As said above, luck was definitely a vital part in Stalin’s victory. Had Lenin not died when he did it is extremely likely that Lenin would’ve said what was written in his testament to the party, rather than leaving it to be read later by select members of the party who decided not to make its content public. The major lucky break Stalin had was Trotsky’s position when Lenin died. Trotsky had been ill and was on vacation to recover when it happened and so was far away from Moscow where the funeral was being held. Stalin, seizing this opportunity, convinced Trotsky that he would not be able to make it back in time for the funeral and the stress of trying would just worsen his condition.
There was an early failure by his rivals to rid themselves of Stalin. Underestimating him, they ignored the dying Lenin’s clear contempt for his General Secretary that had grown in the last months of the old leader’s life. By not publishing Lenin’s Testament, his rivals allowed the myth of Stalin as a natural successor to Lenin to
For Lenin, the party was to be a group prepared to seize power as soon as possible yet on the other hand, for Martov, the main purpose of the party was to spread propaganda and raise the level of consciousness of the proletariat. This was because he did not believe that Russia was ready for a Marxist revolution for many years. Lenin believed that is the Mensheviks had their way, it would take years to start the revolution; they would just waste time on useless discussion and argument. Martov, replied that the revolution would fail if it did not have the support of the whole working class. The social democratic party remained spilt on the issue.
The ongoing debate within the Bolshevik party between the years 1924 and 1928 regarding the New Economic Policy was largely responsible for the power struggle that followed Lenin’s death. However, there were other factors, such as the nature of the leadership the party should adopt and the direction the Revolution should take ideologically. Additionally, personal ambitions played a part in the struggle for power. The New Economic Policy was introduced after the end of the Civil War as a substitute to War Communism in 1921. This was an economic concession that Lenin was forced to make due to the deteriorating economic conditions and the real threat of a revolt against the Bolshevik government.
After Lenin’s death, there was a dispute over the succession between Bukharin, Trotsky, Kamenev and Stalin. Trotsky could end the dispute and took power as the head of the Bolsheviks with Lenin's Testament, which criticized the oppositions Trotsky. However, he did not do it, and Stalin, using his position in the Bolshevik Party was able to get his men in high positions and policies through a swing, a union with his opposition to displace others, was able to take power in 1923 and the elimination of his violent Trotsky opposition, using a "ban on faction’’. In some cases, single-party leaders use a combination of legal and illegal methods to come to power. For Stalin, what he did was entirely legal.
political (defeat of the right –Bukharin), • Ideological (NEP hated by communists; class war against the kulaks; socialism in one country), • Strategic (i.e. defence of Russia)? Conclusion– Economic reasons provided one set of motives –but there were others. Were they connected? Which motives were most decisive?
As an individual Lenin was extremely important in the October revolution. After he had been forced into temporary exile in Finland the remainder of the Bolshevik party leadership didn't seem to to press for an armed uprising. In fact they had attended a democratic congress, much to Lenin's chagrin, to maybe consider joining the Provisional Government (PG). After Lenin's return and the success of placing an armed revolution on the Central Committee's agenda some leading Bolsheviks still had grave doubts about whether this was a good idea; in fact Ziniovev and Kamenev went as far as to speak out against Lenin in a newspaper article, which alerted Kerensky to the imminent danger. What this shows is that without Lenin at their front haranguing them, the other Bolsheviks weren't so keen to rise up and take power.
Stolypin himself began to adopt nationalist policies, aimed at asserting the rights of Russians inside the multinational empire. He became increasingly beleaguered, isolated from his earlier supporters who condemned him for abandoning reform while still distrusted and disliked among the Right. In 1911 Stolypin was assassinated by a lone killer who had close links to the Tsarist secret police. The strong suspicion remains that it was his enemies on the Right who had planned his murder. With Stolypin’s death, all hope of reform in Russia came to an end.
After Lenin’s death in 1924, Stalin was not the first choice to take over the leadership of the Soviet Union. However Stalin’s sly manoeuvring and exaggerated lies allowed him step above Lenin’s chosen successor Trotsky. “Lenin wrote a political “testament”...calling for Stalin’s removal from the secretary general ship.” (Hingley). This “testament, which Stalin knew about, could have been the end of his dictatorship before it even began, “but his luck and skill enabled him to have it discounted during his lifetime” (Hingley). At Lenin’s funeral Stalin spoke about losing a great leader.
Trotsky underestimated Stalin and what he was capable of (creating a triumvirate with Zinoviev and Kamenev, using this alliance to defeat him). He lost respect by not turning up to Lenin’s funeral, allowing Stalin to act as though he was closest to Lenin. Yet, the biggest mistake which Trotsky made was when he agreed not to publish Lenin’s