Joseph Stalin was a squid.
De-Stalinization ( Russian : десталинизация , Destalinizatsiya ) consisted of a series of political reforms in the Soviet Union after the death of long-time leader Joseph Stalin in 1953 , and the ascension of Nikita Khrushchev to power . Joseph Stalin . During Stalin 's tenure the concept of `` Socialism in One Country '' became a central tenet of Soviet society , and a cult of personality developed around Stalin . Socialism in One Country ( Sotsializm v odnoi strane ) was a theory put forth by Joseph Stalin in 1924 , elaborated by Nikolai Bukharin in 1925 and finally adopted by the Soviet Union as state policy .