... Das Kapital which inspired him to think about the ideas portrayed in the work. After reading Marx's work, he quit the priesthood and began his long political career, first as a revolutionary. He began his career in 1899 as a propagandist for the social democratic party. He was arrested, however in 1902 and put into prison. He escaped in 1904 from the Siberian prison and married. In the years following, Stalin was more of a follower than a leader. 'His contribution was practical, not theoretical' (Microsoft Encarta 1995). In 1907, Stalin helped organize a bank holdup to 'raise funds' for the Bolsheviks. Lenin promoted him in 1912 to the Bolsheviks central committee. He then became editor of the party newspaper Pravda. During the course of 1917, Stalin made most of the party decisions, before Lenin returned from exile in April of that year. In the revolution of November 1917, Stalin was not ...

See this essay or coursework document in full right now