Preview

Explain why there was no clear succession to Lenin in 1924.

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
813 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Explain why there was no clear succession to Lenin in 1924.
Explain why at the time of Lenin’s death there was no obvious successor to lead the USSR? (12)
Although Lenin’s death was relatively expected, there was still a lot of confusion over who would succeed him to lead the USSR. There are a number of reasons to why this occurred but there are still disputes about who Lenin wanted to succeed him and why he didn’t leave someone who he thought would be best for the job in charge of his beloved USSR.
Despite Lenin having preferences, nobody was aware of these preferences due to his testament not being publically shown – nevertheless, Lenin’s testament left no clear indication of whom he wanted to take over his reign. In his testament he clearly insinuates that none of the men leading the chase were capable of his role as they all leading Communists showed weaknesses. For example, Lenin knew Trotsky was an obvious contender for power once he died, however Lenin also understood that Trotsky had personal downfalls and he had no real and secure fan-base. It was clear to Lenin that Trotsky was good at organisation due to the Red Armies triumph during the civil war, however Lenin questioned Trotsky’s ability to rule and lead the USSR. The fact that Lenin’s Testament was never shown was very lucky to one contender, Stalin, as in that Testament, it stated how Lenin did not want Stalin to succeed him due to reasons such as, Stalin arguing and disrespecting Lenin’s wife. The Testament not being publicised was a huge factor as to why there was no obvious successor to lead the USSR at the time of Lenin’s death as if it was shown, candidates such as Stalin would have been knocked of their stage and would no longer be a rival for power; thus making less contenders, consequently and easier and shorter struggle to find Lenin’s successor.
In the USSR at the time of Lenin’s death there was no voting system for power. Although the Communists were the party destined to lead the USSR and there was no dangerous rival for their authority, the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The first reason is that Stalin, Bukharin, Trotsky, Zinoviev and Kamenev had different ideologies which contradicted each other, the rules and the practices that Lenin already had in place. Trotsky represented the left wing of the party and believed in the rejection of the New Economic Party, being committed to immediate industrialisation and permanent revolution which was completely different to Bukharin who was on the right wing of the party. Bukharin believed in acceptance of the NEP, he was committed to industrialisation but in the distant future and wanted socialism in one country. On the other hand, Stalin was in the centre which meant that he had a pragmatic commitment to the NEP, he was committed to industrialisation in the near future and socialism should be in one country, which are both similar to Bukharin’s ideas on the right wing. Zinoviev and Kamenev swapped from right to left in 1925, which lost them credibility with the party. The fact that most of the contenders had such different ideas about how to run the country would have caused a struggle because they would not have been able to agree on something between them and would have been competing…

    • 1472 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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.…

    • 1502 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The personalities of each individual contender played a role in establishing their position and reputation within the Party, which ultimately would strengthen or weaken their chances of becoming leader. Trotsky was a passionate member of the party and had the strongest Revolutionary record amongst all of his opponents. His leadership of the Red Army allowed the communists to seize power in the October Revolution, enhancing his reputation, despite being labeled a traitor when he sided with the Mensheviks in 1903. However, he was noted as ‘arrogant’ in Lenin’s testament and managed to gain many enemies within the party as he felt there was no need to endear himself to his colleagues and he therefore displayed little respect towards them. This made him very unpopular and a tyrant to compromise with as he believed in debate as a way of solving issues and adopted other western ideas, tainting his image. Similarly, Kamenev, Zinoviev and Rykov allowed their unfavorable personalities to ruin their appeal within the party and all were criticised in Lenin’s testament, further diminishing their chances of success. Stalin also…

    • 1220 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    After Lenin's death he waited, allowing other Politburo members to state their preferred policies - he then ganged up on groups of them, using his alliances and his party contacts to destroy the opposition. His did this twice in the 1920s, destroying Trotsky and his supporters and Zinoviev and Kamenev and their supporters.…

    • 392 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    After Lenin’s death in 1924 the Bolsheviks (although not out rightly stated) were in need of a new leader. The power struggle occurred from 1923-1929 and eventually Stalin effectively became the leader of the USSR due to many reasons, including the weaknesses of Trotsky.…

    • 451 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Leading up to and following Lenin’s death in 1924, Leon Trotsky, the logical successor to Lenin, was outwitted from becoming leader of the Communist Party. Trotsky had been second only to Lenin since the Revolution he masterminded, yet it seemed Joseph Stalin was better suited from 1924 to assume the role because he was more politically adept and had more success in out manoeuvring and taking any opportunity to usurp Trotsky. His success, therefore, was based not only upon his ability for manipulating hierarchies of power which had been developed inside the party to further his own cause, but also in Trotsky’s failure to also exploit these channels.…

    • 1025 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    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.…

    • 986 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Although not the main reason, Lenin’s April Theses had an impact on the people of Russia. His famous saying was ‘Peace, bread, land and power to the soviets’. Not only did this statement appeal to the Peasants (who were 80% of the population) but he also stated that he would not support the Provisional government; instead he thought that the Soviets should have the power which is what they wanted. This only increased the Bolsheviks popularity, whilst support for the Provisional Government decreased. These catchy slogans and giving the people what they wanted was what made Lenin a good leader and one of the reasons for the success of the Bolsheviks.…

    • 722 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Why Did Stalin Win?

    • 2144 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Throughout the summer of 1923 it was apparent that Lenin’s reign was coming to an end and this overshadowed the political struggle however in the Politburo and central committee battle lines were forming. They all thought that they were deserving candidates with so thinking that they were untouchable and were destined to lead USSR . Leon Trotsky seemed to have the stronghold as he had a close relationship with Lenin. However in the background there was opposition growing. Stalin was to be Trotsky’s most fierce competitor, but at that time there were others including Lev Kamenev and G.E.Zinoviev who were close to Lenin during the revolution and had aided him greatly so they too were seen as competitors. These three were to form the, ‘troika’ and when Lenin’s death neared they were to jointly attack Trotsky. In 1921 the implementation of the Ban on Factionalism meant that if anyone was to disobey or not comply with official party policy were to be expelled, and this later would play a part in the power struggle.. On January 21, 1924, Lenin died. He was only fifty-three. Trotsky was away in the Caucasus that month, and Stalin telegraphed him and said that the funeral would be held immediately, so there was no point in undertaking the long trip back to Moscow. Thus Stalin forced Trotsky to be absent for the funeral--he knew how to create and use symbols to his advantage. In his final testament he described Trotsky as the ‘most capable man’ however that he ‘displayed excessive self-assurance’ that he was to be the next leader of the USSR. He also mentioned Stalin and said that he wouldn’t be able to use his authority ‘with sufficient caution’ this clearly showing that Lenin didn’t want Stalin to be in control however this testament never was publicly released, another factor in the power struggle…

    • 2144 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The second reason why Stalin and not Trotsky was able to succeed Lenin was that many communists felt that Stalin was more loyal to the party whilst Trotsky was seen as arrogant. Trotsky had joined the Bolsheviks very late in 1917 and was a member of the Mensheviks, whereas Stalin was there from a very long time. Stalin was the chief mourner at Lenin's funeral. He had told Trotsky the wrong date for Lenin's funeral, and being in the south of Russia, Trotsky believed he couldn't get back for the funeral in time, and so he missed it. Although it was not his fault, it looked to many people that he couldn't be bothered, and he didn't honor Lenin. This made him look bad in front of others. Trotsky also couldn’t be bothered to fit in the group conversations and felt bored. He was once seen reading a novel. So the reason why Stalin became the leader and not Trotsky was because people felt that Stalin was more loyal to the party, while Trotsky was seen as arrogant.…

    • 539 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    After Lenin’s death, there were five main people struggling to achieve the position of a leader of USSR. These were: Trotsky, Bukharin, Kamenev, Zinoviev and Stalin. Stalin wanted to become the leader of USSR. His main rival was Leon Trotsky because he had the support of the Soviet people. Trotsky, Kamenev and Zinoviev joined together to oppose the continuation of the New Economic Policy (a new and more capitalized economic policy, which was supposed to revive the Soviet economy that was ruined after the Civil War. NEP allowed farmers to earn extra money). Their wishes appeared to go against Lenin’s.…

    • 615 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In conclusion Lenin’s actions in 1918 to 1924 were of more significance than those pre 1917 because his actions in these years brought about the real change that was triggered by the Revolution in 1917. Furthermore, a majority of logistics and planning was done by Trotsky while Lenin reaped the benefits. However, Lenin achieved great things in his years of power as there were important economic, political and social developments in Russia at this time that could not have been achieved without Lenin’s input. Lenin took over an empire that was breaking up, suffering from military defeat and in a state of economic and political crisis.…

    • 140 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Lenin possessed a certain influencing voice that allowed him to gain support and convince the rest of his party to act. Without Lenin’s leadership, there would have been no Bolshevik Revolution to ensure their…

    • 1406 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Who Is Joseph Stalin

    • 678 Words
    • 3 Pages

    After Lenin's death in 1924, Stalin promoted himself as his political heir and gradually outmanoeuvred his rivals. By the late 1920s, Stalin was effectively the dictator of the Soviet Union.…

    • 678 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Stalin and Propaganda

    • 2332 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Bolshevik Communist Party; a leadership which lasted from the early 1900’s until Lenin died in 1924. After the armed takeover of the government in 1917, Lenin was accompanied by Leon Trotsky, and the Bolshevik Communist Party became the governing body of Russia. At this point, Stalin had been of little significance regarding the Party’s political growth, and ultimately was not considered to be a symbolic member of the Bolshevik faction. Trotsky described him as the Party’s most “eminent mediocrity” and historian Chris Truman states that “Stalin was seen as ‘dull’ and ‘uninteresting’ by the intellectual elite”. In corroboration, Dennett and Dixon convey that “Stalin was not an intellectual and had no strong talents in the areas of writing or speaking”, and further describe Stalin’s major role within the Party as one of organisation and practicality, rather than leadership. These qualities, however, were not wasted as Lenin recognised Stalin as a hard-working and organised member of the Party, and as a result Stalin was able to ascend the Party’s ranks.…

    • 2332 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Good Essays