Joseph Stalin becames the first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

Stalin played a decisive role in the 1921 Red Army invasion of Georgia, after which he adopted particularly hardline, centralist policies towards Soviet Georgia. This led to theGeorgian Affair of 1922 and other repressions.

 Stalin's actions in Georgia created a rift with Lenin, who believed that all the Soviet states should stand equal.

Lenin nonetheless considered Stalin a loyal ally, and when he got mired in squabbles with Trotsky and other politicians, he decided to support Stalin. With the help of Lev Kamenev, Lenin appointed Stalin General Secretary in 1922. This post enabled Stalin to appoint many of his allies to government positions.

Lenin suffered a stroke in 1922, forcing him into semi-retirement in Gorki. Stalin visited him often, acting as his intermediary with the outside world, but the pair quarreled and their relationship deteriorated.

 Lenin dictated increasingly disparaging notes on Stalin in what would become his testament. He criticized Stalin's political views, rude manners, and excessive power and ambition, and suggested that Stalin should be removed from the position of general secretary.

 During Lenin's semi-retirement, Stalin forged an alliance with Kamenev and Grigory Zinoviev against Trotsky. These allies prevented Lenin's Testament from being revealed to the Twelfth Party Congress in April 1923