Born into a peasant family of serfs in Didi Lilo in Georgia, he moved to Tbilisi at a young age to be a shoemaker, working in a factory.

Once known as a "clever and proud" man, Jughashvili's shop failed and he developed a serious drinking problem, wherefore he left his family and moved back to Tbilisi in 1884, working in a factory again.

His grandfather, Zaza Jughashvili (born c. 1780), was involved in the 1804 Mtiuleti rebellion against the Russian Empire, which had only annexed eastern Georgia (Kartli-Kakheti) in 1801.

Zaza was possibly of Ossetian background, with historians Simon Sebag Montefiore and Ronald Grigor Suny both suggesting he came from the village of Geri, in modern South Ossetia, though this claim can not be proven.

It grew in importance in 1871 when a branch of the Transcaucasus Railway connected the town to Tiflis and Poti, a major port for oil export.

[6][c] Keke, "an attractive freckled girl with auburn hair," was from the village of Gambareuli near Gori, and had moved to the town at a young age after her father died.

However, Kotkin concedes that "whether Keke was flirtatious, let alone promiscuous, is unclear," and that "reliable evidence about the possible liaisons of the future Stalin's mother is lacking," and argues that Jughashvili was probably the father.

[12] Jughashvili's shop was initially quite successful, employing up to ten people as well as apprentices, and the family initially enjoyed a rather high standard of living; a former apprentice would later note that he frequently saw butter in their home, which was an expensive delicacy for most Georgians (however Kotkin writes that the family lived more modestly, eating more traditional foods like lobio, lavash, and badrijani nigvzit).

[15] This idea is echoed by Robert Service, who noted that Jughashvili did not adapt to make European-style shoes that were popular at the time, and instead kept producing traditional Georgian styles, and suggests that the rumours about Keke were also a major influence on his drinking.

[22] Keke was adamantly opposed to the idea and used her connections with the church to bring Ioseb back to Gori, where he would continue his studies to become a priest.

[29] The location of his grave was unknown until 1972, when Kandid Charkviani, the former First Secretary of the Georgian Communist Party, led efforts to find it and mark it, though it was not confirmed if Jughashvili's remains were still there.