Joseph Vissarionovich Djugashvili, known as Stalin, was born on December 21, 1879, in the Georgian city of Gori to a shoemaker's family. In 1888, he entered a theological school, and in 1894, after successfully graduating, he continued his studies at a theological seminary in Tiflis, where he first encountered Marxist ideas. In 1898, Djugashvili joined the Georgian Social-Democratic Party 'Mesame-Dasi,' but in 1899 he was expelled from the seminary for participating in underground Marxist circles. From that time on, he became a professional revolutionary, known by pseudonyms such as Ryaboy, Vasily, and Vasiliev, but most famously as Koba and Stalin.

From 1902 to 1913, Djugashvili was arrested and exiled six times, but he managed to escape. Since 1907, he led the activities of the Central Committee of the RSDRP in Baku and supported Lenin's ideas, who proposed including Stalin in the Politburo of the RSDRP in 1912. Before Lenin's return from Switzerland in April 1917, Stalin headed the Russian revolutionary movement. In 1917, he became a member of the editorial board of the newspaper 'Pravda' and participated in the publication of its first issue. After the October Revolution of 1917 until 1922, Stalin served as the People's Commissar for Nationalities. In 1922, he became the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the VKP, proposing the concept of creating the Soviet Union with the leading role of the RSFSR. In the late 1920s, he criticized the NEP, advocating for accelerated industrialization.

In the 1930s, due to political disagreements and unwillingness to accept criticism, Stalin began repressions against old revolutionaries, the intelligentsia, and their families, which weakened the defense capability of the USSR. A system of camps was created in the country, where prisoners worked on the construction of industrial and infrastructure projects.

From 1928 to 1940, under Stalin's leadership, three five-year plans for economic development were implemented. By 1941, a new industrial base had been established in the Urals and Siberia, which became an important factor in the USSR's victory in the Great Patriotic War.

In international relations, after the Nazis came to power, Stalin changed Soviet policy, seeking to create a system of 'collective security' against Germany. However, France and England feared the USSR and tried to appease Hitler. By 1939, the situation escalated due to Germany's claims on Poland, and England and France were ready to go to war, trying to involve the USSR. In the summer of 1939, Stalin negotiated with both England and France as well as Germany, leading to the signing of the Non-Aggression Pact on August 23, 1939. World War II began on September 1, 1939, and the Great Patriotic War on June 22, 1941.

With the start of the war, Stalin became the Chairman of the State Defense Committee, the People's Commissar of Defense, and the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the USSR. After the war, under his leadership, the Soviet Council of Ministers and the Central Committee of the VKP aimed for accelerated economic recovery. Stalin remained the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR until his death on March 5, 1953.