While searching about Stalin on Google I came across an interesting article (1) that provides some more perspective on his life (particularly his early years). He did seem mostly sound of mind especially in his earlier years (and the script was quite similar to any revolutionary), but somewhere it turned violent. Though in his later years - he believed his son surrendered to the Germans (!?) rather than getting captured - he clearly was delusional or had some elements of grandiosity. I wonder how things would have tuned out if he was a pacifist. (I should add that I'm not well aware of the details of European/Soviet history beyond very basics and I'm comparing "revolutionaries" to freedom fighters in colonized countries which likely isn't a great comparison.)

1. https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/joseph-stalin-national-hero-or-c...