Joseph Stalin, the controversial Soviet leader, wielded absolute power and implemented policies that transformed the USSR into a global superpower while leaving behind a legacy of repression and millions of lives lost.

Learn about the life and rule of Joseph Stalin, the dictator of the Soviet Union who transformed it into an industrial and military superpower but also killed millions of his own citizens. Explore his rise to power, his role in World War II, his cult of personality and his de-Stalinization.

Joseph Stalin ruled the Soviet Union for more than two decades, instituting a reign of death and terror while modernizing Russia and helping to defeat Nazism.

Learn about the life and achievements of Joseph Stalin, the Soviet dictator who rose to power after Lenin's death and led the Soviet Union in World War II. Find out how he consolidated his rule, repressed dissent, and built up the Soviet military and economy.

Joseph Stalin - WWII Leader, Soviet Union, Dictator: During World War II Stalin emerged, after an unpromising start, as the most successful of the supreme leaders thrown up by the belligerent nations.

Soviet revolutionary and political leader. J oseph Stalin took control of the Soviet Union after the death of Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924), the force behind the October revolutions of 1917 that established the Soviet regime.

Premier of the Soviet Union. J oseph Stalin was the brutal and absolute leader of the communist Soviet Union from 1929 until his death in 1953. By the late 1930s, Stalin staunchly opposed the growth across Europe of the Nazi Party of Germany's Adolf Hitler (1889–1945).

Learn about the life and legacy of Joseph Stalin, the dictator who turned the Soviet Union into a superpower at the cost of millions of lives. Explore his rise to power, his brutal repressions, his role in World War II, and his impact on the Cold War.

Joseph Stalin, second leader of the Soviet Union, died on 5 March 1953 at his Kuntsevo Dacha after suffering a stroke, at age 74. He was given a state funeral in Moscow on 9 March, with four days of national mourning declared.