Joseph Stalin Quotes

He was born Iosef Besarionis dze Jughashvili but later came to be known as Josef Stalin. After Lenin's death in 1924, he placed himself as his political heir, beating out all the opposition. From 1922 until his death in 1953, he held the post of General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee. Commencing from the late 1920s, for a quarter of a century Stalin was effectively the dictator of the Soviet Union. .

The economic changes he instituted included forced collectivization of agriculture and rapid industrialization, but this was at the cost of millions of lives. Both achieved huge increases in Soviet productivity and economic growth but at a grave price. Also, the reorganization of the agricultural sector led to widespread famine, including the Soviet famine of 1932-1933.

Among his infamous deeds was the Great Purge (also known as the "Great Terror"), a campaign launched during the late 1930s to cleanse the Communist Party of people accused of corruption or treachery. This eradication process was also carried out in the military and other sectors of Soviet society. Targets were often executed, imprisoned in Gulag labor camps or exiled. In the following years, millions of ethnic minorities were also deported.

When the Soviet Union joined the Allies during World War II, it played an important role in the Axis defeat, but it also suffered the largest death toll for any country in the war. Following this, Stalin installed communist governments in most of Eastern Europe which resulted in the formation of the Eastern bloc, behind what was referred to as an "Iron Curtain" of Soviet rule. All these activities collectively led to the Cold War.

Stalin's control of the media helped him create an image of himself in the minds of the people that was contrary to reality, both physically and ideologically. He died of a stroke on 5th March, 1953.

He was quoted saying about death:

"Death is the solution to all problems - no man, no problem."

"One death is a tragedy; one million is a statistic."

The following are some of his views on politics and governance:

"If any foreign minister begins to defend to the death a "peace conference," you can be sure his government has already placed its orders for new battleships and airplanes."

"It is enough that the people know there was an election. The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything."

"Everyone imposes his own system as far as his army can reach."

"Gaiety is the most outstanding feature of the Soviet Union."

"Print is the sharpest and the strongest weapon of our party."

"A sincere diplomat is like dry water or wooden iron."

"The only real power comes out of a long rifle."

"The people who cast the votes don't decide an election, the people who count the votes do."

"We don't let them have ideas. Why would we let them have guns?"

"When we hang the capitalists they will sell us the rope we use."

"You cannot make a revolution with silk gloves."

Joseph Stalin's quotes on war include:

"Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas."

"If the opposition disarms, well and good. If it refuses to disarm, we shall disarm it ourselves."

"In the Soviet army it takes more courage to retreat than advance."

"Die, but do not retreat."

"History shows that there are no invincible armies."

These quotes give us insight into his personal views:

"Gratitude is a sickness suffered by dogs."

"I believe in one thing only, the power of human will."

"I trust no one, not even myself."

"Mankind is divided into rich and poor, into property owners and exploited; and to abstract oneself from this fundamental division; and from the antagonism between poor and rich means abstracting oneself from fundamental facts."

"The Pope? How many divisions has he got?"

"The writer is the engineer of the human soul."

"Education is a weapon whose effects depend on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed."

Stalin's regime was marked with terror, suffering and death. Ironically, death was often the focal point of his life. These quotes reveal a lot about the ideology and the person that was Joseph Stalin. Great Ruler or Agent of Death? ..the debate continues.