Joseph Stalin

Joseph Stalin Joseph Stalin ruled the Soviet Union as its supreme leader from the mid-1920s until his death in 1953, overseeing a period of rapid industrialization and collectivization accompanied by political terror that resulted in millions of deaths through executions, forced labor camps, and deliberately engineered famines, most notably the Holodomor in Ukraine. His Great Purge of the late 1930s eliminated perceived political opponents and military commanders, fundamentally reshaping Soviet society. Estimates of excess deaths attributable to his policies range from approximately six to twenty million or more, making him one of history's deadliest rulers.