Stalin, Joseph

General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party from 1922-1953, Stalin was the second leader of the Soviet Union. A Bolshevist and disciple of Lenin during the Russian Revolution, Stalin later became the architect of Soviet totalitarianism, brutally persecuting political opponents. Stalin industrialized the Soviet Union and commanded the Red Army during World War II, driving the German military out of Eastern Europe and occupying Berlin. After the war, Stalin consolidated Soviet influence over the countries of Eastern Europe.