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Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin, the controversial Russian dictator, was born in Georgia in the Russian Empire in the later part of the nineteenth century into a poor family. Drawn early in his life to the ideals of Vladimir Lenin, he joined Bolsheviks almost at its inception and very soon made a place for himself with his organizational capability, playing an important role during the October Revolution. Later as the Bolsheviks came to power, he quickly rose through the ranks to become the party’s General Secretary. He first used his post to consolidate his position and then to eliminate all his rivals to become the supreme leader of the country, continuing to rule Russia with an iron hand till his death at the age of seventy-four. Although he single handedly elevated Russia from a backward country to a major world power, he was also responsible for millions of deaths and deportations. It was during his tenure that USSR became the second country to develop the nuclear bomb. After his death, his successors, notably Nikita Khrushchev, denounced his legacy and initiated a process of de-Stalinization.

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