Joseph Stalin

==Personal life and characteristics==
Ethnically Georgian,{{sfn|Conquest|1991|p=1}} Stalin grew up speaking the Georgian language,{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=1|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=97}} and did not begin learning Russian until the age of eight or nine.{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=97}} It has been argued that his ancestry was [[Ossetian people|Ossetian]], because his genetic haplotype (G2a-Z6653) is considered typical of the Ossetians, but he never acknowledged an Ossetian identity.{{sfn|Foltz|2021|pp=94–97}} He remained proud of his Georgian identity,{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|pp=66–67}} and throughout his life retained a heavy Georgian accent when speaking Russian.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=1|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2003|2p=2|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2007|3p=42|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4p=97}} According to Montefiore, despite Stalin's affinity for Russia and Russians, he remained profoundly Georgian in his lifestyle and personality.{{sfn|Montefiore|2003|p=579}} Some of Stalin's colleagues described him as "Asiatic", and he supposedly once told a Japanese journalist that "I am not a European man, but an Asian, a Russified Georgian".{{sfn|Rieber|2005|p=18}} Service also noted that Stalin "would never be Russian", could not credibly pass as one, and never tried to pretend that he was.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=85}} Montefiore was of the view that "after 1917, [Stalin] became quadri-national: Georgian by nationality, Russian by loyalty, internationalist by ideology, Soviet by citizenship."{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=268}}

Stalin had a soft voice,{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=183|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2p=5|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2017|3p=5}} and when speaking Russian did so slowly, carefully choosing his phrasing.{{sfn|Conquest|1991|p=1}} In private he often used coarse language and profanity, although avoided doing so in public.{{sfn|Conquest|1991|p=37}} Described as a poor orator,{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=149|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2p=49|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=334|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4p=52}} according to Volkogonov, Stalin's speaking style was "simple and clear, without flights of fancy, catchy phrases or platform [[wikt:histrionics#Noun|histrionics]]".{{sfn|Volkogonov|1991|pp=xx–xxi}} He rarely spoke before large audiences and preferred to express himself in written form.{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=329}} His writing style was similar, being characterised by its simplicity, clarity, and conciseness.{{sfnm|1a1=Volkogonov|1y=1991|1p=21|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=97}} Throughout his life, he used various nicknames and pseudonyms, including "Koba", "Soselo", and "Ivanov",{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=395}} adopting "Stalin" in 1912; it was based on the Russian word for "steel" and has often been translated as "Man of Steel".{{sfn|Himmer|1986|p=269}}

[[File:Lavrenti Beria Stalins family.jpg|thumb|left|225px|[[Lavrenti Beria]] with Stalin's daughter, Svetlana, on his lap and Stalin with [[Nestor Lakoba]] seated in the background smoking a pipe. The photo was taken at Stalin's [[dacha]] near [[Sochi]] in the mid-1930s.]]
In adulthood, Stalin measured {{convert|5|ft|7|in|m|abbr=in|order=flip}}.{{sfn|Kotkin|2017|p=40|ps=. "He stood five feet seven inches, or about 1.7 meters, roughly the same as Napoleon and one inch [2.5 cm] shorter than Hitler, who was 1.73 meters."}}{{sfn|Volkogonov|1991|p=65}} His mustached face was pock-marked from [[smallpox]] during childhood; this was airbrushed from published photographs.{{sfn|Kotkin|2017|p=4}} He was born with a [[Webbed toes|webbed]] left foot, and his left arm had been permanently injured in childhood which left it shorter than his right and lacking in flexibility,{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=25|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2pp=13–14}} which was probably the result of being hit, at the age of 12, by a horse-drawn carriage.{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|pp=21, 29, 33–34}}

During his youth, Stalin cultivated a scruffy appearance in rejection of middle-class aesthetic values.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=44}} By 1907, he grew his hair long and often wore a beard; for clothing, he often wore a traditional Georgian ''[[chokha]]'' or a red satin shirt with a grey coat and black fedora.{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|pp=9–10}} From mid-1918 until his death he favoured military-style clothing, in particular long black boots, light-coloured collarless tunics, and a gun.{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=167|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2017|2p=1}} He was a lifelong smoker, who smoked both a pipe and cigarettes.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=282|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2p=146 |3a1=Service|3y=2004|3pp=435, 438, 574|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2017|4p=1}} Publicly at least, Stalin had a minimalist lust and lived relatively plainly, with simple and inexpensive clothing and furniture;{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=311 |2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2p=102|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2003|3pp=36–37|4a1=Service|4y=2004|4pp=497–498}} his dominant interest was the accumulation of power.{{sfnm|1a1=Volkogonov|1y=1991|1p=102|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=498}} Stalin founded the Outfit, a criminal gang that were involved with [[bank robbery|armed robberies]], [[racketeering]], [[assassinations]], arms procurement and child [[courier]]ing.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sebag Montefiore |first1=Simon |title=Young Stalin |date=2007 |publisher=New York : Alfred A. Knopf |isbn=978-1-4000-4465-8 |pages=xii, xxix, 10, 151–153 |url=https://archive.org/details/youngstalin00seba/page/n35/mode/2up?q=outfit}}</ref>

As leader of the Soviet Union, Stalin typically awoke around 11{{nbsp}}am,{{sfn|Montefiore|2003|p=60}} with lunch being served between 3 and 5{{nbsp}}pm and dinner no earlier than 9{{nbsp}}pm;{{sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2003|1p=60|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=525}} he then worked late into the evening.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=525}} He often dined with other Politburo members and their families.{{sfn|Montefiore|2003|pp=35, 60}} As leader, he rarely left Moscow unless to go to one of his dachas for holiday;{{sfn|Service|2004|p=331}} he disliked travel,{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|pp=102, 227}} and refused to travel by plane.{{sfnm|1a1=Khlevniuk|1y=2015|1p=195|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2017|2p=3}} His choice of favoured holiday house changed over the years,{{sfn|Montefiore|2003|p=64}} although he holidayed in southern parts of the USSR every year from 1925 to 1936 and again from 1945 to 1951.{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=191}} Along with other senior figures, he had a dacha at Zubalova, 35&nbsp;km outside Moscow,{{sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2003|1pp=57–58|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=594}} although ceased using it after Nadezhda's 1932 suicide.{{sfn|Montefiore|2003|p=102}} After 1932, he favoured holidays in [[Abkhazia]], being a friend of its leader, [[Nestor Lakoba]].{{sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2003|1pp=66–67 |2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=296}} In 1934, his new [[Kuntsevo Dacha]] was built; 9&nbsp;km from the Kremlin, it became his primary residence.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=215|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2003|2p=103 |3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=295}} In 1935, he began using a new dacha provided for him by Lakoba at [[Novy Afon]];{{sfn|Montefiore|2003|p=178}} in 1936, he had the [[Kholodnaya Rechka]] dacha built on the Abkhazian coast, designed by [[Miron Merzhanov]].{{sfn|Service|2004|p=572}}

===Personality===
[[File:Stalin birthday2.jpg|thumb|Chinese Marxists celebrate Stalin's seventieth birthday in 1949.]]

Trotsky and several other Soviet figures promoted the idea that Stalin was a mediocrity.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=xvi|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2p=xxiii|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=4|4a1=Montefiore|4y=2007|4p=xxiv}} This gained widespread acceptance outside the Soviet Union during his lifetime but was misleading.{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=xxiv}} According to Montefiore, "it is clear from hostile and friendly witnesses alike that Stalin was always exceptional, even from childhood".{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=xxiv}} Stalin had a complex mind,{{sfn|Service|2004|p=343}} great self-control,{{sfnm|1a1=Volkogonov|1y=1991|1p=8|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=337}} and an excellent memory.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1pp=193, 274|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2p=63|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=115|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4p=425|5a1=Khlevniuk|5y=2015|5p=148}} He was a hard worker,{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=42|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2p=353|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3pp=424, 465, 597}} and displayed a keen desire to learn;{{sfn|Service|2004|p=115}} when in power, he scrutinised many details of Soviet life, from film scripts to architectural plans and military hardware.{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|pp=4–5}} According to Volkogonov, "Stalin's private life and working life were one and the same"; he did not take days off from political activities.{{sfn|Volkogonov|1991|p=145}} Although, Bazhanov described Stalin as having little education and making limited contributions to various matters of state which were discussed at Politburo sessions.{{sfn|Bazhanov|Doyle|1990|p=181}} Similarly, historian [[Robert William Davies]] viewed Stalin as being liable to fall under the sway of persuasive charlatans such as the [[pseudo-scientific]], agronomist [[Trofim Lysenko]] due in part to his lack of education.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Davies |first1=Robert William |title=Soviet History in the Gorbachev Revolution |date=1989 |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=978-0-253-31604-2 |page=70 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QbFT9HzhY2EC&dq=Stalin+lysenko+lack+of+understanding&pg=PA70 |access-date=15 August 2023 |archive-date=20 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230820113450/https://books.google.com/books?id=QbFT9HzhY2EC&dq=Stalin+lysenko+lack+of+understanding&pg=PA70 |url-status=live }}</ref> According to Lenin's sister, [[Maria Ilyinichna Ulyanova]], Lenin stated that "Stalin is not intelligent at all",{{sfn|Service|2004|p=191}} but "valued Stalin as a practical type".{{sfn|Kotkin|2014|pp=528-600}}

Stalin could play different roles to different audiences,{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=317|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2p=xxvi|3a1=McDermott|3y=2006|3p=13}} and was adept at deception, often deceiving others as to his true motives and aims.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=xvi|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=18|3a1=McDermott|3y=2006|3p=13}} According to Bolshevik historian, [[Vladimir Nevsky]], Stalin was appointed the General Secretary because he used false rumours to convince Lenin that the party faced a split. Nevsky also claimed that Lenin would later deeply regret trusting Stalin and strove to correct this mistake with his "[[Lenin's Testament|Testament]]".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rogovin |first1=Vadim Zakharovich |title=Was There an Alternative? Trotskyism: a Look Back Through the Years |date=2021 |publisher=Mehring Books |isbn=978-1-893638-97-6 |page=47 }}</ref> Several historians have seen it as appropriate to follow [[Lazar Kaganovich]]'s description of there being "several Stalins" as a means of understanding his multi-faceted personality.{{sfn|McDermott|2006|pp=12–13}} He was a good organiser,{{sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2003|1p=42|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=424}} with a strategic mind,{{sfn|Kotkin|2014|p=424}} and judged others according to their inner strength, practicality, and cleverness.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=342}} He acknowledged that he could be rude and insulting,{{sfnm|1a1=Volkogonov|1y=1991|1p=120|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=648}} but he rarely raised his voice in anger;{{sfn|Service|2004|p=337}} as his health deteriorated in later life he became increasingly unpredictable and bad-tempered.{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=145}} Despite his tough-talking attitude, he could be very charming;{{sfnm|1a1=McCauley|1y=2003|1p=92|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2003|2pp=49–50|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3pp=117, 465|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2017|4p=5}} when relaxed, he cracked jokes and mimicked others.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=115}} Montefiore suggested that this charm was "the foundation of Stalin's power in the Party".{{sfn|Montefiore|2003|p=41}} According to Service he was "decisive, competent, confident, and ambitious".{{sfn|Service|2004|p=228}}

Stalin was also ruthless,{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=338|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=53}} temperamentally cruel,{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=318|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=7}} and had a propensity for violence high even among the Bolsheviks.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=337}} He lacked compassion,{{sfnm|1a1=Volkogonov|1y=1991|1p=4|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=7}} something Volkogonov suggested might have been accentuated by his many years in prison and exile,{{sfn|Volkogonov|1991|p=8}} although he was capable of acts of kindness to strangers, even amid the Great Terror.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=334}} He was capable of self-righteous indignation,{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=258|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2p=285}} and was resentful,{{sfn|Service|2004|pp=4, 344}} and vindictive,{{sfnm|1a1=Kotkin|1y=2014|1p=597|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2017|2p=6}} holding on to grudges for many years.{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1pp=10, 344|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2017|2p=5}} By the 1920s, he was also suspicious and conspiratorial, prone to believing that people were plotting against him and that there were vast international conspiracies behind acts of dissent.{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=336|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=736}} He never attended torture sessions or executions,{{sfn|Montefiore|2003|p=175}} although Service thought Stalin "derived deep satisfaction" from degrading and humiliating people and enjoyed keeping even close associates in a state of "unrelieved fear".{{sfn|Service|2004|p=5}} Montefiore thought Stalin's brutality marked him out as a "natural extremist";{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=42}} Service suggested he had tendencies toward a paranoid and sociopathic personality disorder.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=343}} According to historian [[Geoffrey Roberts]], Stalin was not a psychopath.{{sfn|Roberts|2022|p=2}} He was instead an emotionally intelligent and feeling intellectual.{{sfn|Roberts|2022|p=2}} Other historians linked his brutality not to any personality trait, but to his unwavering commitment to the survival of the Soviet Union and the international Marxist–Leninist cause.{{sfn|McDermott|2006|p=12}} Conversely, historian E.A. Rees believed that there was a strong argument in the case of Stalin "that it was psychopathy that breed tyranny". Rees cited a diagnosis performed by neuropathologist [[Vladimir Bekhterev]] on Stalin in 1927 and who had described him as a "typical case of severe paranoia".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rees |first1=E. A. |title=Iron Lazar: A Political Biography of Lazar Kaganovich |date=15 October 2013 |publisher=Anthem Press |isbn=978-1-78308-057-1 |page=219 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DeWPAQAAQBAJ&dq=Stalin+psychopath&pg=PA219 |access-date=23 June 2023 |archive-date=30 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230630051151/https://books.google.com/books?id=DeWPAQAAQBAJ&dq=Stalin+psychopath&pg=PA219 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Keenly interested in the arts,{{sfn|Kotkin|2014|p=620}} Stalin admired artistic talent.{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=60}} He protected several Soviet writers from arrest and prosecution, such as [[Mikhail Bulgakov]], even when their work was labelled harmful to his regime.{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=96}} He enjoyed listening to classical music,{{sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2003|1p=73|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=6}} owning around 2,700 [[phonograph record|records]],{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=6}} and frequently attending the Bolshoi Theatre during the 1930s and 1940s.{{sfn|Volkogonov|1991|pp=127, 148}} His taste in music and theatre was conservative, favouring classical drama, opera, and ballet over what he dismissed as experimental "[[Formalism (art)|formalism]]".{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=97}} He also favoured classical forms in the visual arts, disliking avant-garde styles like [[cubism]] and [[futurism]].{{sfn|Volkogonov|1991|p=131}} He was a voracious reader and kept a personal library of over 20,000 books.{{sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2003|1p=86|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=9|3a1=McDermott|3y=2006|3p=19|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2017|4pp=1–2, 5}} Little of this was fiction,{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=93}} although he could cite passages from [[Alexander Pushkin]], [[Nikolay Nekrasov]], and [[Walt Whitman]] by heart.{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=60}} Stalin's favourite subject was history, closely followed by [[Marxist theory]] and then fiction.{{sfn|Roberts|2022|p=2}} Stalin knew Marxist theory well and according to Bullock was an "effective debater" who would quote Marx and Engels in his arguments.{{sfn|Bullock|1992|p=33}} He favoured historical studies, keeping up with debates in the study of Russian, Mesopotamian, ancient Roman, and Byzantine history.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=560}} He was very interested in the reigns of [[Ivan the Terrible]], [[Peter the Great]] and [[Catherine the Great]].{{sfn|Roberts|2022|p=2}} An [[autodidact]],{{sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2003|1p=86|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2pp=117, 676}} he claimed to read as many as 500 pages a day,{{sfnm|1a1=McCauley|1y=2003|1p=93|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2003|2p=86|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=560|4a1=McDermott|4y=2006|4p=19}} with Montefiore regarding him as an intellectual.{{sfn|Montefiore|2003|p=86}} Lenin was his favourite author but he also read, and sometimes appreciated, a great deal of writing by [[Leon Trotsky]] and other archenemies.{{sfn|Roberts|2022|p=2}} Like all Bolshevik leaders, Stalin believed that reading could help transform not just people's ideas and consciousness, but [[human nature]] itself.{{sfn|Roberts|2022|p=2}} Stalin also enjoyed watching films late at night at cinemas installed in the Kremlin and his dachas.{{sfnm|1a1=Volkogonov|1y=1991|1p=127|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2pp=2–3}} He liked the [[Western (genre)|Western]] genre,{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=282|2a1=McCauley|2y=2003|2p=90}} although his favourite films were ''[[Volga Volga]]'' and ''[[Circus (1936 film)|Circus]]'' (both directed by [[Grigori Alexandrov]] and starring [[Lyubov Orlova]]).{{sfn|Montefiore|2003|p=145}}

Stalin was a keen and accomplished [[billiards]] player,{{sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2003|1pp=58, 507|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2017|2p=1}} and collected watches.{{sfn|Kotkin|2017|p=1}} He also enjoyed practical jokes; for instance, he would place a tomato on the chairs of Politburo members and wait for them to sit on it.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=283|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=437}} When at social events, he encouraged singing,{{sfn|Service|2004|p=522}} as well as alcohol consumption; he hoped that others would drunkenly reveal their secrets to him.{{sfnm|1a1=McCauley|1y=2003|1p=90|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2pp=437, 522–523|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=5}} As an infant, Stalin displayed a love of flowers,{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=24}} and later in life he became a keen gardener.{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=24}} His Volynskoe suburb had a {{convert|50|acre|ha|order=flip|adj=on}} park, with Stalin devoting much attention to its agricultural activities.{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|pp=3–4}}

Stalin publicly condemned anti-Semitism,{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|pp=319, 637}} although [[Stalin and antisemitism|he was repeatedly accused of it]].{{sfn|Service|2004|p=55}} People who knew him, such as Khrushchev, suggested he long harboured negative sentiments toward Jews,{{sfnm|1a1=Etinger|1y=1995|1p=103|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2p=165}} and it has been argued that anti-Semitic trends in his policies were further fuelled by Stalin's struggle against Trotsky.{{sfnm|1a1=Etinger|1y=1995|1p=103|2a1=Rappaport|2y=1999|2p=297}} After Stalin's death, Khrushchev claimed that Stalin encouraged him to incite anti-Semitism in Ukraine, allegedly telling him that "the good workers at the factory should be given clubs so they can beat the hell out of those Jews."{{sfnm|1a1=Pinkus|1y=1984|1pp=107–108|2a1=Brackman|2y=2001|2p=390}} In 1946, Stalin allegedly said privately that "every Jew is a potential spy".{{sfn|Brent|Naumov|2004|p=184}} Conquest stated that although Stalin had Jewish associates, he promoted anti-Semitism.{{sfn|Conquest|1991|p=8}} Service cautioned that there was "no irrefutable evidence" of anti-Semitism in Stalin's published work, although his private statements and public actions were "undeniably reminiscent of crude antagonism towards Jews";{{sfn|Service|2004|pp=567–568}} he added that throughout Stalin's lifetime, the Georgian "would be the friend, associate or leader of countless individual Jews".{{sfn|Service|2004|p=77}} Additionally, according to Beria, Stalin had affairs with several Jewish women.{{sfn|Montefiore|2003|p=237}}

His ability to assume absolute power has remained a subject of historical debate.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pipes |first1=Richard |title=Three "whys" of the Russian Revolution |date=1998 |publisher=Pimlico |isbn=978-0-7126-7362-4 |pages=63–65 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DJ25QAAACAAJ |access-date=31 July 2023 |archive-date=13 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230713032415/https://books.google.com/books?id=DJ25QAAACAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> Some historians have attributed his success to his personal qualities.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Holmes |first1=Leslie |title=Communism: A Very Short Introduction |date=27 August 2009 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-955154-5 |pages=10–15 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OasVDAAAQBAJ&dq=Stalin+why+won+succession&pg=PA10 |access-date=31 July 2023 |archive-date=13 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230713032342/https://books.google.com/books?id=OasVDAAAQBAJ&dq=Stalin+why+won+succession&pg=PA10 |url-status=live }}</ref> Contrarily, certain political theorists such as Trotsky have emphasised the role of external conditions in facilitating the growth of a Soviet bureaucracy which served as a power base for Stalin.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Trotsky |first1=Leon |title=The Revolution Betrayed: What is the Soviet Union and where is it Going? |date=1991 |publisher=Mehring Books |isbn=978-0-929087-48-1 |pages=85–98 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hiCYS9Z3lDoC&q=trotsky+defeat+bureaucracy |access-date=31 July 2023 |archive-date=13 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230713031819/https://books.google.com/books?id=hiCYS9Z3lDoC&q=trotsky+defeat+bureaucracy |url-status=live }}</ref> Other historians have regarded the premature deaths of prominent Bolsheviks such as Vladimir Lenin and [[Yakov Sverdlov]] to have been key factors in his elevation to the position of leadership in the Soviet Union. In part, because Sverdlov served as the original [[General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union#List of officeholders|chairman of the party secretariat]] and was considered a natural candidate for the position of General Secretary.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mccauley |first1=Martin |title=Stalin and Stalinism: Revised 3rd Edition |date=13 September 2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-86369-4 |page=35 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oQ7dAAAAQBAJ&dq=Stalin+general+secretary+Lenin+Yakov+Sverdlov&pg=PA35 |access-date=31 July 2023 |archive-date=13 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230713031818/https://books.google.com/books?id=oQ7dAAAAQBAJ&dq=Stalin+general+secretary+Lenin+Yakov+Sverdlov&pg=PA35 |url-status=live }}</ref> Historian [[Peter Kenez]] believed that Trotsky could probably have removed Stalin with the use of Lenin's testament, but he acquiesced to the collective decision not to publish the document.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kenez |first1=Peter |title=A History of the Soviet Union from the Beginning to the End |date=13 March 1999 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-31198-4 |page=77 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aIY9qb6iIEcC&dq=lenin+testament+collective+leadership+trotsky&pg=PA77 |access-date=15 August 2023 |archive-date=20 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230820113448/https://books.google.com/books?id=aIY9qb6iIEcC&dq=lenin+testament+collective+leadership+trotsky&pg=PA77 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Relationships and family===
Friendship was important to Stalin,{{sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2007|1p=49|2a1=Fitzpatrick|2y=2015|2p=65}} and he used it to gain and maintain power.{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=49}} Kotkin observed that Stalin "generally gravitated to people like himself: parvenu intelligentsia of humble background".{{sfn|Kotkin|2014|p=9}} He gave nicknames to his favourites, for instance referring to Yezhov as "my blackberry".{{sfn|Montefiore|2003|p=151}} Stalin was sociable and enjoyed a joke.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=112}} According to Montefiore, Stalin's friendships "meandered between love, admiration, and venomous jealousy".{{sfn|Montefiore|2003|p=135}} While head of the Soviet Union he remained in contact with many of his old friends in Georgia, sending them letters and gifts of money.{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=522|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2003|2p=135|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2007|3p=368}}

Stalin was not a womaniser.{{sfn|Montefiore|2003|p=13}} According to [[Boris Bazhanov]], Stalin's one-time secretary, "Women didn't interest him. His own woman [Alliluyeva] was enough for him, and he paid scant attention to her."{{sfn|Bazhanov|Doyle|1990|p=106}} However, Montefiore noted that in his early life Stalin "rarely seems to have been without a girlfriend".{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=73}} Montefiore described Stalin's favoured types as "young, malleable teenagers or buxom peasant women",{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=209}} who would be supportive and unchallenging toward him.{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=80|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2p=209}} According to Service, Stalin "regarded women as a resource for sexual gratification and domestic comfort".{{sfn|Service|2004|p=80}} Stalin married twice and had several children.{{sfn|McCauley|2003|p=90}}

Stalin married his first wife, [[Ekaterina Svanidze]], in 1906. According to Montefiore, theirs was "a true love match";{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=5}} Volkogonov suggested that she was "probably the one human being he had really loved".{{sfn|Volkogonov|1991|p=4}} When she died, Stalin allegedly said: "This creature softened my heart of stone."{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=202}} However, Russian historian Anton Antonov-Ovseenko wrote that Stalin was physically abusive to her in Baku.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Antonov-Ovseenko |first1=Anton |title=The Time of Stalin: Portrait of a Tyranny |date=1983 |publisher=Harper & Row |isbn=978-0-06-039027-3 |page=251 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cbIqAAAAYAAJ&q=In+Baku+in+1908+,+it+was+with+his+boots+that+Koba+%5B+Stalin+%5D+knocked+his+pregnant+wife+,+Keto+,+around+. |access-date=26 August 2023 |archive-date=28 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230828043832/https://books.google.com/books?id=cbIqAAAAYAAJ&q=In+Baku+in+1908+,+it+was+with+his+boots+that+Koba+&#91;+Stalin+&#93;+knocked+his+pregnant+wife+,+Keto+,+around+. |url-status=live }}</ref> They had a son, [[Yakov Dzhugashvili|Yakov]], who often frustrated and annoyed Stalin.{{sfnm|1a1=Volkogonov|1y=1991|1p=149|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=64|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2007|3p=167|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4p=25}} Yakov had a daughter, [[Galina Dzhugashvili|Galina]], before fighting for the Red Army in the Second World War. He was captured by the German Army and then committed suicide.{{sfnm|1a1=Volkogonov|1y=1991|1pp=150–151|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2p=364}}

[[File:Joseph Stalin with daughter Svetlana, 1935.jpg|thumb|Stalin carrying his daughter, [[Svetlana Alliluyeva|Svetlana]]]]

In 1914, Stalin, circa age 35, had a relationship with Lidia Pereprygina, then 14-years-old, who subsequently became pregnant with Stalin's child.{{sfnm|1a1=Suny|1y=2020|1p=559|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=30}}<ref>{{Cite news |title=Stalin promised the gendarmes that he would marry his 14-year-old mistress as soon as she became an adult |newspaper=Kp.ru - |date=8 November 2018 |url=https://www.kp.ru/daily/26905.4/3949946/ |access-date=21 May 2023 |archive-date=13 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230713032535/https://www.kp.ru/daily/26905.4/3949946/ |url-status=live |last1=Гамов |first1=Александр }}</ref> Circa December 1914, Pereprygia gave birth to Stalin's child, although the infant died soon after.{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|pp=292–293}} In 1916, Lidia – now 15 years old – was pregnant again. She gave birth to a son, named [[Alexander Davydov (soldier)|Alexander Davydov]], in around April 1917. Stalin, then absent, later came to know of the child's existence but showed no apparent interest in him.{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|pp=298, 300}}

Stalin's second wife was [[Nadezhda Alliluyeva]]; theirs was not an easy relationship, and they often fought.{{sfn|Montefiore|2003|p=8}} They had two biological children—a son, [[Vasily Dzhugashvili|Vasily]], and a daughter, [[Svetlana Alliluyeva|Svetlana]], and adopted another son, [[Artyom Sergeev]], in 1921.{{sfn|Montefiore|2003|p=9}} It is unclear if Stalin ever had a mistress during or after his marriage to Alliluyeva.{{sfnm|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2017|3p={{page needed|date=November 2022}}|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2003|1p=13|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=255}} In any event, she suspected that he was unfaithful with other women,{{sfn|Montefiore|2003|p=12}} and committed suicide in 1932.{{sfnm|1a1=Volkogonov|1y=1991|1p=154|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2003|2p=16|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=255}} Stalin regarded Vasily as spoiled and often chastised his behaviour; as Stalin's son, Vasily nevertheless was swiftly promoted through the ranks of the Red Army and allowed a lavish lifestyle.{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|pp=257, 259–260}} Conversely, Stalin had an affectionate relationship with Svetlana during her childhood,{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=215|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2p=153|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2003|3pp=9, 227|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4p=256}} and was also very fond of Artyom.{{sfn|Montefiore|2003|p=9}} In later life, he disapproved of Svetlana's various suitors and husbands, putting a strain on his relationship with her.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=260|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=521}} After the Second World War, he made little time for his children and his family played a decreasingly important role in his life.{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|pp=250, 259}} After Stalin's death, Svetlana changed her surname from Stalin to Alliluyeva,{{sfn|Service|2004|p=593}} and defected to the U.S.{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=260}}

After Nadezhda's death, Stalin became increasingly close to his sister-in-law Zhenya Alliluyeva;{{sfn|Montefiore|2003|pp=142–144}} Montefiore believed that they were lovers.{{sfn|Montefiore|2003|p=144}} There are unproven rumours that from 1934 onward he had a relationship with his housekeeper Valentina Istomina.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=521}} Montefiore also claimed that Stalin had at least two illegitimate children,{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=365}} although he never recognised them as being his.{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=252}} One of them, [[Konstantin Kuzakov]], later taught philosophy at the [[Baltic State Technical University|Leningrad Military Mechanical Institute]], but never met Stalin.{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|pp=365–366}} The other, Alexander, was the son of Lidia Pereprygina; he was raised as the son of a peasant fisherman and the Soviet authorities made him swear never to reveal that Stalin was his biological father.{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=366}} Stalin was also complicit with the persecution of several relatives of his former wives such as Maria and [[Alexander Svanidze]] who were arrested and eliminated during the Great Purge.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Greensmith |first1=James |title=In the Mind of Stalin |date=6 April 2023 |publisher=Pen and Sword History |isbn=978-1-3990-6361-6 |page=71 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0JmyEAAAQBAJ&dq=Alexander+Svanidze&pg=PA71 |access-date=8 July 2023 |archive-date=19 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719203557/https://books.google.com/books?id=0JmyEAAAQBAJ&dq=Alexander+Svanidze&pg=PA71 |url-status=live }}</ref>