Joseph
Stalin (1879–1953), Russian political
leader. As
general secretary of the
Communist Party, he expelled those who opposed him and ordered the arrest and deportation to
Siberia (a part of Russia, in
northern Asia where Russian criminals were exiled or imprisoned) and
northern Russia of tens of thousands of members of the opposition. He became
premier of the Soviet
Union in 1941, and established himself as virtual
dictator. Millions of Russian farmers and their families were uprooted by
Stalin's
police and exiled to
Siberia for resisting his plans to collectivize their villages, abolishing
private ownership.
—9th ACC Volume 3 Approved Glossary