Born Joseph Dzhugashvili for his life received many colorful epithets, the title of "Great Helmsman" and a huge number of party nicknames. He himself became the author of more than 32 pseudonyms. The article is devoted to one of them, which remained in history as the party nickname of Stalin.
Biography Pages
The pre-revolutionary part of the life of the future leader has been studied quite a bit. Some historians even have discrepancies regarding the date of his birth. December 1879 is considered generally accepted. Disputes are also ongoing regarding nationality. Someone calls Stalin a Georgian, someone - an Ossetian. The birthplace of I. Stalin is the city of Gori, which belonged to the Tiflis province.
The future leader came from a rather poor family, did not differ in growth and physical strength. Contemporaries claim: through his whole life he carried a dislike for strong and high associates, had a secretive and rather vengeful character. Unable to lead in boyish brawls, he still strove for leadership, taking stubbornness and well-read.
39 years of Stalin's life passed under the "old regime", and they are described extremely contradictory. Some believe: Stalin's first party nickname is Soso, originating on his behalf. But this is not entirely true. So comradely called him diminutively in childhood, and at the initial stage of revolutionary activity the name was used as a pseudonym. Koba is the party nickname of Stalin, which first appeared in 1904. This fact is claimed by O. Edelman, the author of the most complete study on the leader.
The beginning of revolutionary activity
The young man received his education at first in an Orthodox school, and then in a theological seminary in Tiflis. It was within its walls that he began to study Marxist works, becoming an underground revolutionary. Without graduating from the seminary, Stalin worked as a tutor, becoming more involved in propaganda activities. In the 1900s, he met V. Lenin and other revolutionaries: M. Tskhakaya, V. Molotov, S. Ordzhonikidze.
Among the first revolutionary events in which the future leader was noted was a demonstration in Batumi (1902). Stalin became one of its organizers, after which he was arrested and sent into exile in the Irkutsk province. This was the first arrest where Dzhugashvili managed to escape. It was then that Stalin's nickname “Koba” appeared. What does this nickname mean?
Alias origin
Why did nicknames appear at all? They provided the necessary conspiracy. Illegals often had to use fake passports, calling themselves fictitious surnames. It was for this reason - conspiratorial - that revolutionaries could use several clicks at the same time: one was needed for communication among the underground, the other was the author's pseudonym, the rest - for one-time communication, to hide the main one. A completely different nickname could be used at the party congress. This was necessary so that it would be more difficult for the gendarmerie to identify the underground activist operating in the region with the author of articles in political periodicals and a participant in the party forum.
The Transcaucasian underground recognized Koba on the eve of the 1905 revolution. This name was invented by Stalin himself. The nickname Koba is associated with the book "Father Killer", authored by Alexander Kazbegi. The plot is dedicated to the struggle of the highlanders for their freedom. Undaunted Koba was one of the heroes of the story, a sort of peasant Robin Hood, who became the favorite character of the future leader. Soon, with this name, he began to sign articles. He was recognized by the signature: “K ...”, K. “And since 1910, the name“ Stalin ”was added to the letter“ K. ”
New Party Name
The country recognized Stalin in 1912. Promotion of a formidable pseudonym began with an article published in the Social Democrat publication a year later. Why did the future leader think of a new nickname? The former was suitable for the southern region, but when entering the all-Russian level, something else was required.
In his opinion, the pseudonym should have been combined with Lenin. Edelman has a version that Stalin came to the nickname gradually. At first he called himself Stefin in honor of the revolutionary with whom he was in love. Her name was Stefania Petrovskaya. After her betrayal, he called himself Solin or Salin. He wanted to keep the initials "K. S." The addition of one letter made the last name sonorous and rather formidable, entrenched in it for all subsequent years.
Interesting Facts
The reader will be interested to know:
- The literary character "Fatherslifters" took the nickname Koba not from the ceiling. This is a transformation of the Persian name belonging to the kings. Kavad I ruled Persia in the V-VI centuries. He went down in history as the conqueror of Georgia, who made the capital of the province the city of Tiflis. By the way, he was essentially a supporter of communist ideas formulated much later.
- Koba, the party nickname of Stalin, was used by his closest associates until recently. So only the closest could contact him.
- There is another point of view on the appearance of the nickname. She is less romantic and is associated with the fact that the name Koba Stalin was awarded in prison. In criminal jargon, it meant "indomitable."
In the article you can see photos of the young Dzhugashvili at the dawn of revolutionary activity.