Another ideological method that was central to his success of emerging as the leader of the Soviet Union by 1929 was accusations of Trotskyism . This was due to Stalin defending himself by accusing Bukharin of Trotskyism because Trotsky had been the first to make the claim about bureaucracy . This can be viewed as a weakness of Trotsky because this accusation of Trotskyism attempts to show that Trotsky’s ideology was far from Leninist . This greatly caused decline in Trotsky’s support because many wanted a leader who was close to Lenin and followed Lenin . Therefore , this is one of Stalin’s strengths because he was
Why did Stalin emerge as leader of Soviet Russia? Observing Stalin’s background and other personal factors, Stalin was indeed a weak contender for the leader of Soviet Russia and lacked a strong, powerful past that people such as Trotsky had. However from 1924 to 1929, Stalin with the use of manipulation, determination and tactical strategies managed to emerge as leader of Soviet Russia. The reason as to why he created such an outcome is quite clearly impressive, but what really worked for him? An important factor as to why Stalin was able to emerge as leader was due to the advantages that he had as a result of his position within the communist party.
With the power that Stalin had now acquired he could appoint new members for the party and demote members of the party. This meant that he also had access to all information on the party members; through this he could effectively build himself a power base. However compared to the other positions in the party the General Secretary was positioned lower and did not have a large input into the politics of the party, it was required to keep track of the members of the politburo. This meant that Stalin did not hold a powerful position and was positioned below his rivals. The position although considered a minor position, placed Stalin in a decent position.
How far does Stalin’s position as General Secretary explain his success in defeating his rivals in the years 1924-29? In 1923, Stalin was the least likely candidate to succeed out of Trotsky, Zinoviev, Kamenev, Bukharin and of course Lenin as leader of the party, this was because although he was important in the administrative function during the civil war, he was not glamorous nor intellectual, unlike Trotsky and Bukharin. Stalin was seen by many as the ‘safe candidate’, and a centrist, who therefore could present himself as a sensible and practical politician. Stalin had been appointed General Secretary of the Communist Party in 1922, entitling him to being responsible for appointing people to key positions within the party, and for any promotions. As he had the powers to do so, he also had the power to sack party members.
In many ways, Stalin transformed himself to replicate Lenin by adopting his ideas and goals, although the way in which he met these goals are highly controversial by historians. Stalin was quickly acknowledged as a murderous dictator while he used a tactic of systematic killing of political opponents and innocent civilians on a massive scale. The objectives that Stalin was able to accomplish during his political career were truly outstanding and beneficial, however; the way in which he met these goals was truly unethical. Joseph Stalin was an
Zinoviev was seen by the party as ‘the most despicable individual since Mussolini.’ He was considered vain and arrogant with very limited political success, so he was unable to challenge Stalin’s authority alone. Kamenev was viewed as an unambitious person and never made an effort to become leader of the Soviet Union, this really limited his chances of becoming leader. Bukharin was seen as an able competitor, honest and incorruptible. However his appeal was damaged by his open disagreements with Lenin, also he did not openly go against Stalin which led him to be manipulated by Stalin. Overall Stalin
Finally the failures of the Provisional Government made them vulnerable which coincidentally worked to advantage the Bolsheviks. Personally, I believe that the vulnerable position of the Provisional Government, timing of the governments mistakes, discontent of the soldiers as well as the workers and the occasional guidance from other Bolshevik leaders, was exploited by Lenin, alongside his popular policies and leadership skills he catalyzed the revolution that was inevitable, planning it in such a way that it would benefit long term and not short-term as it had done in 1905 and February 1917. In disagreement, the failures of the provisional government to make the correct decisions led to the Bolsheviks’ success because the Bolsheviks were efficient in using this time to take control of the vulnerability of the Provisional Government which had caused this upon itself. The first mistake was allowing Lenin return from Germany in April as a part of democracy terms, since Lenin, despite being
How important was Stalin’s use of the Lenin legacy in gaining power? Stalin’s use of the Lenin Legacy helped him gain support during the years 1924-1929, eventually resulting in him winning the power struggle and gaining power in Russia. Even though in Lenin’s final testament he made it clear that Stalin was trouble and he should be got rid of, Stalin’s political cunning and his use of the Lenin legacy meant that he was able to gain people’s support and become leader of the Communist party. One of the most noticeable was at Lenin’s funeral. Firstly, Stalin had told Trotsky (who was a major rival to Stalin at this time) the wrong date for Lenin’s funeral.
Lenin described Trotsky as “...personally perhaps the most capable man in the present C.C...’ However, Trotsky also had weaknesses and made mistakes that Stalin was able to use to his advantage. To some Trotsky came across as an arrogant character and lacked support in critical areas of the party. He was also seen as an ‘outsider’ due to his background and past. The biggest mistakes that Trotsky made where a result of his poor judgement. Trotsky underestimated Stalin and what he was capable of (creating a triumvirate with Zinoviev and Kamenev, using this alliance to defeat him).
When his rivals were expelled from the Politburo, they were removed because the majority of the members voted for this. Therefore, Stalin’s action in order to gain power were quiet legal. After he was invited into the main committee of the Bolsheviks, he then gained other beneficial minority posts such as being an executive of the committee and becoming head of their party newspaper “Pravda”. Stalin, did not take part in any major roles during the October rising. During the civil war, he was consistent in disobeying orders made from Lenin and Trotsky, as they were the main organisers.