Young Stalin

Young Stalin by Simon Sebag Montefiore, Vintage, 2008. 

Georgian

Born Josef Vissarionovich Djugashvili in Georgia in the Caucasus, he went by several other names, including Stalin (means steel in Russian), and also Koba, diminutive of Jacob Yakob, a character in the novel “The Patricide” by Alexander Kazbegi; Jacob Yakob was a Caucassian bandit-hero who fought against the Russians.

Bank Robberies

Stalin’s gangs robbed banks, stole arms from arsenals, and conducted assassinations. Stalin founded the Red Battle Squads and the Outfit; Two of his fellow Gangsters: Simon Ter-Petrossian Kamo and Kote Tsintsadze.

Union Leader

Stalin organized strikes of railway workers.

Printing Presses

Stalin ran secret printing presses.

Supporting Lenin

The money from the bank robberies was used to fund Stalin’s newspapers and to support Lenin and the Bolsheviks.

Nationalities

Lenin made Stalin his expert on non-Russian nationalities of the empire.

Man of Action

Stalin looked down on armchair intellectuals (most Bolsheviks).