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
Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin were both powerful, ambitious leaders that worked their way into positions of power. Stalin took over after Lenin died to lead the USSR after the Russian Revolution. Hitler became leader of the Nazi Party and gained the people’s support with promises of a strong leader that resisted western powers. On their rise to power, both Stalin and Hitler became leaders of political parties, eliminated opposing parties, and promised a better future for the people and country, but Stalin used the people’s support as leverage in his power struggle with Trotsky while Hitler used his passion and the economic situation in Germany to become leader of the Nazi party and gain support over the socialists. Both Hitler and Stalin started their journey towards power by joining political parties.
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.
By 1929, Joseph Stalin who was one of the members of the ‘collective leadership’, defeated the rest and became the dominant force of the USSR. His success was part of a power struggle which began even before Lenin’s death. Stalin’s victory was not inevitable, nor was it a result of his political skills alone. There was a whole list of factors which combined to assist his victory. When Lenin was alive he made several criticisms about Stalin which were not made public.
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.
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
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.
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.
In reaction to this, he shut down the assembly in order to keep power for himself. In doing so it was one of the first actions he took which portrayed some similarities to that of the Tsar, but he defended his actions declaring Russia needed to be told what to do in order to live the communist ways, or as it was called ‘dictatorship of proletariat.’ However Lenin did manage to win some of the Russian approval. Another immediate effect of the revolution was on the 8th of November he made a speech in the hopes of gaining the support of masses throughout Russia in order to establish control everywhere. In his speech he promised the land was to be given to the peasants and seized from the rich. This pleased a lot of people as the population had 80% peasants.
Unit 1 Stalin – Assignment ‘To what extent was Stalin’s victory over his opponents in the power struggle a result of his opponents mistakes?’ In 1929, four years after the death of Lenin, the power struggle between Stalin, Trotsky, Bukharin, Kamenev and Zinoviev was over. Stalin was the undisputed leader of the USSR. Many people would said that Stalin’s victory was due to the mistakes made by his opposition, yet it could also be argued that there were other reasons behind his rise to power. One of Stalin’s biggest opponents during the power struggle was that of Trotsky (left wing), who some considered to be the favourite to succeed Lenin at the time of his death in 1924. Despite his Menshevik past, Trotsky was close to Lenin and had played a key role in the communist party.