# Is this really Joseph Stalin as a young man? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 2, 2014, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-joseph-stalin-as-a-young-man/677675 "2014-01-02T02:45:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-joseph-stalin-as-a-young-man/677675/1 "2014-01-02T02:45:50Z")
Age 15: [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Stalin_1894.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Stalin_1894.jpg) Age 23: [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Stalin\_1902.jpg](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Stalin_1902.jpg) Age 32: [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Stalin%27s_Mug_Shot.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Stalin%27s_Mug_Shot.jpg) One of these things is not like the other… I don’t want to poison the well so I’ll just ask if everyone thinks this is the same man in all three photos. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-joseph-stalin-as-a-young-man/677675/2 "2014-01-02T03:17:53Z")
Yes. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-joseph-stalin-as-a-young-man/677675/3 "2014-01-02T03:18:00Z")
23 and 32 are definitely him. But it’s hard to say with the youngest. The mouth is so narrow, but of course there’s the lack of mustache. The eyes are possibly a match, and according to [this site](http://en.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enwiki/9376), it’s him. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-joseph-stalin-as-a-young-man/677675/4 "2014-01-02T03:29:35Z")
The first one looks more like an illustration than a photograph. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-joseph-stalin-as-a-young-man/677675/5 "2014-01-02T03:29:42Z")
My observation, and some real life observers agreed to it, was that the photo of him at 23 appears to be a different individual. Watch the ears and eyes and nose, the ears are the most obvious giveaway. The 15yr old and 32 year old have the same ears, ditto for older Stalin. 23yr old has ears flat against his head. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-joseph-stalin-as-a-young-man/677675/6 "2014-01-02T04:23:52Z")
I can’t agree; the ears look similar enough to me. I see no significant difference. It’s the same man. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-joseph-stalin-as-a-young-man/677675/7 "2014-01-02T04:30:06Z")
> [@grude](#): > > My observation, and some real life observers agreed to it, was that the photo of him at 23 appears to be a different individual. Watch the ears and eyes and nose, the ears are the most obvious giveaway. The 15yr old and 32 year old have the same ears, ditto for older Stalin. 23yr old has ears flat against his head. I don’t see any reason to think those are different individuals. The ears don’t appear to me to be significantly different. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-joseph-stalin-as-a-young-man/677675/8 "2014-01-02T04:34:58Z")
Looks like the same person to me. ---
**Author:** ![Cerealbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Cerealbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerealbox)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-joseph-stalin-as-a-young-man/677675/9 "2014-01-02T04:40:46Z")
None of them look like Stalin to me, but none of them stand out particularly, either. If any did, I’d say it was the first one. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-joseph-stalin-as-a-young-man/677675/10 "2014-01-02T04:44:22Z")
The first two don’t look especially evil, but I’d say he’s coming into his own by #3. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-joseph-stalin-as-a-young-man/677675/11 "2014-01-02T04:55:45Z")
Actually, I think the first one is a young Spock. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-joseph-stalin-as-a-young-man/677675/12 "2014-01-02T05:03:18Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Actually, I think the first one is a young Spock. I was thinking a constipated Michael Cera myself. I guess you guys are right, but looking at this side view and comparing it to the older Stalin the nose matches but it just looks weird. [https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-7HikgjWJlyc/TY6L8zxbwNI/AAAAAAAAACE/JOYE2xY8E8s/s1600/young+stalin.jpeg](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-7HikgjWJlyc/TY6L8zxbwNI/AAAAAAAAACE/JOYE2xY8E8s/s1600/young+stalin.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-joseph-stalin-as-a-young-man/677675/13 "2014-01-02T11:03:13Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > The first one looks more like an illustration than a photograph. That’s what I was going to say. At the very least it looks heavily retouched. ---
**Author:** ![Cognitive\_Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc29f/32.png) [@Cognitive\_Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cognitive_Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-joseph-stalin-as-a-young-man/677675/14 "2014-01-02T11:46:31Z")
Yes. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-joseph-stalin-as-a-young-man/677675/15 "2014-01-02T14:26:27Z")
I’ve heard (here on the SDMB, when I posted the 23 year old photo in a thread about, IIRC, the comparative evilness of Uncle Joe’s mustache vs. that nice Mr. Hitler’s) that the 23-yr old photo was retouched as well, to hide facial blemishes (smallpox scars). I don’t know, but it’s plausible. Still, that young Stalin was a fine lookin’ man. I’d work on **his** collective farm, if you know what I mean. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Frazzled](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frazzled/32/3368_2.png) [@Frazzled](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frazzled)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-joseph-stalin-as-a-young-man/677675/16 "2014-01-02T16:12:24Z")
That 15 year old picture is creepy. He’s a nice looking kid who could be like any other kid. He looks like he’d be good at academics, he looks like he’s disciplined, and I’d bet he’s a little girl crazy and good at sports. Yet behind those eyes lies one of the most evil brains of the 20th century. It’s very hard to reconcile the seeming innocence of the child in the picture with the man he’s to become. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-joseph-stalin-as-a-young-man/677675/17 "2014-01-02T16:58:11Z")
> [@Frazzled](#): > > That 15 year old picture is creepy. He’s a nice looking kid who could be like any other kid. He looks like he’d be good at academics, he looks like he’s disciplined, and I’d bet he’s a little girl crazy and good at sports. Yet behind those eyes lies one of the most evil brains of the 20th century. It’s very hard to reconcile the seeming innocence of the child in the picture with the man he’s to become. Just like [this little cutie](http://www.fpp.co.uk/Hitler/images/as_baby/Hitler_as_baby.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-joseph-stalin-as-a-young-man/677675/18 "2014-01-02T17:04:57Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > Just like [this little cutie](http://www.fpp.co.uk/Hitler/images/as_baby/Hitler_as_baby.jpg). Man, has that guy ever had a decent haircut? ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-joseph-stalin-as-a-young-man/677675/19 "2014-01-02T23:15:08Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > I’ve heard (here on the SDMB, when I posted the 23 year old photo in a thread about, IIRC, the comparative evilness of Uncle Joe’s mustache vs. that nice Mr. Hitler’s) that the 23-yr old photo was retouched as well, to hide facial blemishes (smallpox scars). I don’t know, but it’s plausible. Still, that young Stalin was a fine lookin’ man. I’d work on **his** collective farm, if you know what I mean. 🆒 Dude! He is one handsome devil! Looks like Christian Slater. He should never have purged his hairdresser from 1902… ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2014, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-joseph-stalin-as-a-young-man/677675/20 "2014-01-04T00:06:21Z")
No 1 is Jim-Bob Walton. No 2 is Raoul, my pool boy. No 3 is Bartolomeo Vanzetti. [Sacco and Vanzetti - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacco_and_Vanzetti) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-joseph-stalin-as-a-young-man/677675.md?page=2)