Biography of Joseph Stalin

Stalin was born Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili in Gori, on 18 December [O.S. 6 December] 1878. He was the son of Vissariaon "Beso" Djugashuli and Ekaterina "Keke" Geladze; they had married in May 1872, and had lost two sons in infancy prior to Stalin's birth. They were ethnically Georgian and Stalin grew up speaking the Georgian language. Gori was then part of the Russian Empire, and was home to a population of 20,000, the majority of whom were Georgian but with Armenian, Russian, and Jewish minorities. Stalin was baptised on 17 December. He earned the childhood nickname of Soso, a diminutive of Iosif (Joseph). Beso was a cobbler, and in the early years of their marriage, the couple prospered. However, he did not adapt to changing footwear fashions, and his business began to fail. The family soon found themselves living in poverty, moving through nine different rented rooms in ten years. Given this situation, the historian Robert Conquest later suggested that Stalin's class background was "uncertain and indeterminate".

Stalin in 1894, at the age of 15

Beso was also an alcoholic, and drunkenly beat his wife and son. To escape the abusive relationship, Keke took Stalin and moved into the house of a family friend, Father Christopher Charkviani. She worked as a house cleaner and launderer for several local families who were sympathetic to her plight. Keke was determined to send her son to school, something that none of the family had previously achieved. In late 1888, when Stalin was ten, he enrolled at the Gori Church School. This was normally reserved for the children of clergy, although Charkviani ensured that Stalin received a place. Stalin excelled academically, displaying talent in painting and drama classes, writing his own poetry, and singing as a choirboy. He got into many fights, and a childhood friend later noted that Stalin "was the best but also the naughtiest pupil" in the class. Stalin faced several severe health problems; in 1884, he contracted smallpox and was left with facial pock scars. Aged 12, he was seriously injured after being hit by a Phaeton (carriage); the accident resulted in a lifelong disability to his left arm.

At his teachers' recommendation, Stalin proceeded to the Spiritual Seminary in Tiflis.[39] He enrolled at the school in August 1894,[40] enabled by a scholarship that allowed him to study at a reduced rate.[41] Here he joined 600 trainee priests who boarded at the seminary.[42] Stalin was again academically successful and gained high grades.[43] He continued writing poetry; five of his poems were published under the pseudonym of "Soselo" in Ilia Chavchavadze's newspaper Iveria ("Georgia").[44] Thematically, they dealt with topics like nature, land, and patriotism.[45] According to Stalin's biographer Simon Sebag Montefiore, they became "minor Georgian classics",[46] and were included in various anthologies of Georgian poetry over the coming years.[46] As he grew older, Stalin lost interest in his studies; his grades dropped,[47] and he was repeatedly confined to a cell for his rebellious behaviour.[48] Teachers complained that he declared himself an atheist, chatted in class, and refused to doff his hat to monks.