21 Astounding Joseph Stalin Facts Even The History Buffs Don’t Know

Published July 4, 2017
Updated December 15, 2017

These Joseph Stalin facts reveal the man who wrote the history of 20th-century Soviet Union in blood.

Joseph Stalin Facts
Parents Of Josef Stalin
Stalin As A Little Boy
Portrait Of Young Joseph Stalin
21 Astounding Joseph Stalin Facts Even The History Buffs Don’t Know
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Every consequential figure in history leaves their mark not just in their actions, but in the public fascination that they inspire years after their death: How did this person rise to the top? What compelled them to act in a certain way? Could childhood events have shaped this person's future? Would things have been different if he or she had just done one thing differently?

These questions continue to swirl around the figure of Joseph Stalin, and with good reason. For more than 30 years in the mid-20th century, Stalin wrote pages of Russian history in blood, and when he died in 1953, he left a huge smoking crater in the middle of the century that, in many ways, has yet to fully close.

It might never be known just how many people died under Stalin, but it certainly isn't less than tens of millions. In his day, Stalin ruled the largest land empire of the modern age, built up a state that went from a feudal monarchy to a Space Age superpower, and disposed of anyone he believed would or did stand in his way.

Historians may never truly know how exactly the son of Georgian serfs became one of history's most important leaders, but in the gallery of Joseph Stalin facts above, we can at least begin to trace out some significant steps in his life.


Enjoy these Joseph Stalin facts? Check out some of the most fascinating Albert Einstein facts and some truly ridiculous facts about Pablo Escobar.

author
Richard Stockton
author
Richard Stockton is a freelance science and technology writer from Sacramento, California.
editor
John Kuroski
editor
John Kuroski is the editorial director of All That's Interesting. He graduated from New York University with a degree in history, earning a place in the Phi Alpha Theta honor society for history students. An editor at All That's Interesting since 2015, his areas of interest include modern history and true crime.