Stalin was a voracious reader, his personal library contained something in the range of twenty thousand volumes, and he would reputedly read up to five hundred pages daily. His interests were remarkably broad (he could recite poetry and quote the bible as well as hold forth on this or that philosopher) but history was his great passion. When it came to contemporary issues he was an extraordinarily diligent student of its historical background. His cultural interests extended to the theater and cinema, and he took a great personal interest in the output of Soviet writers, playwrights, and directors, often offering suggestions and even rewriting and editing prepublished works.

JS was also an avid gardner, who took particular pride in his lemon trees. Frequently his powerful cronies could be found with Stalin in his garden, weilding spades and rakes when not attending to the affairs of state; in the evening they'd retire indoors for epic binge-drinking sessions characterized by competitive billiards games and excoriably juvenile pranks (Stalin's lieutenants were so fond of pushing each other into a particular pond when blind drunk that it was drained by his guards in case one ended up drowning!). When he'd had a few, Stalin would join into a singalong, and by all accounts his voice was outstanding.