Modern Russia and the Soviet Union: StalinModern Russia and the Soviet Union: Stalin's character was the main reason for his rise to powerStalin was born under the name Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili on December 21. 1879 in Gori, Georgia. He grew up in a mountain town of about 5,000 people. He was the third and only surviving child of Vissarion Dzhugashvili and Catherine Geladze. His father used to drink and beat him and his mother; this made Stalin very cold. A friend commented on his behavior: “These undeserved and frightening beatings have made the boy as callous and heartless as his father.” His father died in a fight when Stalin was only 11 years old. Stalin was enrolled in the village school at the age of eight. He was an intelligent student and top of his class. He read many books glorifying the Georgian past. Georgia was an independent country until its conquest by the Russian tsars. A book that had a profound impact on Stalin was a book similar to that of Robin Hood. His name was Koba, he hated the Russians and avenged their crimes against the Georgians. His actions were very ruthless and bloody. Stalin started calling himself Koba and it caught on with his friends. He would later take this pseudonym when hiding from the Tsarist police. By 1894, Stalin had completed all his studies and received a scholarship to enter the theological seminary in Tiflis, the capital of Georgia. The theological seminary building was dark and depressing. The students could not have any privacy and were spied on by Russian Orthodox monks. The monks also checked their rooms to see what they were reading and carefully planned each day of prayer and study. The students only had a short break in the afternoon when they went into town under strict supervision. At first, Stalin seemed to adapt to the strict schedule. He did well in his homework and received top marks in driving. He found time to write romantic and nationalist poetry, these poems were published in a Georgian magazine dedicated to the preservation of Georgian culture. Gradually, Stalin became frustrated with the harsh regime. Years later, Stalin told an interviewer: "To protest the scandalous methods prevalent at the seminary, I was ready to become, and indeed became, a revolutionary." » In 1898, Stalin took his first step towards a revolutionary lifestyle when he joined a Marxist group in Tiflis.