Joseph Stalin, born Ioseb Jughashvili, was a Georgian revolutionary and a key figure in the Bolshevik Party.

During the early years of the Soviet state, he used his position as General Secretary of the Communist Party to build a power base and control party appointments.

After Lenin's death in 1924, a power struggle erupted among the top Bolshevik leaders, including Stalin and Leon Trotsky.

Stalin was a masterful political strategist who outmaneuvered all of his rivals.

He promoted the policy of 'Socialism in One Country,' which contrasted with Trotsky's theory of permanent world revolution.

By the late 1920s, Stalin had consolidated his power, expelled Trotsky from the party and the country, and established himself as the undisputed dictator of the Soviet Union.

He abandoned the New Economic Policy (NEP) in favor of a new policy of rapid industrialization and collectivization of agriculture.

He created a powerful cult of personality around himself.

His rule would be characterized by totalitarian control, political purges, and mass repression.

Stalin became one of the most powerful and brutal dictators of the 20th century.