The main reason that Stalin was able to rise to power was his ingenious defeats of both the left and right wings of the Party. The key figure Stalin had to take down from the left wing was Leon Trotsky. Trotsky was important because in effect, it was his leadership of the Red Army during the Civil War that had won the war for the Reds. If it hadn’t been for Trotsky, the Bolsheviks may not have been in the position they were by 1924. The first step Stalin took towards removing the threat of Trotsky was to lie to him about the date of Lenin’s funeral.
This is because through the key events, his devious and scheming personality shone through, eventually gaining him the top position of authority. This is shown as soon as Lenin dies as it is said Stalin tells Trotsky the wrong date of Lenin’s funeral (his greatest opposition at the time.) Trotsky doesn’t show up, leaving Stalin to step up and show his loyalty whilst at the same time showing the people of Russia that he is a strong, caring contender, able to take Lenin’s position of leader of Russia. Moreover, Stalin’s position of a moderate ‘peace maker’ as the left side of the party tore themselves apart showed a personality of calm moderation which appealed to others within the party as the fight for leadership became bitter and often ruthless. This made Stalin’s personality shine through amongst the bitter personalities of others such as Trotsky, Zinoviev and
History Essay: How Significant were the Personalities of the contenders to succeed Lenin in accounting for Stalin’s defeat of his opponents 1924-29? In this essay I will be looking at the strengths and weaknesses of contenders, Lenin’s legacy: what he left behind with his success, failures and his system. Also I will be looking at the Alliances which Stalin formed which helped him win the leadership contest, Stalin’s Party Position and its significance, Stalin’s use of devious tactics and the failings of the other opponents. Stalin personality meant that he appealed to the Communist Party Membership, which helped him become leader of the USSR and defeat all the other Candidates. Stalin’s appeal was based on the fact he was the ‘Voice of Moderation’ which appealed to many members across the party whereas other contenders were seen as extreme, therefore they had a narrow base of support.
How far do you agree that the most important result of the oppression was the strengthening of Stalin’s political dominance? The Great Terror had a profound effect upon the Communist Party and on Soviet society as a whole and it was most famous aspect of Stalin’s Russia. This terror grew from his paranoia and desire to be the absolute leader, and was enforced by the NKVD as well as his public show-trials. It developed into a terrifying system of labour camps (or gulags) and purges. Stalin’s oppression had many results including, but not limited to, the strengthening of his political dominance.
Lastly, Russia's backward society is one of the main reasons Nicholas II survived after 1905. There were three main groups that opposed the Tsar up until 1905. The Social Democratic Labour Party (SDLP) was a Marxist political party for the industrial workers in Russia. They disliked the Tsar the most, and wanted to wrest control from him and have Russia become the first communist state in the world. However, there was a dispute on how the party should be run.
As he had the powers to do so, he also had the power to sack party members. This role won Stalin the loyalty of the junior ranks, who were keen for higher wages as a result of promotion. Also, Stalin’s role gave him the power to manipulate the system which decided who attended the party congresses. Stalin soon gained a powerful influence on the composition of the party’s central committee. Finally, Stalin was also responsible for recruitment.
A strong example of the importance of “Red Terror” was perhaps the execution of the Tsar and his family in public, showing the Cheka‘s uses. This is highlighted when Marples states “the Bolsheviks had proclaimed the abolition of the death penalty, the Cheka obeyed no such rules” supporting Elknar’s point of the “rapid expansion of the Cheka’s powers”, as this allowed the Bolshevik party to fully implement “Red Terror” to squash the threat to their power, even though it was against the party’s original ideals. From this it is possible to state, that the Bolshevik party saw the Cheka as very important to their success in the civil war, as they saw the use of
The death of the creator of the Soviet Communist Party and founder of the USSR, Vladimir Lenin, left the young Soviet Union craving the leadership from a man of the same stature. At first, the brilliant leader of the Red Army and also the appointed candidate by Lenin, Trotsky, seemed to be the one to take control of the USSR. Instead, Joseph Stalin took control of the Soviet Union, using many vindictive political moves and his position as General Secretary. As the leader of the Soviet Union, Stalin strengthened and stabilized the structure of the nation to become a world superpower and industrial colossus. 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.
Kennedy was also a horrible moment in 1968. This had a large impact on the US. This is because many people looked up to him. Both the white and black communities supported him. Just a few months earlier he had said a speech announcing the death of MLK.
Lenin warned the people about the ambitious leaders like Joseph Stalin whom he met through the Bolshevik party. Lenin died before he could accomplish his task of organizing Russia. (Vladimir Lenin) Joseph Stalin, who had been elected to a very powerful position of general secretary, was in the running to be the next