Welcome to the world of Joseph Stalin, one of the most controversial and notorious figures of the 20th century. As the leader of the Soviet Union from the mid-1920s, until he died in 1953, Stalin’s policies and actions had a profound impact on both his own country and the world at large. From his brutal tactics to his cult of personality, there’s no denying that Stalin is a complex and controversial figure. So, put on your thinking cap, and let’s delve into 25 fascinating Stalin facts that will shed light on this enigmatic figure.
1-5 Fun Facts About Stalin
1. Joseph Stalin’s height was only 5 feet 4 inches, making him shorter than Napoleon. President Truman even referred to him as “a little squirt” after their first meeting.
2. Despite his height, Young Stalin had a reputation for being popular with women.
3. Joseph Stalin’s granddaughter is a Buddhist who currently resides in Portland, where she owns a vintage clothing boutique.
4. In 1913, Adolf Hitler, Leon Trotsky, Joseph Tito, Sigmund Freud, and Joseph Stalin all lived within a few miles of each other in central Vienna. Some of them even frequented the same coffeehouses.
5. On Stalin’s orders, the Soviet Secret Police executed 22,000 Polish officers, but Roosevelt and Churchill had to deny the truth and blame the Nazis to maintain their alliance with Stalin.
6-10 Insane Facts About Stalin
6. Yakov, Stalin’s first son, attempted suicide due to Stalin’s harsh treatment towards him but survived. However, Stalin’s insensitive reaction was, “He can’t even shoot straight.”
7. When the entire national Soviet hockey team died in a plane crash in 1950, Stalin’s son, Vasily, who was the team manager, covered up the disaster and replaced the entire team to avoid Stalin’s anger. Surprisingly, Stalin never noticed the difference.
8. During World War II, Stalin’s son, Yakov, was captured by the Nazis. The Nazis offered to release Yakov in exchange for a captured German Field Marshal named Friedrich Paulus. However, Stalin rejected the offer, stating, “I will not trade a Marshal for a Lieutenant.” As a result, Yakov died in captivity.
9. According to official records, Joseph Stalin was responsible for the deaths of around 2.9 million Russians during his reign. However, historians estimate that the true number may have been as high as 30 million, or roughly 22% of the population.
10. Joseph Stalin, who personally authorized the deaths of 40,000 people, was shockingly nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize twice.
11-15 Surprising Facts About Stalin
11. After multiple failed assassination attempts on his life by Stalin, President Tito famously responded, “Stop sending people to kill me. We’ve already captured five of them, one with a bomb and another with a rifle… If you don’t stop sending killers, I’ll send one to Moscow, and I won’t have to send a second.”
12. In 1907, after the death of his first wife, Joseph Stalin made a heartfelt comment at her funeral: “This creature softened my heart of stone. She died, and with her, my last warm feelings for humanity.” He was so distraught that he even threw himself into her open grave and had to be pulled out.
13. Coca-Cola created a clear soda resembling vodka for Georgi Zhukov, a Soviet Marshal, to avoid offending Stalin, demonstrating the lengths people went to avoid Stalin’s wrath.
14. Nikita Khrushchev’s speech denouncing Stalin was so shocking that it reportedly caused heart attacks for some members of the audience.
15. In Soviet Russia, prisoners would get tattoos of Stalin and Lenin because guards were not allowed to shoot at images of national leaders.
16-20 Interesting Facts About Stalin
16. In a conversation with Winston Churchill, Stalin responded to the notion of God being on Churchill’s side by saying, “Is He a Conservative? The Devil’s on my side, he’s a good Communist.”
17. Stalin considered having American actor John Wayne, a vocal anti-communist, assassinated.
18. Stalin prohibited the movie “The Grapes of Wrath” in the Soviet Union as it portrayed a car as a symbol of economic progress, which went against his communist ideology.
19. Stalin’s immoral character was evident when he had a relationship with a 13-year-old girl and fathered two children with her while he was in his mid-30s.
20. In a bizarre attempt to create a monkey-man army, Stalin sent an animal-breeding expert to Africa in the 1920s to mate humans and chimpanzees.
21-25 Shocking Facts About Stalin
21. Carl Sagan and his wife went against Stalin’s propaganda and smuggled books about the history of the Russian Revolution into the USSR for their colleagues to read.
22. Before becoming a ruthless dictator, Stalin was known as Soselo, an acclaimed poet.
23. Stalin’s mother initially sent him to study to become a priest, but he rejected religion and was expelled from the seminary in 1899 for not attending exams.
24. Despite committing heinous acts that caused mass torture, fear, and countless deaths, Stalin remains popular in Russia, with a 2021 poll showing that 56 percent of Russians consider him a “great leader.”
25. He was born in Gori, Georgia.
That’s it for this post guys, I hope you had fun while reading 25 Facts About Joseph Stalin.
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