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Stalin was captured and exiled to Siberia numerous times, but usually, he escaped. He eventually became one of Vladimir Lenin's closest associates, or so he was later to claim vigorously, which helped him rise to the heights of power after the Russian Revolution. In 1910 he changed his name to Stalin, meaning in Russian ‘Man of Steel’ supposedly adopted to protect his real identity from the police and perhaps also to create a public image as a true revolutionary. <ref>Boobyear, p. 134</ref>
== What was Stalin's role during the October Revolution and Russian Civil War? ==
[[File:Russian_Revolution_of_1917.jpg|thumbnail|left|300px|Bolshevik troops in Red Square]]
The Party accepted Stalin’s position, and this meant that Trotsky was increasingly marginalized. He then decided to organize public protests, along with others, against Stalin’s growing control of the Party. However, Stalin employed a law passed by Lenin, ordering unity in the Party. Stalin asserted that Trotsky was trying to split the party, and this ploy managed to sideline Trotsky even further.
Another factor, in the growing isolation of Leon Trotsky, despite his achievements during the Russian Civil War, was his Jewish heritage.<ref> Felshtinsky, p. 203</ref> There was a great deal of antisemitism in Russian, which made Trotsky unpopular. By 1927, Stalin was so powerful that he could force Trotsky, Kamenev, and Zinoviev from the Politburo and later expelled them from the Bolshevik Party. Trotsky was forced into exile and eventually later settled in Mexico.
== How did Stalin Consolidate His Power in the Soviet Union? ==
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Updated January 28December 11, 20192020
