Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili (Stalin) was born on 21 December 1879 and raised in Gori a village inside the state of Georgia which lay between Europe and Asia. Stalin's birth was a miracle as his mother Ekaterina Dzhugashvili had previously had two children but they died soon after birth, how different Russia be if Stalin had been the third. His father Vissarion Ivanovich Dzhugashvili was a shoe maker and was a brooding, violent man who made barley enough for them to live. He got drunk often and beat Soso (Stalin's childhood nick name which was Russian for Joey), one such beating damaged his left arm permanently and left it three inches shorter than his right which made it hard for him to disguise himself when he later became a Bolshevik.

His mother was deeply religious and had a dream of her son becoming a priest in the Georgian Orthodox Church. When Stalin was a child he loved going to church and was a choir boy for several years. When Stalin was ten his

In May 1922 Lenin suffered a stroke and was partially paralyzed and then had another one in March 1923 which left him without the ability to speak, he died in January 1924. Lenin had made a last testament which detailed his final thoughts. In it stated the six members who would be most likely to become leaders and wrote that one of those six would be the most powerful and kill the other five. Later on in the testament it mentioned that Stalin should be removed from his post as secretary general as power was dangerous in his hands. But Stalin had allied himself with Kamenev and Zinoviev and they spoke up for him during the council meeting when the testament was read out. The council decided to disregard Lenin's Testament and Stalin remained at his post. This was ultimate turning point in Stalin's rise to power. He had come very close to being kicked out of the central committee but had managed to survive. With Lenin gone there was a space to fill and Stalin wanted to be the one!

On April 18, 1902 Stalin was arrested for his revolutionary ways and was in prison for a year and a half before being exiled to Siberia. During his stay there he found out about the Bolsheviks and joined their party in.1903. He participated at many party congresses such as Finland (1905), Stockholm (1906) and London (1907). He saw the Bolsheviks as a tool, a way to get power for himself later when the time was right.

Stalin started to find ways to make Trotsky look bad and the first of these was at Lenin's funeral. Trotsky was sick and out of town so he did not know the date for the funeral. Stalin ordered one of his men to tell Trotsky the wrong date so he would miss it completely. This made it look like Trotsky did not care and that he was not a true follower of Lenin. Stalin however played a big part at the funeral he was one of the coffin bearers, gave speeches (which he did not give very often) and was believed to have organized for Lenin's body to be embalmed and placed for public view in a mausoleum in the center of Moscow. He intended make Lenin a legend, a cult and put himself in right by his side. He made himself look like Lenin's best friend and that Lenin wanted him to come to power.

When Stalin was thirteen he read a book about a legendary Georgian bandit called Koba who was loyal to his people and considered a hero. Stalin saw himself as a modern day Koba fighting for the rights of his people and took this name and several others until the Bolsheviks got power. When Stalin was on the run from the law his mother who despite being disappointed in his revolutionary attitude chose to hide him. It was here he met and married Yekaterina Svandize. She later died of disease in 1907 and Stalin took it hard. He told an old friend at her funeral " She is dead, and with her have died my last warm feelings for humanity." His actions over the next forty five years seem to support this statement.

Stalin had a hard climb to power from his humble beginnings as a shoe makers son. He only got power by seeing the full potential in every situation and by being completely ruthless. Would Stalin have been the same if it were not for his violent father or the death of his first wife? These questions can not be answered but its interesting to think how things would have been if he had become the priest like his mother wanted.

It was while visiting Lenin in Vienna, Austria that Stalin first met Trotsky a former Menshevick wh

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