Joseph Stalin became General Secretary in 1962.
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin ( [ ˈstɑːlɪn ] 18 December 1878 -- 5 March 1953 ) was a Soviet revolutionary , politician and political theorist . He governed the Soviet Union from the mid-1920s until his death in 1953 . In this capacity , he served as the Premier of the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1953 and as General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1922 to 1952 . In 1922 Stalin became General Secretary and established the Soviet Union . Stalin died in 1953 and was succeeded by Nikita Khrushchev , who denounced Stalin and initiated a de-Stalinisation process .