The Death of His First Wife Deeply Troubled Him

One of the facts about Joseph Stalin was that the death of his first wife deeply troubled him. Stalin and Alexander Svanidze, a fellow communist from Georgia, quickly grew close friends and eventually became unbreakable. Stalin frequently visited the Svanidze family as a personal friend, and he grew close to Ekaterine, Alexander's sister, whom he jokingly referred to as "Kato." Alexander and Joseph's bond was further cemented when the pair later became romantically involved.

Joseph would write fondly of Kato, describing her as the woman who “melted his heart”, with Kato also writing fondly of the scruffy young Stalin who was best friends with her brother. In the summer of 1906, Kato fell pregnant with Stalin’s child, causing him to propose to Kato. He proposed to Kato when she became pregnant with his child in the summer of 1906. Kato, a devoutly spiritual woman, insisted that they wed in a church, and a Stalinist atheist consented.

Kato developed typhus or tuberculosis less than nine months after giving birth to her son Yakov. She passed away on November 22, 1907, as a result. Stalin, who had been only a young man, would be greatly affected by her death. Funny suddenly becomes resentful, irate, and distant, even refusing to speak to Alexander, his close friend, and former brother-in-law.