Why Were Stalin S Opponents Unable To Prevent Him From Becoming The Leader Of The USSR By 1929
History
Why were Stalin’s opponents unable to prevent him from becoming the leader of the USSR by 1929?
There are several reasons why Stalin’s opponents were unable to prevent him form becoming the leader of the USSR by 1929; the personality’s of the opponents being a hinting factor for themselves, Stalin’s cunning and sly ways to get what he wanted in the party, and Lenin’s testament not being publicly read out.
Trotsky was Stalin’s main opponent for the next leader after Lenin’s death. Trotsky was a brilliant orator and administrator: he more than anyone had won the civil war being the leader of the Red Army. He was a good friend of Lenin’s, ending with a shining account of him in Lenin’s testament. But his pride and arrogance made him unpopular in the party. Trotsky was not a natural ‘comrade’. He would rather be the general of his own army than a colonel in a collective command. It was that which gave him the position of an outsider to the rank and file. Although a member of the Politburo, Trotsky had never held a party post. He rarely attended party meeting, and Stalin used this to his advantage. On the day of Lenin’s funeral Stalin sent Trotsky an invite for the wrong day, and so he turned up from his holiday a day late and missed it. This was highly significant being the funeral was not only televised meaning the whole world could see his absence, but turning up to the funeral meant that you were in the running of being the next leader of the USSR and as Trotsky was not there, he was basically out of the race before it began.
However in Lenin’s testament it reflects Trotsky well but not Stalin, not only that after Lenin’s death it would have been read publicly to the whole party, therefore it may of put Stalin out of the race for the next leader right then. As a result Stalin manipulated Kamenev and Zinoviev (who were also reflect badly in the testament) to vote of the testament not to be read out to the party. And because it was later passed that it
Why were Stalin’s opponents unable to prevent him from becoming the leader of the USSR by 1929?
There are several reasons why Stalin’s opponents were unable to prevent him form becoming the leader of the USSR by 1929; the personality’s of the opponents being a hinting factor for themselves, Stalin’s cunning and sly ways to get what he wanted in the party, and Lenin’s testament not being publicly read out.
Trotsky was Stalin’s main opponent for the next leader after Lenin’s death. Trotsky was a brilliant orator and administrator: he more than anyone had won the civil war being the leader of the Red Army. He was a good friend of Lenin’s, ending with a shining account of him in Lenin’s testament. But his pride and arrogance made him unpopular in the party. Trotsky was not a natural ‘comrade’. He would rather be the general of his own army than a colonel in a collective command. It was that which gave him the position of an outsider to the rank and file. Although a member of the Politburo, Trotsky had never held a party post. He rarely attended party meeting, and Stalin used this to his advantage. On the day of Lenin’s funeral Stalin sent Trotsky an invite for the wrong day, and so he turned up from his holiday a day late and missed it. This was highly significant being the funeral was not only televised meaning the whole world could see his absence, but turning up to the funeral meant that you were in the running of being the next leader of the USSR and as Trotsky was not there, he was basically out of the race before it began.
However in Lenin’s testament it reflects Trotsky well but not Stalin, not only that after Lenin’s death it would have been read publicly to the whole party, therefore it may of put Stalin out of the race for the next leader right then. As a result Stalin manipulated Kamenev and Zinoviev (who were also reflect badly in the testament) to vote of the testament not to be read out to the party. And because it was later passed that it