Besarion Vanovis Jughashvili (Georgian: ბესარიონ ჯუღაშვილი; Russian: Виссарион Иванович Джугашвили;) (1849 or 1850 – 25 August 1909) was Joseph Stalin's father. He often went by the nickname "Beso". He was a cobbler by trade, though later in life he slid into alcoholism and became a vagrant. His wife and Stalin's mother was Ketevan Geladze.