20 Mind-Blowing Facts About Joseph Stalin

16. He Wanted To Be A Priest

Vasily Perov [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

The next time you need a suitably mind-bending "what would have happened if..." moment, keep in mind that one of history's most ruthless leaders actually wanted to be a priest. Before he fell in with politics and joined Marxist movements, Joseph Stalin had his heart set on becoming a priest in the Russian Orthodox Church.

He even went so far as to attend the Tbilisi Theological Seminary on a full scholarship. How history would have turned out if he'd chosen the cloth is anyone's guess.

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WhatCulture's Managing Editor and Chief Reporter | Previously seen in Vice, Esquire, FourFourTwo, Sabotage Times, Loaded, The Set Pieces, and Mundial Magazine