Soviet leader Stalin - a brilliant politician and military strategist.

(Baonghean) - Steering the Soviet Union during the most critical period of 20th-century human history, under the brilliant leadership of Ioseb Vissarionovich Stalin, the Soviet Red Army achieved a comprehensive victory over fascism. The victory of the Soviet Red Army not only saved humanity from the savagery, brutality, and extremism of fascism initiated by Adolf Hitler, but also inspired peace-loving people around the world to rise up and liberate their nations. Seventy years have passed, and although there are still many differing opinions on the leadership of the Soviet Union at that time, it is undeniable that Stalin remains a timeless symbol of the courageous spirit of a brilliant politician and military leader…

Stalin was born in 1878 into a shoemaker's family in the town of Gori in the Tiflis province of the Russian Empire, now part of Georgia, with the birth name Ioseb Jughashvili. At the age of 10, Ioseb began attending a seminary where Georgian students were taught Russian. At 16, Ioseb received a scholarship to a Georgian Orthodox seminary in Tbilisi. However, he was later forced to leave after missing his final exams in 1899. According to seminary records, he was unable to pay his tuition and was therefore forced to drop out.

During this period, Ioseb read the works of Lenin and joined the Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party. After leaving the seminary, Ioseb worked part-time as a clerk in a meteorological office. He joined the Bolshevik Party in 1903 and adopted the name "Stalin," meaning "Strong as steel." His full name in Russian was Iosif Vissarionovich Stalin. In early 1912, at the Sixth All-Russian Congress of the Social Democratic Workers' Party, Stalin was elected to the Central Committee.

An elderly man holds a calendar featuring Josef Stalin while watching a television program where Russian President Putin delivers a speech in Sevastopol, Crimea.

In 1917, the February Revolution triumphed in Russia, Tsar Nicholas II abdicated, and the autocratic monarchy was overthrown. By order of the Provisional Government, political prisoners were released, and Stalin returned to the capital, Saint Petersburg. In February 1917, Stalin was appointed to the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Party and to the Editorial Board of Pravda – a very popular Soviet party newspaper. In July 1917, Stalin was elected a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Party. During the October Revolution of 1917, Stalin was a member of the revolutionary military body established by the Central Committee to lead the uprising.

After the October Revolution, Stalin served as People's Commissar of the Ministry of Nationalities (Minister of Nationalities) in the Council of People's Commissars (Revolutionary Government). He was also a member of the Revolutionary Military Council during the civil war and against foreign military intervention. In April 1922, Stalin was elected General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party and held that position until his death (1953). For over 30 years, he held the highest position in the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, especially from the beginning of World War II until its end (1939-1945) and the start of the equally fierce Cold War. But under Stalin's leadership, the Soviet Union grew stronger and gradually asserted itself as one of the world's superpowers.

Returning to the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet army and people, which defeated the powerful Nazi German army, equipped with advanced weapons, under Adolf Hitler in World War II. From the very beginning, A. Hitler harbored ambitions of world domination by occupying the Rhineland, and in 1938, Nazi Germany annexed Austria. After Austria's annexation, Hitler demanded the Sudentenland region of Czechoslovakia.

By this time, Hitler's ambitions were clear. Stalin proposed to Britain and France that they set aside their differences and form an alliance to stop Hitler, but the two countries refused. Only when the German army invaded Poland were Britain and France forced to declare war, as they had previously signed an alliance agreement. However, Hitler's army, with its iron discipline and modern weaponry, quickly overwhelmed the Soviet Union. Adolf Hitler and his generals led troops to attack countries bordering the Soviet Union. In June 1941, Germany unexpectedly broke its non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union and launched Operation Barbarossa, a massive offensive plan involving 3,300,000 German troops and 600,000 allied troops to occupy Moscow before the end of the year, thus beginning the Soviet-German War.

Initially, due to their inferior forces and war equipment compared to Germany, the Nazi army held the advantage. However, with righteousness and courage, the Soviet Red Army under the command of Marshal Stalin gradually regained the upper hand. This was especially true after the German defeat at Stalingrad (now Volgograd). Later, historians assessed this battle as the first step towards Soviet victory in World War II.

Following the defeat at Stalingrad, the German army was unable to recover its former strength or regain the initiative on the Eastern Front, forcing it to shift to a defensive posture. The battlefield situation changed; the Soviet Red Army grew stronger and shifted the tide from defense to counterattack and offensive. With overwhelming power and the mission to save humanity from the darkest period of history, the Soviet Red Army advanced against the fascist army and its allies to their last stronghold in Berlin.

And not only did the Soviet Red Army defeat Nazi Germany in Europe, it also crushed the Japanese Kwantung Army in China, contributing to Japan's surrender to the Allies (August 1945). For Vietnam specifically, the Soviet Red Army's defeat of the Japanese fascists was one of the key factors and a great source of encouragement for our army and people to rise up and fight for independence in August 1945.

Seventy years have passed since the victory over fascism, and the immense sacrifices of the Soviet Red Army under the leadership of Marshal Stalin will forever remain a symbol of the fighting spirit in defending sovereignty and justice. After Stalin's death, there were many conflicting opinions regarding his merits and demerits. However, for peace-loving people around the world, Stalin was a brilliant politician and military leader who made significant contributions to building the peace we enjoy today.

No words more convincing than Winston Churchill (1874-1965), the British Prime Minister during World War II – whom Stalin considered his "number one enemy" during his lifetime – stated: "It was a great blessing for Russia that, during the great years of trial, it was led by the genius, the iron-willed general Stalin. He was the most outstanding figure, encompassing the turbulent period in which his life unfolded. Stalin was a man of extraordinary passion and unbreakable will, tough and fierce in conversation, a man whom even I, educated in the British Parliament, could not resist. Stalin, above all, possessed a rich sense of humor, the ability to grasp ideas accurately. This strength became so great in Stalin that he became unique among national leaders of all times and places."

Canh Nam