles. A temporary government had been formed and Lenin and the Bolshevik party was getting ready to revolt against this new government. After this point in history, Stalin had his history rewritten to his likings claiming that he helped in the revolt, but he really hadn't done very much. Lenin became ruler of Russia and named Stalin to a high position. Lenin became ill with many strokes and eventually died but not before leaving a note behind telling of his secret mistrusting of Stalin. The Bolchevik party ignored this and voted Stalin their new leader. He quickly took control and used his powers to get rid of opponents. In December 1929 he became a dictator.
Stalin had a five year plan that would hopefully help the Soviet's economy. It focused on industrial machinery build-up as well as farm equipment. It eliminated small businesses and disregarded clothing and household items. Some may have been unhappy but what can you expect in a communist economy, government has control. When Stalin tried to put the power of farming in the government's authority farmers struck back and destroyed half of the national crops. Stalin killed many peasants as a punishment for this, one of his worst crimes. In 1939 Soviet troops seized a portion of Poland and forced it to communism. In 1940 Stalin invaded Baltic states and forced them into communism and to join the Soviet Union. He destroyed many former Lenin/Bolchevik supporters and continued killing and dictating like this until he died on March 5, 1953 of a brain hemorrhage. By then the Soviet Union was deep into the Cold War.
Fidel Castro:
Fidel Castro has dictated Cuba since 1959 and is still leading today. He made Cuba the first communist country in the western hemisphere.
Castro was born August 13, 1926 (he will be 83 this fall!) . In 1950 he went to Havana University and got a law degree. he opened up his own office in Havana and eventually ran for a representative position in Cuba's government but Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista stopped that election and ended democracy. Castro wanted to start a revolution against him and he did just that. The first revolution on July 26, 1953 failed and he was thrown in jail for 2 years. When he got out he formed another rebellion called the 26th of July movement after the date of the first rebellion. Many were hurt in this rebellion but after many people from surrounding countryside joined the fight, Batista fled and Castro took control. Through everything he has done, his brother Raul is alway advising and helping him. Raul will be his eventual successor. He has been very famous for his anti-American speeches after the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Mao Zedong:
Born on December 26, 1893, Mao Zedong was still a young student when the Chinese government changed power. When working in National Beijing University in 1918 he learned and discovered communism and Karl Marx. He and others form the Chinese Communist Party in Shanghai. That party attempted to join the Chiang Kai-Shek party to unite China but there was too much mistrust between the two parties. Fighting between the two was on and off for the next 25 years, with a short alliance during World War II. After a couple of key battles and a 6,000 mile march led by Zedong helped him and the Communist Party take control of China.
Quickly Zedong closed in China to a tightly knit society while making allies with the U.S.S.R. who strengthened the Chinese army. After the fighting in the Korean War Zedong focused on expanding agriculture and industrialization. He produced a plan called the the Great Leap Forward but that didn't work. Soon after the Soviet Union and China began to not get along very well. China began testing atomic bombs. Led by Mao, China wasn't strong nor did it have good communication with western nations until the 1970's when they began talking again.
Dictators of the Time Period
Joseph Stalin:
Born December 21, 1879, Stalin grew up in horrible poverty. His real name was Iosif Vissarionovich Djugashvili but he used Stalin instead because it meant man of steel. He grew up with a shoemaker and a washerwoman as parents and was an only child because the three children before him had died at birth. He go small pox as a little boy which scarred his face for life. In 1888 he was sent to a little church school and was a very bright student there. From there he received a scholarship for the Georgian Orthodox Church school and it was there that he learned about Karl Marx and his new idea of communism. Young Joseph joined a revolutionist group for Marxism (communism) but was expelled from his school for missing a test. The theory was that his revolutionary group had something to do with this.
Through the years, Stalin jumped up in the Revolution which was growing stronger. Led by Lenin (read about him on the cold war page) this underground party was dangerous and Stalin was arrested and put in exile many times. He personally met Lenin in 1905 in Finland. Between 1906 and 1913 Stalin spent seven years in exile or prison. In 1912 he was elected to a high position in the Bolshevik party (the revolutionist). During World War I Stalin was again in exile in Siberia and when he came back the country was in shambles. A temporary government had been formed and Lenin and the Bolshevik party was getting ready to revolt against this new government. After this point in history, Stalin had his history rewritten to his likings claiming that he helped in the revolt, but he really hadn't done very much. Lenin became ruler of Russia and named Stalin to a high position. Lenin became ill with many strokes and eventually died but not before leaving a note behind telling of his secret mistrusting of Stalin. The Bolchevik party ignored this and voted Stalin their new leader. He quickly took control and used his powers to get rid of opponents. In December 1929 he became a
Stalin had a five year plan that would hopefully help the Soviet's economy. It focused on industrial machinery build-up as well as farm equipment. It eliminated small businesses and disregarded clothing and household items. Some may have been unhappy but what can you expect in a communist economy, government has control. When Stalin tried to put the power of farming in the government's authority farmers struck back and destroyed half of the national crops. Stalin killed many peasants as a punishment for this, one of his worst crimes. In 1939 Soviet troops seized a portion of Poland and forced it to communism. In 1940 Stalin invaded Baltic states and forced them into communism and to join the Soviet Union. He destroyed many former Lenin/Bolchevik supporters and continued killing and dictating like this until he died on March 5, 1953 of a brain hemorrhage. By then the Soviet Union was deep into the Cold War.
Fidel Castro:
Fidel Castro has dictated Cuba since 1959 and is still leading today. He made Cuba the first communist country in the westernCastro was born August 13, 1926 (he will be 83 this fall!) . In 1950 he went to Havana University and got a law degree. he opened up his own office in Havana and eventually ran for a representative position in Cuba's government but Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista stopped that election and ended democracy. Castro wanted to start a revolution against him and he did just that. The first revolution on July 26, 1953 failed and he was thrown in jail for 2 years. When he got out he formed another rebellion called the 26th of July movement after the date of the first rebellion. Many were hurt in this rebellion but after many people from surrounding countryside joined the fight, Batista fled and Castro took control. Through everything he has done, his brother Raul is alway advising and helping him. Raul will be his eventual successor. He has been very famous for his anti-American speeches after the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Mao Zedong:
Born on December 26, 1893, Mao Zedong was still a young student when the Chinese government changed power. When working in National Beijing University in 1918 he learned and discovered communism and Karl Marx. He and others form the Chinese Communist PQuickly Zedong closed in China to a tightly knit society while making allies with the U.S.S.R. who strengthened the Chinese army. After the fighting in the Korean War Zedong focused on expanding agriculture and industrialization. He produced a plan called the the Great Leap Forward but that didn't work. Soon after the Soviet Union and China began to not get along very well. China began testing atomic bombs. Led by Mao, China wasn't strong nor did it have good communication with western nations until the 1970's when they began talking again.
On September 9, 1976, Mao Zedong died.