Joseph Stalin Research Paper
How far does Stalin’s position as General Secretary explain his success in defeating his rivals in the years 1924 – 1929?
Following Lenin’s untimely death in 1924, the Communist Leadership in Russia was thrown into disarray. Months of ideological confusion, full of proposals of ideas for the future of socialism, brought about potential contenders for party leadership and amongst these was Stalin. Through the next 5 year period, a great power struggle occurred between the contenders, but Stalin eventually emerged successful as the new leader of the USSR. Stalin’s position as General Secretary and other factors all contributed to this appointment.
Prior to the start of the power struggle, Stalin had already used sly tactics to trick Trotsky …show more content…
Although Trotsky’s speeches were brilliantly received and a great deal of people criticised the Triumvirate, who were now in power, Trotsky was easily swept aside in the congress because of the large number of Stalinist Delegates. On the other hand, there were other factors holding Trotsky at bay. Zinoviev and Kamenev for example still had relatively strong power blocks in the congress. It is also arguable that Trotsky brought about his own demise as he kept quiet about Lenin’s testament and failed to stick to the ban on factions, essentially tearing himself apart politically.
In 1924 Zinoviev and Kamenev carried out a campaign against Trotsky which more or less finished him off, whilst Stalin stood back and watched. This may seem like a weakness for Stalin in the power struggle, but it was key to his victory. Whilst he sat back and watched, he was also asserting his role as General Secretary by bringing in more supporters to the politburo and by doing this, building an unstoppable, formidable power base. Scores of Stalinists were instated in this time and the building of this powerbase was eventually enough to overcome Trotsky and put him out of the leadership …show more content…
And this was completed without threat of the gulags, without the threat of imprisonment and without the threat of murder – political prowess gained him victory alongside other factors. It would be ignorant to solely admire Stalin for his climb to power – he was helped along by luck as the death of Lenin came along at an advantageous time, the weaknesses of his opponents in terms of Trotsky tearing himself apart at some points of the struggle and the help of his early allies Zinoviev and Kamenev, who were key to the dismantling of Trotsky in the early years of the struggle. But all along Stalin had ensured he was allied with the stronger players and continued to build up his powerbase through the trickiest of times. Although there were other factors associated with Stalin, for example he was loyal to the proletariat and excruciatingly cunning and the position of General Secretary was absolutely paramount to his rise to power after Lenin’s death as it gave him the ability to appoint whoever he liked to the Politburo. Without this patronage, Stalin would most likely have not gained the power of the USSR and would have been overcome at many an
Following Lenin’s untimely death in 1924, the Communist Leadership in Russia was thrown into disarray. Months of ideological confusion, full of proposals of ideas for the future of socialism, brought about potential contenders for party leadership and amongst these was Stalin. Through the next 5 year period, a great power struggle occurred between the contenders, but Stalin eventually emerged successful as the new leader of the USSR. Stalin’s position as General Secretary and other factors all contributed to this appointment.
Prior to the start of the power struggle, Stalin had already used sly tactics to trick Trotsky …show more content…
Although Trotsky’s speeches were brilliantly received and a great deal of people criticised the Triumvirate, who were now in power, Trotsky was easily swept aside in the congress because of the large number of Stalinist Delegates. On the other hand, there were other factors holding Trotsky at bay. Zinoviev and Kamenev for example still had relatively strong power blocks in the congress. It is also arguable that Trotsky brought about his own demise as he kept quiet about Lenin’s testament and failed to stick to the ban on factions, essentially tearing himself apart politically.
In 1924 Zinoviev and Kamenev carried out a campaign against Trotsky which more or less finished him off, whilst Stalin stood back and watched. This may seem like a weakness for Stalin in the power struggle, but it was key to his victory. Whilst he sat back and watched, he was also asserting his role as General Secretary by bringing in more supporters to the politburo and by doing this, building an unstoppable, formidable power base. Scores of Stalinists were instated in this time and the building of this powerbase was eventually enough to overcome Trotsky and put him out of the leadership …show more content…
And this was completed without threat of the gulags, without the threat of imprisonment and without the threat of murder – political prowess gained him victory alongside other factors. It would be ignorant to solely admire Stalin for his climb to power – he was helped along by luck as the death of Lenin came along at an advantageous time, the weaknesses of his opponents in terms of Trotsky tearing himself apart at some points of the struggle and the help of his early allies Zinoviev and Kamenev, who were key to the dismantling of Trotsky in the early years of the struggle. But all along Stalin had ensured he was allied with the stronger players and continued to build up his powerbase through the trickiest of times. Although there were other factors associated with Stalin, for example he was loyal to the proletariat and excruciatingly cunning and the position of General Secretary was absolutely paramount to his rise to power after Lenin’s death as it gave him the ability to appoint whoever he liked to the Politburo. Without this patronage, Stalin would most likely have not gained the power of the USSR and would have been overcome at many an