 He rarely spoke before large audiences, and preferred to express himself in written form.His writing style was similar, being characterised by its simplicity, clarity, and conciseness.Throughout his life, he used various nicknames and pseudonyms, including "Koba", "Soselo", and "Ivanov", adopting "Stalin" in 1912; it was based on the Russian word for "steel" and has often been translated as "Man of Steel".