Joseph Stalin in his 20's (Above)
Early Life
Joseph Stalin was born on December 17th, 1879. He grew up in a small peasant town named Gori located in Georgia which was part of Russia back then. At the age of 7, he contracted smallpox which gave him a life lasting scar. His father was an alcoholic that would beat him and his mother was a laundress. As a boy growing up in poor conditions, he was often bullied and made fun of from the kids from other villages. This may have been the start of his need for power, for feeling inferior for most of his lifetime.
When he was a teenager, his mother wanted him to become a priest, she sent Stalin to a priest school. At school, Stalin was academically extremely smart and received the best grades thus earning a scholarship to a seminary school in Tiflis to study for priesthood. While Joseph was attending this school, he became in touch with a secret organization that supported the independence from the Russian monarchy. He started to read papers written by Karl Marx. Joseph joined this group in 1898 and was introduced to Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin. In 1899 Stalin got expelled from the seminary school because of not attending classes and decided to stay in Tiflis instead of returning to Gori. Joseph Stalin as a child (Above)
Fun Fact: Georgia was annexed by Russia in 1801, became an independent country for 4 years after the Russian Revolution in 1917, and was colonized by the Soviet Union in 1921 until 1991
Joseph Stalin was born on December 17th, 1879. He grew up in a small peasant town named Gori located in Georgia which was part of Russia back then. At the age of 7, he contracted smallpox which gave him a life lasting scar. His father was an alcoholic that would beat him and his mother was a laundress. As a boy growing up in poor conditions, he was often bullied and made fun of from the kids from other villages. This may have been the start of his need for power, for feeling inferior for most of his lifetime.
When he was a teenager, his mother wanted him to become a priest, she sent Stalin to a priest school. At school, Stalin was academically extremely smart and received the best grades thus earning a scholarship to a seminary school in Tiflis to study for priesthood. While Joseph was attending this school, he became in touch with a secret organization that supported the independence from the Russian monarchy. He started to read papers written by Karl Marx. Joseph joined this group in 1898 and was introduced to Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin. In 1899 Stalin got expelled from the seminary school because of not attending classes and decided to stay in Tiflis instead of returning to Gori. Joseph Stalin as a child (Above)
Fun Fact: Georgia was annexed by Russia in 1801, became an independent country for 4 years after the Russian Revolution in 1917, and was colonized by the Soviet Union in 1921 until 1991