Joseph Stalin

=== 1905–1912: Revolution of 1905 and its aftermath ===
[[File:Lenin at Tampere.JPG|thumb|left|Stalin first met [[Vladimir Lenin]] at [[Tampere conference of 1905|a 1905 conference in Tampere]], in the [[Grand Duchy of Finland]]. Lenin became "Stalin's indispensable mentor".{{sfn|Kotkin|2014|p=81}}]]
In January 1905, government troops [[Bloody Sunday (1905)|massacred protesters]] in [[Saint Petersburg]]. Unrest soon spread across the Russian Empire in what came to be known as the [[Revolution of 1905]].{{sfnm|1a1=Deutscher|1y=1966|1p=80|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=56|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2007|3p=126}} Georgia was particularly affected.{{sfnm|1a1=Deutscher|1y=1966|1pp=84–85|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=56}} Stalin was in [[Baku]] in February when [[Armenian–Tatar massacres of 1905–1907|ethnic violence]] broke out between Armenians and Azeris; at least 2,000 were killed.{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=58|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2pp=128–129}} He publicly lambasted the "pogroms against Jews and Armenians" as being part of Tsar [[Nicholas II]]'s attempts to "buttress his despicable throne".{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=129}} Stalin formed a Bolshevik Battle Squad which he used to try to keep Baku's warring ethnic factions apart; he also used the unrest as a cover for stealing printing equipment.{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=129}} Amid the growing violence throughout Georgia he formed further Battle Squads, with the Mensheviks doing the same.{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|pp=131–132}} Stalin's squads disarmed local police and troops,{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=132}} raided government arsenals,{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=143}} and raised funds through [[protection racket]]s on large local businesses and mines.{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|pp=132–133}} They launched attacks on the government's [[Cossack]] troops and pro-Tsarist [[Black Hundreds]],{{sfnm|1a1=Deutscher|1y=1966|1p=87|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2pp=135, 144}} co-ordinating some of their operations with the Menshevik militia.{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=137}}

In November 1905, the Georgian Bolsheviks elected Stalin as one of their delegates to a Bolshevik conference in Saint Petersburg.{{sfnm|1a1=Deutscher|1y=1966|1pp=89–90|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=60|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2007|3p=145}} On arrival, he met Lenin's wife [[Nadezhda Krupskaya]], who informed him that the venue had been moved to [[Tampere]] in the [[Grand Duchy of Finland]].{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=145}} At [[Tampere conference of 1905|the conference]] Stalin met Lenin for the first time.{{sfnm|1a1=Deutscher|1y=1966|1p=90|2a1=Conquest|2y=1991|2p=37|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=60|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4p=81}} Although Stalin held Lenin in deep respect, he was vocal in his disagreement with Lenin's view that the Bolsheviks should field candidates for the [[1906 Russian legislative election|forthcoming election]] to the [[State Duma (Russian Empire)|State Duma]]; Stalin saw the parliamentary process as a waste of time.{{sfnm|1a1=Deutscher|1y=1966|1p=92|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2p=147|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=105}} In April 1906, Stalin attended the [[4th Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party|RSDLP Fourth Congress]] in Stockholm; this was his first trip outside the Russian Empire.{{sfnm|1a1=Deutscher|1y=1966|1p=94|2a1=Conquest|2y=1991|2pp=39–40|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3pp=61, 62|4a1=Montefiore|4y=2007|4p=156}} At the conference, the RSDLP — then led by its Menshevik majority — agreed that it would not raise funds using armed robbery.{{sfnm|1a1=Deutscher|1y=1966|1p=96|2a1=Conquest|2y=1991|2p=40|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=62|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4p=26}} Lenin and Stalin disagreed with this decision{{sfnm|1a1=Deutscher|1y=1966|1p=96|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=62|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=113}} and later privately discussed how they could continue the robberies for the Bolshevik cause.{{sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2007|1p=168|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=113}}

Stalin married [[Kato Svanidze]] in an Orthodox church ceremony at [[Senaki]] in July 1906.{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=64|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2p=159|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=105|4a1=Semeraro|4y=2017|4p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=bAXMDwAAQBAJ&dq=Kato+Svanidze+stalin+orthodox+church+1906&pg=PT87 ??]}} In March 1907 she bore a son, [[Yakov Dzhugashvili|Yakov]].{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=64|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2p=167|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=106|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4p=25}} By that year — according to the historian [[Robert Service (historian)|Robert Service]] — Stalin had established himself as "Georgia's leading Bolshevik".{{sfn|Service|2004|p=65}} He attended the [[5th Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party|Fifth RSDLP Congress]], held at the [[Brotherhood Church]] in London in May–June 1907.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=41|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=65|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2007|3pp=178–180|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4p=108}} After returning to Tiflis, Stalin organised the [[1907 Tiflis bank robbery|robbing of a large delivery of money to the Imperial Bank]] in June 1907. His gang ambushed the armed convoy in [[Freedom Square, Tbilisi|Erivansky Square]] with gunfire and home-made bombs. Around 40 people were killed, but all of his gang escaped alive.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1pp=41–42|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=75|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=113}} After the heist, Stalin settled in Baku with his wife and son.{{sfnm|1a1=Deutscher|1y=1966|1p=100|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2p=180|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=114}} There, Mensheviks confronted Stalin about the robbery and voted to expel him from the RSDLP, but he took no notice of them.{{sfnm|1a1=Deutscher|1y=1966|1p=100|2a1=Conquest|2y=1991|2pp=43–44|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=76|4a1=Montefiore|4y=2007|4p=184}}

[[File:Stalin's Mug Shot.jpg|thumb|right|A [[Mug shot|mugshot]] of Stalin made in 1911 by the [[Okhrana|Tsarist secret police]]]]
In Baku, Stalin secured Bolshevik domination of the local RSDLP branch{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=190}} and edited two Bolshevik newspapers, ''Bakinsky Proletary'' and ''Gudok'' ("Whistle").{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=186}} In August 1907, he attended the [[International Socialist Congress, Stuttgart 1907|Seventh Congress]] of the [[Second International]] — an international socialist organisation — in [[Stuttgart]], [[German Empire]].{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=189}} In November 1907, his wife died of [[typhus]],{{sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2007|1p=191|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=115}} and he left his son with her family in Tiflis.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=44|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=71|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2007|3p=193|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4p=116}} In Baku he had reassembled his gang, the Outfit,{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=194}} which continued to attack Black Hundreds and raised finances by running protection rackets, counterfeiting currency, and carrying out robberies.{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=74|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2p=196|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=115}} They also kidnapped the children of several wealthy figures to extract ransom money.{{sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2007|1pp=197–198|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=115}} In early 1908, he travelled to the Swiss city of [[Geneva]] to meet with Lenin and the prominent Russian Marxist [[Georgi Plekhanov]], although the latter exasperated him.{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=195}}

In March 1908, Stalin was arrested and interned in Bailov Prison in Baku.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=44|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=68|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2007|3p=203|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4p=116}} There he led the imprisoned Bolsheviks, organised discussion groups, and ordered the killing of suspected informants.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=45|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2pp=203–204}} He was eventually sentenced to two years exile in the village of [[Solvychegodsk]], [[Vologda Oblast|Vologda Province]], arriving there in February 1909.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=45|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=68|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2007|3pp=206, 208|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4p=116}} In June, he escaped the village and made it to [[Kotlas]] disguised as a woman and from there to Saint Petersburg.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=46|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2p=212|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=117}} In March 1910, he was arrested again and sent back to Solvychegodsk.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=46|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2pp=222, 226|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=121}} There he had affairs with at least two women; his landlady, Maria Kuzakova, later gave birth to his second son, [[Konstantin Kuzakov|Konstantin]].{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=79|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2pp=227, 229, 230–231|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=121}} In June 1911, Stalin was given permission to move to [[Vologda]], where he stayed for two months,{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=47|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=80|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2007|3pp=231, 234|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4p=121}} having a relationship with Pelageya Onufrieva.{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=79|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2p=234|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=121}} He escaped to Saint Petersburg,{{sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2007|1p=236|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=121}} where he was arrested in September 1911 and sentenced to a further three-year exile in Vologda.{{sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2007|1p=237|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2pp=121–22}}