Signature of Soviet Union Premier Joseph Stalin

Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili; 18 December 1878 – 5 March 1953) was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution in Russia in 1917 and later held the position of General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee from 1922 until his death in 1953. While the office of the General Secretary was officially elective and not initially regarded as the top position in the Soviet state, Stalin managed to use it to consolidate more and more power in his hands after the death of Vladimir Lenin in 1924 and gradually put down all opposition groups within the Communist Party. This included Leon Trotsky, a socialist theorist and the principal critic of Stalin among the early Soviet leaders, who was exiled from the Soviet Union in 1929. Whereas Trotsky was an exponent of world revolution, it was Stalin's concept of socialism in one country that became the primary focus of Soviet politics. Image reproduction rights can be found in the link near the bottom of this description. All Rights Reserved; without: prejudice, recourse or notice (U.C.C. 1-308) Image Reproduction Rights: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Stalin_Signature.svg