General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union more than determine party membership composition. Stalin, its first incumbent, used the principles of democratic centralism to transform his office into that of party leader, and later leader of the Soviet Union. In 1934, the 17th Party Congress refrained from formally re-electing Stalin as General Secretary. However, Stalin was re-elected into all other positions and remained leader of the party without diminishment. In the 1950s, Stalin increasingly withdrew from Secretariat business, leaving the supervision of the body to Georgy Malenkov, possibly to test him as a potential successor. In October 1952, at the 19th Party Congress, Stalin restructured the party's
My Best Friend, General Vasili, Son of Joseph Stalin My Best Friend, General Vasili, Son of Joseph Stalin My Best Friend, General Vasili, the Son of Joseph Stalin () is a 1991 film, directed by Viktor Sadovsky and starring Boris Schcherbakov and Vladimir Steklov. Biopic film, based on a true story of friendship between Vasili Stalin, the son of the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, and the famous Russian sports star Vsevolod Bobrov. Vasili Stalin was Lieut. General of the Red Army in charge of the Army and Airforce sports teams. He befriended the talented athlete Bagrov (Bobrov) and made him a sports star in the Soviet Union. After each