Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili, an ethnic Georgian born in the Russian Empire in December 1878, adopted his renowned nickname in a letter published on January 12, 1913.
He enrolled in the Tiflis Theological Seminary in 1894 but became increasingly involved in revolutionary movements. He left the seminary in 1899, having previously adopted the pseudonym Koba, inspired by a popular bandit hero.
Koba organized workers' strikes and protests, avoiding arrest by secret police. He was elected to the local committee of the Marxist-aligned Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, aligning with the Bolshevik faction led by Vladimir Lenin.
He faced multiple arrests and periods of exile, while also being elected to the Bolsheviks' Central Committee and becoming editor of their newspaper, Pravda.
In 1913, Koba authored an article for the Bolshevik newspaper Social Democrat, titled "On the Road to Nationalism (A Letter From the Caucasus)". He signed this article with the pseudonym Stalin, meaning "man of steel".
Joseph Stalin led the USSR from 1924 until his death in 1953. Under his leadership, Russia advanced to a global superpower, enduring a Nazi invasion during WWII and leading the Red Army to victory.
Following WWII, the USSR and USA entered a period of tension that developed into the Cold War. Stalin's rule was characterized by a repressive state, with millions of deaths attributed to famine, executions, and deaths in gulags.
He died in 1953 from a stroke. His legacy remains complex, with some acknowledging his leadership during WWII, while others focus on the human cost of his regime.