1919 Civil War Telegram Signed By Stalin
Extremely rare telegram signed by Joseph Stalin, dated April 5, 1919, ordering General Nikolai Sollugub from the General Staff be dispatched immediately to Smolensk. Marked "Strategic Importance - Urgent." An early use by the Soviet dictator of the name "Stalin." Prior to this, Joseph Djugashvili used the revolutionary pseudonym, "Koba." This document also bears the signature of General Jan Karlovitch Berzin who became Chief of the Intelligence Department of the Red Army in 1924. Stalin later selected Berzin to organize the Loyalist Army during the Spanish Civil War. Berzin disappeared in 1937 and it is believed that he was executed on Stalin's orders.
Stalin among other participants to the 8th Congress of The Russian Communist Party, 1919
