Nadezhda Alliluyeva

Nadezhda Sergeevna Alliluyeva was the second wife of Joseph Stalin. Born in Baku to a revolutionary and friend of Stalin, she was raised in Saint Petersburg. Having known Stalin from a young age, the two married when she was 18, and they had two children. Alliluyeva worked as a secretary for Bolshevik leaders, including both Vladimir Lenin and Stalin, before enrolling at the Industrial Academy in Moscow to study synthetic fibres and become an engineer. Alliluyeva had several health issues, which combined with her interest in pursuing an independent, professional career led to frequent arguments with Stalin, who wanted his wife to maintain a domestic role. On several occasions, Alliluyeva contemplated leaving Stalin, and after an argument shot herself the night of 9 November 1932.