Stalin's grew up in an abusive family. His father was frequently drunk, and when he was, he beat Stalin and his mother. These beatings left Stalin hard and heartless and gave him a hatred of authority. It is said that anyone with power reminded him of his father. His father also instilled in him another cruel feeling - anti-Semitism. In 1888, his father went to live in Tiflis, leaving the family without any means of support.

At the age of eight, Stalin began his education at the Gori Church School. In school, Stalin was forced to speak Russian and he and his Georgian classmates were held up to ridicule by the teachers because of his accent. They also mocked him for his ragged school uniform and his pockmarked face. Young Soso soon learned to outsmart his torment

The role of the secret police became paramount in Soviet society, with party members closely monitored to ensure their adherence to Stalin. Similarly, the Central Committee and even the Politburo became rubber stamps for Stalin's dictatorship, without any ability to challenge his power or question his decisions.

On December 1, 1934, Kirov was walking along a corridor in the Smolny Institute, when a young man pulled a revolver and shot him. He died almost instantly. A few hours later, Stalin drafted the decree that came to be known as the "Law of 1 December". It was approved by the Politburo two days later and ordered that the period of questioning terrorist suspects be reduced to ten days, allowed suspects to be tried without legal respresentation and permitted executions to carried out immediately. It has always been assumed that Stalin initiated the purges as a response to opposition to him within the party. Recent works cast doubt about Stalin's involvement, however. Whether or not Stalin was personally behind the assassination of Kirov in order to remove a rival, the assasination was used as a pretext for purges.

At Lenin's death there were five individuals jockeying for power. The leader of the Left Opposition was Leon Trotsky, opposed by Bukharin of the Right Opposition. Stalin initially allied himself with Lev Kamenev and Grigori Zinoyiey in the middle, forming a trioka to defeat Trotsky. Trotsky was the strongest contender to replace Lenin but he was ousted as Commissar of War in 1925. Stalin promptly turned on Kamenev and Zinoyiey, aligning himself with Bukharin. Changes in ideology seemed not to bother him. Stalin shifted from side to side and eventually rid the party of both factions by forging a path that integrated the ideas of both camps. He adapted the "leftist" stance that opposed market agriculture because they wanted to produce the material basis for communism quickly through a planned economy, despite unfavorable conditions. But he also endorsed the "rightist" faction's concept of "socialism in one country", which favored concentrating on internal development rather than exporting revolution. He also favored extensive exports of grain and raw materials; the revenues from foreign exchange allowing the Soviet Union to import foreign technologies needed for industrial development.

In 1917 Stalin was editor of Pravda while Lenin was in exile. After the February revolution, the first stage in the Russian Revolution, Stalin was elected to the Politburo in May, a position he held for the rest of his life. Stalin played only a minor role in the October revolution, apparently not distinquishing himself. Later, he embellished his actions after he came to power.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Riutin Bolshevik, Soviet Union, Smolny Institute, Ekaterina Geladze, Bukharin Changes, Central Committee, Communist Party, Civil War, Russian Georgian, Five-Year Plan, central committee, soviet union, party congress, communist party, secret police, stalin party, zinoviev kamenev, party congresses, lev kamenev, communist party soviet, approve execution, stalin party congresses, central committee politburo,
Approximate Word count = 3273
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page double spaced)