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People's Commissar for Nationalities | |
Born | 18 December 1878 Gori, Tiflis Governorate, Caucasus Viceroyalty, Russian Empire |
Died | 20 April 1919 (Aged 40) Petrograd |
Spouse | Ekaterine Svandize (1906 - 1907) Nadezhda Alliluyeva (1919) |
Political Party | All-Russian Communist Party |
Religion | Atheist |
Profession | Meteorologist |
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was a Georgian-born Russian Bolshevik supporter and leader until his untimely death during his command of the Red Army during the Defense of Petrograd in the War of Liberty. He was the first and only People's Commissariat for Nationalities in the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. He was immortalised as the "Matyr of Petrograd" and was awarded the Order of the Red Banner posthumously.
Political Career[]
Stalin was appointed as the People's Commissariat for Nationalities in October 1917, a seat on the Council of People's Commissars. In November, he signed the Decree on Nationality, according ethnic and national minorities, such as Georgian like himself, living in Russia the right of self-determination and possible secession. The decree was primarily pragmatic, attempting to gain support of ethnic minorities and not actually instill independence.
During November, he traveled to Helsinki to assure independence to the Finnish Social-Democrats, the majority faction within the Finnish Reds during the War of Liberty, which was then granted in December. His department allocated funds for the establishment of presses and schools in the languages of various ethnic minorities. He was criticised by other revolutionaries of his commissariat due to the close nature of his federalism and national self-determination as a front for centralising and imperialist policies.
Military Career[]
Initially, Stalin was sent to Tsaritsyn to operate as head of food procurement in Southern Russia. Upon arrival he took control of military operations with the desire to prove himself a competent military commander. His tactics usually involved overwhelming the enemy with mass troop which usually resulted in heavy losses regardless of the outcome. Due to this, he quickly began losing favor with Lenin. He was a ruthless leader who regularly executed suspected counter-revolutionaries sometimes without fair trial. This angered the Sovnarkom further especially when actions were contradictory of government desire and of extremism even some Bolsheviks could not approve.
After being sent to Perm at the end of 1918 to inquire the situation which caused the heavy losses suffered by the Red Army at the hands of Kolchak's White Forces, Stalin first returned to Moscow and was redeployed in Spring to the Western Front at Petrograd. There, combined with Kliment Voroshilov, Stalin took control of the regional Red Army and Petrograd Police force. The ultimatum of such command was during the Battle of Petrograd which he inevitably lost and was killed.
Death[]
Stalin was executed following his capture during his attempted escape from Petrograd. The Finnish White Army and Estonian volunteers prevented his train from leaving the Moskovsky railway station on route to Moscow. He was captured and later hanged at the station's platform along with his military personnel, Kliment Voroshilov.
A sketch of his hanging was circulated around the city during the summer of the occupation of Petrograd by Finnish propaganda officers. This sketch stated that Stalin was not a man to follow, a coward at heart who left his men to die. This was a juxtaposition to Soviet propaganda that glorified his role during the defense and labelled him a hero.