Chronology of Stalin's Life ('Old Style' to February 1918) 1879 9 Dec Born in Gori. 1888 Sept Enters clerical elementary school in Gori. 1894 Sept Enters theological seminary in Tbilisi. 1899 May Expelled from seminary. 1900 Apr Addresses worker demonstration near Tbilisi. 1902 Apr Arrested in Batumi following worker demonstration of which he was an organizer. 1903 July-Aug Appearance of Lenin's Bolshevik faction at the Second Congress of the Russian Social-Democratic Workers' Party (Stalin not present). 1904 Jan Escapes from place of exile in Siberia and returns to underground revolutionary work in Transcaucasia. 1905 Revolution, reaching peak in Oct-Dec. threatens the survival of the tsarist government. Stalin marries Ekaterina Svanidze. Dec Attends Bolshevik conference. also attended by Lenin, in Tammerfors, Finland. 1906 Apr Attends 'Unity' congress of party in Stockholm. 1907 Mar Birth of first child, Yakov. Apr Publishes first substantial piece of writing, 'Anarchism or Socialism?' Apr-May Attends party congress in London. Jun Moves operations to Baku. Oct Death of his wife, Ekaterina. 1908 Mar Arrested in Baku. 317 318 Chronology of Stalin's Life 1909 June Escapes from place of exile, Solvychegodsk, returns to underground in Baku. 1910 Mar Arrested and jailed. Oct Returned to exile in Solvychegodsk. 1911 June Police permit his legal residence in Vologda. Sept Illegally goes to St Petersburg but is arrested and returned to Vologda. 1912 Jan Bolshevik conference in Prague at which Lenin attempts to establish his control of party; Stalin not present but soon after is co-opted to new Central Committee. Apr Illegally moves to St Petersburg, but is arrested there. Sept Escapes from place of exile in Siberia, Narym, and returns to St Petersburg. Sept-Dec Edits Pravda, in this connection visiting Lenin in Cracow, Austrian Poland, in Nov and Dec. 1913 Jan Stays in Vienna in order to write 'Marxism and the National Question', which Lenin commissioned. Feb Arrested in St Petersburg soon after return there. July Transported to exile in Siberia where he lives in Kostino, Kureika and Achinsk. 1917 Mar Following the fall of the old regime in the 'February Revolution', returns from the last of his several places of residence in Siberia, Krasnoiarsk, to Petrograd, where he is elected to the editorial board of the party organ, Pravda. Apr Meets Lenin upon latter's return from exile in Switzerland. July Following abortive left-wing attempt to overthrow the Provisional Government, helps Lenin flee Petrograd; remains in capital representing Bolsheviks in the Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies. July-Aug In the absence of Lenin plays leading role in the Sixth Party Congress, which elects him to new Central Committee. Sept-Oct Participates in party Central Committee meetings, which deal inconclusively with Lenin's demands that the Bolsheviks seize power. Oct Bolsheviks overthrow the Provisional Government and proclaim a Soviet government, headed by a 'Council of People's Commissars', in which Stalin heads the People's Commissariat of Nationality Affairs. Nov Visits Finland to address congress of Social-Democrats. 1918 Jan-Feb Supports Lenin in his attempts to persuade party Central Committee to accept German peace terms. ('New Style' calendar in effect February 1918) Chronology of Stalin's Life 319 Feb(?) Marries Nadezhda Allilueva. Mar Moves with government from Petrograd to Moscow. Peace of Brest-Litovsk signed with Central Powers. June-Oct In Tsaritsyn supervising defence against anti-Bolshevik forces. 1919 Jan With F. Dzerzhinsky visits eastern front to report on reasons for failure of Red Army. Mar Elected to Politburo and Orgburo. May-June In Petrograd area supervising defence. July-Sept In Smolensk area supervising military activities on western front. Oct-Jan Travels in area south of Moscow supervising military efforts against anti-Bolshevik forces. 1920 Feb-Mar In Kharkov dealing with political and economic affairs of Ukraine. May-Aug In Kharkov area supervising military efforts against anti-Bolshevik forces in south and Polish army in west. Oct-Nov In North Caucasus and Baku dealing with party affairs. 1921 Birth of second child, Vasili. Sustained activity connected with the reintegration of minority nationalities with Soviet Russia. Feb From Moscow supervises occupation of Georgia by Soviet forces. June-July In North Caucasus for reasons of health, visiting Tbilisi in July to insist on tougher measures against Georgian nationalism. 1922 Apr Elected General Secretary of party. June-Sept Serves as principal link between Lenin, who was incapacitated by a stroke in May, and the Politburo. Sept-Dec Quarrels with Lenin, partially recovered, about the status of national minorities in the new Soviet federation. 1923 Jan In a postscript to secret testamentary dictations, started the previous month, Lenin proposes removal of Stalin as General Secretary. Mar-Jan Serves as supervisor of medical treatment of Lenin, who suffered another stroke in March and was unable to speak. Apr Reports to Twelfth Party Congress on party organization and on minority nationalities, manages to suppress Lenin's intended attack on his policies on national minorities. 1924 Jan At Thirteenth Party Conference begins open attack on Trotsky. 21 Jan Lenin dies; at funeral Stalin speaks on Lenin's 'behests'. Apr Publication of his 'Foundations of Leninism'. May Reports to Thirteenth Party Congress on party organization, having suppressed attempts on the eve of the gathering to publicize Lenin's testamentary recommendation that Stalin be removed as General Secretary. Nov Publication of his 'Trotskyism or Leninism?' Dec Publication of his 'The October Revolution and the Tactics of the Russian Communists', a polemic against Trotsky. 320 Chronology of Stalin's Life 1925 Dec At Fourteenth Party Congress directs attack on Zinoviev, who is deprived on his political base in Leningrad. 1926 Jan Publishes anthology Questions of Leninism. 28 Feb Birth of third child, Svetlana. Apr Visits Leningrad, now under command of Kirov. Oct-Nov At Fifteenth Party Conference attacks 'United Opposition' of Trotsky, Zinoviev and Kamenev. 1927 Oct In attack on Trotskyist Opposition Before and Now' fends off attempt to use Lenin's testamentary recommendation that Stalin be removed as General Secretary. Nov Arranges expulsion from the party of Trotsky and Zinoviev on the authority of the Central Committee and Central Control Commission. Dec At Fifteenth Party Congress delivers main report on the work of the Central Committee. 1928 Jan-Feb Visits western Siberia to press for grain deliveries. May Shakhty trial of mining personnel charged with sabotage. May Meets Gorky, whom Stalin wishes to persuade to repatriate and become intellectual emblem of regime. 1929 Jan-Feb Attempts, not entirely successfully, to obtain condemnation of Bukharin by a commission of the Politburo and Presidium of Central Control Commission. Apr Attacks Bukharin in meeting of Central Committee and Central Control Commission. Nov Central Committee removes Bukharin from Politburo. Dec Speeches refer to 'a year of great change' and 'the liquidation of the kulaks as a class'; his fiftieth birthday receives major, if brief, fanfare. 1930 Jan Edits decree, drafted by a commission, on the tempo of collectivization. Mar Publishes 'Dizzy with Success', calling for moderation of collectivization. June-July His reports to Sixteenth Party Congress defend programme of rapid economic transformation. 1931 Jan Orders acceleration of construction of Magnitogorsk iron and steel plant. June His speech to industrial managers sets forth much-publicized 'six points'. Chronology of Stalin's Life 321 1932 May At meeting of literary organizers and commtsswn of Central Committee elicits artistic formula of 'socialist realism'. 8/9 Nov Death of his wife, Nadezhda Allilueva. 1933 May Visible beginnings of enhanced publicity concerning Stalin's greatness. July With Kirov and Voroshilov tours White Sea-Baltic Canal, recently completed by Gulag. 1934 Jan-Feb His reports to Seventeenth Party Congress hail economic successes. Dec Travels to Leningrad in connection with investigation of the assassination of Kirov. 1935 Jan Zinoviev and Kamenev convicted of indirect complicity m the assassination of Kirov. Mar Receives British foreign minister Eden. Apr Inspects Moscow Metro shortly before its opening. May-June Receives French and Czech foreign ministers Laval and Benes. June Arranges expulsion from party of long-time friend Yenukidze. 1936 June Plans Chkalov flight to island of Udd. Aug Public trial and conviction of Zinoviev, Kamenev and others. Sept Arranges appointment of Yezhov as head of police. Nov Presents new Soviet constitution, noting that the country has attained the stage of 'socialism' on the path to 'communism'. 1937 Jan Public trial of Piaktakov, Radek and others. 1 Feb Suicide of long-time friend and industrial chief Ordzhonikidze. Feb-Mar Central Committee hears, and evidently does not entirely approve, reports by Stalin, Molotov and Y ezhov on the need for a purge of class enemies in party and state. June Secret trial of Tukhachevsky and top officers. Intense level of terror within party-state elite continues through this year and into the next. 1938 Jan Meeting of Central Committee attempts to curb 'errors' in drive against 'enemies of the people'. Mar Public trial of Bukharin and others. Dec Yezhov formally replaced by Beria as head of police. 1939 Mar In report to Eighteenth Party Congress Stalin speaks of mass purge as thing