On 3 April 1922, Joseph Stalin was appointed General Secretary of the Russian Communist Party by Vladimir Lenin, who was in declining health.
Though initially seen as a bureaucratic role, Stalin used the position to consolidate power, control party appointments, and sideline political rivals.
Following Lenin’s death in 1924, Stalin manoeuvred to become the Soviet Union’s supreme leader, shaping its political landscape for decades through authoritarian rule and widespread purges.
