Joseph Stalin

==Political ideology==
{{Further|Marxism-Leninism|Stalinism}}
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-18684-0002, Dresden, Tod Stalin, Parade KVP.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|right|A mourning parade in honour of Stalin in [[Dresden]], [[East Germany]]]]

Stalin claimed to have embraced Marxism at the age of fifteen,{{sfn|Rieber|2005|p=32}} and it served as the guiding philosophy throughout his adult life;{{sfn|Service|2004|p=9}} according to Kotkin, Stalin held "zealous Marxist convictions",{{sfn|Kotkin|2014|p=xi}} while Montefiore suggested that Marxism held a "quasi-religious" value for Stalin.{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=336}} Although he never became a [[Georgian nationalism|Georgian nationalist]],{{sfn|Rieber|2005|p=43}} during his early life elements from Georgian nationalist thought blended with Marxism in his outlook.{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=67}} The historian Alfred J. Rieber noted that he had been raised in "a society where rebellion was deeply rooted in folklore and popular rituals".{{sfn|Rieber|2005|p=43}} Stalin believed in the need to adapt Marxism to changing circumstances; in 1917, he declared that "there is dogmatic Marxism and there is creative Marxism. I stand on the ground of the latter".{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=136|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=205|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=47}} Volkogonov believed that Stalin's Marxism was shaped by his "dogmatic turn of mind", suggesting that this had been instilled in the Soviet leader during his education in religious institutions.{{sfn|Volkogonov|1991|p=7}} According to scholar Robert Service, Stalin's "few innovations in ideology were crude, dubious developments of Marxism".{{sfn|Service|2004|p=9}} Some of these derived from political expediency rather than any sincere intellectual commitment;{{sfn|Service|2004|p=9}} Stalin would often turn to ideology ''post hoc'' to justify his decisions.{{sfn|McDermott|2006|p=7}} Stalin referred to himself as a ''praktik'', meaning that he was more of a practical revolutionary than a theoretician.{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=92|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=462}}

As a Marxist and an anti-capitalist, Stalin believed in an inevitable "[[class war]]" between the world's proletariat and [[bourgeoisie]].{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=93|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=7}} He believed that the working classes would prove successful in this struggle and would establish a [[dictatorship of the proletariat]],{{sfn|Service|2004|p=93}} regarding the Soviet Union as an example of such a state.{{sfn|Sandle|1999|p=216}} He also believed that this proletarian state would need to introduce repressive measures against foreign and domestic "enemies" to ensure the full crushing of the propertied classes,{{sfn|Service|2004|pp=93–94}} and thus the class war would intensify with the advance of socialism.{{sfnm|1a1=Sandle|1y=1999|1p=214|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=8}} As a propaganda tool, the shaming of "enemies" explained all inadequate economic and political outcomes, the hardships endured by the populace, and military failures.{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=8}} The new state would then be able to ensure that all citizens had access to work, food, shelter, healthcare, and education, with the wastefulness of capitalism eliminated by a new, standardised economic system.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=94}} According to Sandle, Stalin was "committed to the creation of a society that was industrialised, collectivised, centrally planned and technologically advanced."{{sfn|Sandle|1999|p=211}}

Stalin adhered to the [[Leninist]] variant of Marxism.{{sfnm|1a1=Deutscher|1y=1966|1p=86|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2pp=10, 699}} In his book, [[The Foundations of Leninism|''Foundations of Leninism'']], he stated that "Leninism is the Marxism of the epoch of imperialism and of the proletarian revolution".{{sfn|Kotkin|2014|p=545}} He claimed to be a loyal Leninist,{{sfn|Service|2004|p=92}} although was—according to Service—"not a blindly obedient Leninist".{{sfn|Service|2004|p=94}} Stalin respected Lenin, but not uncritically,{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=211}} and spoke out when he believed that Lenin was wrong.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=94}} During the period of his revolutionary activity, Stalin regarded some of Lenin's views and actions as being the self-indulgent activities of a spoiled émigré, deeming them counterproductive for those Bolshevik activists based within the Russian Empire itself.{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=95|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2p=211}} After the October Revolution, they continued to have differences. Whereas Lenin believed that all countries across Europe and Asia would readily unite as a single state following proletariat revolution, Stalin argued that national pride would prevent this, and that different socialist states would have to be formed; in his view, a country like Germany would not readily submit to being part of a Russian-dominated federal state.{{sfn|Service|2004|pp=179–180}} Khlevniuk nevertheless believed that the pair developed a "strong bond" over the years,{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=67}} while Kotkin suggested that Stalin's friendship with Lenin was "the single most important relationship in Stalin's life".{{sfn|Kotkin|2014|p=531}} After Lenin's death, Stalin relied heavily on Lenin's writings—far more so than those of Marx and Engels—to guide him in the affairs of state.{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|pp=93–94}} Stalin adopted the Leninist view on the need for a revolutionary [[vanguardism|vanguard]] who could lead the proletariat rather than being led by them.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=93}} Leading this vanguard, he believed that the Soviet peoples needed a strong, central figure—akin to a Tsar—whom they could rally around.{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=333|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=586}} In his words, "the people need a Tsar, whom they can worship and for whom they can live and work".{{sfn|Montefiore|2003|p=158}} He read about, and admired, two Tsars in particular: [[Ivan the Terrible]] and [[Peter the Great]].{{sfnm|1a1=Sandle|1y=1999|1p=256|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=333|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=94}} In the personality cult constructed around him, he was known as the ''[[vozhd]]'', an equivalent to the Italian ''[[duce]]'' and German ''[[führer]]''.{{sfn|Kotkin|2017|p=7}}

[[File:Grutas Stalin.jpg|thumb|left|A statue of Joseph Stalin in [[Grūtas Park]] near [[Druskininkai]], Lithuania. It originally stood in [[Vilnius]], Lithuania.]]
[[Stalinism]] was a development of Leninism,{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=352}} and while Stalin avoided using the term "Marxism-Leninism-Stalinism", he allowed others to do so.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=357}} Following Lenin's death, Stalin contributed to the theoretical debates within the Communist Party, namely by developing the idea of "[[Socialism in One Country]]". This concept was intricately linked to factional struggles within the party, particularly against Trotsky.{{sfn|Sandle|1999|pp=208–209}} He first developed the idea in December 1924 and elaborated upon in his writings of 1925–26.{{sfn|Sandle|1999|p=209}} Stalin's doctrine held that socialism could be completed in Russia but that its final victory could not be guaranteed because of the threat from capitalist intervention. For this reason, he retained the Leninist view that world revolution was still a necessity to ensure the ultimate victory of socialism.{{sfn|Sandle|1999|p=209}} Although retaining the Marxist belief that the state would wither away as socialism transformed into pure communism, he believed that the Soviet state would remain until the final defeat of international capitalism.{{sfn|Sandle|1999|p=261}} This concept synthesised Marxist and Leninist ideas with nationalist ideals,{{sfn|Sandle|1999|p=211}} and served to discredit Trotsky—who promoted the idea of "[[permanent revolution]]"—by presenting the latter as a defeatist with little faith in Russian workers' abilities to construct socialism.{{sfn|Sandle|1999|p=210}}

Stalin viewed nations as contingent entities which were formed by capitalism and could merge into others.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=98}} Ultimately, he believed that all nations would merge into a single, global human community,{{sfn|Service|2004|p=98}} and regarded all nations as inherently equal.{{sfn|Overy|2004|p=552}} In his work, he stated that "the right of secession" should be offered to the ethnic minorities of the Russian Empire, but that they should not be encouraged to take that option.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=99}} He was of the view that if they became fully autonomous, then they would end up being controlled by the most reactionary elements of their community; as an example, he cited the largely illiterate [[Tatar]]s, whom he claimed would end up dominated by their [[mullah]]s.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=99}} Stalin argued that the Jews possessed a "national character" but were not a "nation" and were thus unassimilable. He argued that Jewish nationalism, particularly [[Zionism]], was hostile to socialism.{{sfn|Overy|2004|p=565}} According to Khlevniuk, Stalin reconciled Marxism with great-power imperialism and therefore expansion of the empire makes him a worthy to the Russian tsars.{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=8}} Service argued that Stalin's Marxism was imbued with a great deal of Russian nationalism.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=9}} According to Montefiore, Stalin's embrace of the Russian nation was pragmatic, as the Russians were the core of the population of the USSR; it was not a rejection of his Georgian origins.{{sfn|Montefiore|2003|pp=310, 579}} Stalin's push for Soviet westward expansion into eastern Europe resulted in accusations of [[Russian imperialism]].{{sfn|Service|2004|p=5}}