Editing Joseph Stalin (section)

===Personality===
[[File:Stalin Full Image.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|Stalin in 1937]]
Trotsky and several other Soviet figures promoted the idea that Stalin was a mediocrity,{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=xvi|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2p=xxiii|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=4|4a1=Montefiore|4y=2007|4p=xxiv}} a characterisation which gained widespread acceptance outside of the Soviet Union during his lifetime.{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=xxiv}} However, historians note that he possessed a complex mind,{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=343}} remarkable self-control,{{Sfnm|1a1=Volkogonov|1y=1991|1p=8|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=337}} and excellent memory.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1pp=193, 274|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2p=63|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=115|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4p=425|5a1=Khlevniuk|5y=2015|5p=148}} Stalin was a diligent worker{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=42|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2p=353|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3pp=424, 465, 597}} and an effective and strategic organiser,{{Sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2003|1p=42|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=424}} with a keen interest in learning.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=115}} As a leader, he meticulously scrutinised details, from film scripts to military plans,{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|pp=4–5}} and judged others by their inner strength and cleverness.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=342}} He was skilled at playing different roles depending on the audience,{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=317|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2p=xxvi|3a1=McDermott|3y=2006|3p=13}} as well as in deception.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=xvi|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=18|3a1=McDermott|3y=2006|3p=13}} Although he could be rude,{{Sfnm|1a1=Volkogonov|1y=1991|1p=120|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=648}} Stalin rarely raised his voice;{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=337}} however, as his health deteriorated, he became unpredictable and bad-tempered.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=145}} He could be charming and enjoyed cracking jokes when relaxed.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=115}} At social events, Stalin encouraged singing and drinking, hoping others would drunkenly reveal secrets to him.{{Sfnm|1a1=McCauley|1y=2003|1p=90|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2pp=437, 522–523|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=5}}

Stalin lacked compassion,{{Sfnm|1a1=Volkogonov|1y=1991|1p=4|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=7}} possibly exacerbated by his repeated imprisonments and exiles,{{Sfn|Volkogonov|1991|p=8}} though he occasionally showed kindness to strangers, even during the Great Purge.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=334}} He could be self-righteous,{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=258|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2p=285}} resentful,{{Sfn|Service|2004|pp=4, 344}} and vindictive,{{Sfnm|1a1=Kotkin|1y=2014|1p=597|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2017|2p=6}} often holding grudges for years.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1pp=10, 344|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2017|2p=5}} By the 1920s, he had become suspicious and conspiratorial, prone to believing in plots against him and international conspiracies.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=336|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=736}} While he never attended torture sessions or executions,{{Sfn|Montefiore|2003|p=175}} Stalin took pleasure in degrading and humiliating people and kept even close associates in a state of "unrelieved fear".{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=5}} Service suggested he had tendencies toward a paranoid and sociopathic personality disorder.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=343}} Historian E.A. Rees believed it was psychopathy that bred Stalin's tyranny, citing a 1927 diagnosis by neuropathologist [[Vladimir Bekhterev]] that described him as a "typical case of severe paranoia".{{Sfn|Rees|2013|p=219}} Others have linked Stalin's brutality to his commitment to the survival of the Soviet Union and Marxist–Leninist ideology.{{Sfn|McDermott|2006|p=12}}
[[File:Stalin 1920-2 1920.07.03.jpg|thumb|Stalin reading a newspaper, 1920]]
Stalin had a keen interest in the arts.{{Sfn|Kotkin|2014|p=620}} He protected certain Soviet writers, such as [[Mikhail Bulgakov]], even when their work was criticised as harmful to his regime.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=96}} Stalin enjoyed classical music,{{Sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2003|1p=73|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=6}} owned around 2,700 records,{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=6}} and often attended the [[Bolshoi Theatre]] in the 1930s and 40s.{{Sfn|Volkogonov|1991|pp=127, 148}} His taste was conservative, favouring classical drama, opera, and ballet over what he dismissed as experimental "[[Formalism (art)|formalism]]",{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=97}} and disliked [[avant-garde]] in the visual arts.{{Sfn|Volkogonov|1991|p=131}} An [[autodidact]],{{Sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2003|1p=86|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2pp=117, 676}} Stalin was a voracious reader who kept over 20,000 books,{{Sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2003|1p=86|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=9|3a1=McDermott|3y=2006|3p=19|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2017|4pp=1–2, 5}} with little fiction.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=93}} His favourite subject was history, and he was especially interested in the reigns of Russian leaders [[Ivan the Terrible]], [[Peter the Great]], and [[Catherine the Great]].{{Sfn|Roberts|2022|p=2}} Lenin was his favourite author, but he read and appreciated works by Trotsky and other adversaries.{{Sfn|Roberts|2022|p=2}}