Thus, Stalin was able to consolidate his power by being depicted as Lenin’s natural successor. In this sense, it wasn’t the political shortcomings of his opponents that allowed Stalin victory per se, rather the way in which he moulded and manipulated his powerbase. The somewhat inherent internal divisions of the Communist Party during the 1920’s were due to the emergence of left and rightwing Communism. The leftwing, headed by Trotsky and his allies, were seen as radical and idealistic whereas the rightwing headed by Bukharin and his supporters. Stalin intelligently he avoided taking extreme positions on any of the most divisive issues.
So many divisions and factions within the opponents all wanting different things for Russia shows responsibility for the survival of the Tsar as they were too busy against each other, than to unite against the Tsar. Divisions amongst the opposition further disagreed on the methods to overthrow the Tsar. The Liberals preferred reform rather than violence, and peaceful propaganda such as articles in newspapers, meetings and reform banquets. Mensheviks were in favour of alliance with all other revolutionary and bourgeois liberal parties, and supported trade unions in pursuing better wages and conditions for workers. Whereas the Bolsheviks rejected cooperation with other parties, and aimed to turn workers into revolutionaries as soon as possible.
According to Historian Malone, the Tsar “believed totally in the tsarist system and argued that a democracy and elections would result in political collapse.'' His reluctance to alter the system of authority and introduce representatives reinforces his lack of ability in knowing 'the business of ruling'. However, in response to pressure from the discontented Proletariat group, Nicholas II implemented an Imperial Council, Cabinet of Ministers, a Senate and the Okhrana. These parties however, were merely a tokenistic response, as Nicholas II still retained ultimate power. He ensured that he had the right to choose half the members of the council, declare
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. It was always intended as a temporary measure, and the question after Lenin’s death wasn’t whether it should continue or not, but how it should be put an end to. The debate lay between the left-wing, lead by Trotsky, Zinoviev and Kamenev, who advocated a quick movement into rapid industrialisation, which would mean abandoning the New Economic Policy, militarising the labour forces and exploiting peasants for grain to fund the industrialisation; and the right-wing, led by Bukharin, who wanted to continue the New Economic Policy for another 20 years, which would mean peasants would grow wealthier and be encouraged to buy consumer goods, which in turn would lead to more products being made in factories and a gradual process of industrialisation. This became a passionate issue because economic policy was also at the heart of the debate of what a socialist society should look like. The growth of a rich super class led to activities such as property dealing, land speculation, gambling and prostitution, all of which conflicted greatly with the ideology of Communism.
He turned his opponents against each other while keeping his eye on the prize and being sure to never do anything that would endanger his chances of becoming the leader of the Soviet union. Although he was clever he seemed not to show this - he is described as awkward and even boring. He is generally shown as having no character. He became the leader of the Soviet Union at age 51. Adolf Hitler’s rise to power was very different to the way Stalin’s.
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.
Moderate reform played a small part in keeping power in the hands of the Kaiser but its limited scope together with the lack of any real success show that it may have been other factors that kept power in the hands of the Kaiser. This is clearly shown in the lack of substance inherent in Bulow’s and Hollweg’s reforms to placate the socialists together with the failure of Hollweg’s reforms to reform the constitution. On the surface it would appear that Bulow’s reforms to solve the socialist threat show that it was actually reform that maintained power in the hands of the Kaiser, these include the laws to extend accident insurance, to give longer and more generous hours to workers in poor health and those to reduce the amount of factory work. In actual fact, the introduction of a tariff law in
It was very powerful for them and it was Lenin's idea. This meant that he succeeded in getting the support from the disillusioned soldiers which meant they did not have to worry about the army which was important as they would not have to fight. Another use for it was making the other parties look weaker as they had all co-operated meaning there was less opposition. It was Lenin who gave the order for the revolution to begin. Someone else could have done this so in the grand scheme of things it is not very significant.
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
While Stalin rejecting the NEP was significant, considerable factors led him to succeed in the power struggle such as: the disappearance of Lenin Will, being underestimated by fellow party member and playing them against each other and using his power as General Secretary to deceive and trick his way in to power. To some extent the key reason for him succeeding in the power struggle was due to the fact he was the General Secretary. This gave him control over the appointment of responsibility; he could put his supporters in key positions. He also had control over the party organisation; this meant he could influence the selection of delegate who were sent to the annual party congress where major issues where decided. He could pack the congress with his supporters.