Joseph Stalin



Joseph Stalin. Few names can strike fear in the hearts of men as well as his. Born to a poor family in the backwaters of Tsarist Russia, Stalin became a 'fundraiser' of sorts for the budding Bolsheviks. Through bank robberies, kidnappings, and various other sorts of crime, he raised money for the communists. After the events of the Russian Revolution and subsequent Russian Civil War, Stalin rapidly gained and consolidated power, ensuring he would be the true successor to Lenin.

Stalin now oversees what is the largest land power on Earth, and has embarked on a program of rapid industrialization and modernization in the Union. But all is not well in the USSR. Stalin's greatest opponent, Leon Trotsky, has managed to survive countless attempts at his life. In exile, Trotsky plots a return to the USSR, a return which many within the party would welcome. Many see Stalin's continued trade with Germany and willingness to work with fascists as evidence of his betrayal of the revolution, though few would dare to say so to his face. Stalin has won few friends from the many purges he has overseen, and there are other factions than the Trotskyites that are lurking in the halls of power.

Time will tell if the man of steel can live up to his name, and bring the Union into a bright and prosperous future.