In the lead up to Lenin’s death and the years that followed, it would seem Stalin was in a weaker position than several of his opponents, as many doubted his role in the Revolution and, therefore, his role as a leader of the Party. Several factors played a role in allowing Stalin to be victorious, however, comparatively they hold varying significance. Despite the odds appearing to be stacked against him, Stalin’s ruthless personality and devious strategies allowed him to tactfully defeat his opponents, by manipulating his position within the Party, without having any real party appeal or Government powerbase and he ultimately emerged as leader of the Party in 1929, ending the leadership struggle.…
The personality of those involved in the power struggle should however not be disregarded as they played a role in Stalin’s ensuing victory. Stalin was known to some members of his party as the grey blur as supposedly there was nothing remarkable about him. His role in the October revolution and the Russian civil war was minimal however his true aptitude lay in administrative positions, his skill in the clerical field was so great that Lenin came to rely on Stalin’s administrative capability and loyalty. Even so when Lenin became ill Stalin began to oppose him. Lenin’s testament was highly critical of Stalin and encouraged that he be removed, however as the testament was never made public this was never carried out. The fact that Stalin was not seen as threat and was underestimated by his peers meant that he was able to gain authority without raising the suspicions of other party members.…
In 1922, when Vladimir Lenin died, someone needed to step up and the Soviet Union. As he was slowly dying, a power struggle emerged between Leon Trotsky, and Joseph Stalin. Even though Trotsky “had been widely viewed as the heir of Lenin, it was relatively easy for Stalin to combine with the other Bolshevik leaders in order to head off this threat” (Paley 10). In Lenin’s “Final Testament”, Lenin could already see that Stalin was quickly and surreptitiously gaining power. Stalin’s position of General Secretary gave him the ability to appoint people to important positions. Lenin was also reluctant to see Stalin as his successor because he thought that Trotsky could do a much better job. Lenin believed that Trotsky was the best man in the central…
Trotsky’s role as a Marxist has generated far from a balanced interpretation, as he is viewed as both an inventive, evolutionary Marxist yet also contrastingly viewed as someone with a lust for…
Russia was torn between the world war and the population was threatened as levels of starvation rose whilst industry fell. The provisional government could not do much to stop Russia plummeting as they did not have much power and the people of Russia failed to support them (1). The citizens of Russia were desperately looking for help and the Bolshevik party, created with the help of Lenin and Trotsky in the year 1917, had the answer. Slowly, they had managed to become one of the most powerful parties ever created, but many factors were to cause the consolidation of power. In this essay I will be comparing the significance of Vladimir Lenin in the Bolshevik consolidation of power with another important factor; Leon Trotsky.…
After Lenin’s death, Stalin rapidly ascended to power, strategically removing Trotsky and installing himself with the mystic and praise usually reserved for religious figures, not unlike the Tsar’s of history. Some citizens believed in Stalin so wholeheartedly that they start to worship him, singing hymns such as primary source #8.…
With the Bolsheviks, Stalin helped with many revolutions. The first was the take down of Tsar Nicholas II and the Russian Tsarist government. With the tsarist takedown, Russia set up a new provisional government. It worked at first but then it started going downhill. Since fleeing the country in fear of arrest, Lenin put Stalin in charge of the central committee of the Bolsheviks Party. Unimpressed by Stalin’s compromising with the Provisional government, Lenin started writing hate letters to the provisional government. Most, if not all, of these letters were published in…
After many struggles, the Bolshevik Party gained control of Russia in November of 1917, with V.I. Lenin leading them. The Soviet Union (USSR) was later established in 1922 making V.I. Lenin its first leader. Throughout those few year, Stalin steadily moved up the party ranks of the Bolshevik Party, and later in 1922, he gained the role as the secretary general of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. This role gave him the ability to appoint his allies and supporters into government jobs and thus grow a foundation of political support. After the death of V.I. Lenin in 1924, Joseph Stalin had struggled to gain power.…
Shortly after Lenin’s rule there was a fight for power between Trotsky and Stalin. In the end, Stalin prevailed and earned leadership of the Soviet Union during the mid-1920s. However, once Stalin came to power, the lives of the society changed dramatically. Stalin’s wished to restore society which caused him to reverse Lenin’s previous work. Stalin revoked many laws concerning women’s emancipation because he wanted to strengthen tradition and build up the population.…
As he went up in ranks in his Democratic party, he soon became the “secretary general of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, a role that embedded him to appoint his allies to government jobs and grow a base of political support”(C). When Lenin, the first leader, died, Stalin was placed into power, where he then became the absolute ruler of Russia. As a leader, he was fierce, a go getter. No matter what the cost, he did whatever he needed to do for the revolution and went to jail more than 18 times. However, he adapted a personality that was rude, sullen, and many other characteristics that cause people to push him away and or shun him, “He became more dedicated because of this isolation”(C).…
Lenin was reluctant to use terror against the politburo, but Stalin was more than willing to do so. This is exemplified in the so-called show trials of the late 1930s, where Stalin all but settle any possible competition. Also, Lenin had not been predisposed to forcing Russian peasants to enter collectives. However, Stalin accomplish a ruthless policy of peasant collectivization, and when many peasants resisted, he oversaw a period of intentional starvation that about one million kulak households (some five million people) were deported and never heard from again. On the other hand, Lenin still appreciated Russia as leading an active vanguard in the process towards worldwide communist revolution, whereas Stalin adopted a more pragmatic,…
Stalin had a grip on Russia and had enough power to change the entire country. Lenin appointed Stalin for the first Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party.…
It caused splits in the Communist Party – many Bolsheviks resigned. In his leadership struggle with Trotsky, Stalin was able to use these splits to seize power.…
The two were opposite in character and possessed different views for the future. Lenin informed the public of his wish to spread the revolution to surrounding nations while Stalin, opposed every word. In result, Stalin exiles Trotsky from Russia to eliminate any trace of competition. Stalin declares himself as dictator and has Trotsky and later assassinated. Stalin gains control of the Communist Party and gradually reverses the principles of Lenin and transforms the Soviet Union into a government very similar to…
The question of this investigation is: “To what extent was Leon trotsky more valuable to the Bolsheviks and the Russian Revolution, rather than Vladimir Lenin, his superior?”…