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After Lenin's death on 21 January 1924, a bitter power struggle erupted within the Bolshevik Party. Joseph Stalin, who had been seen as a relatively minor figure, outmanoeuvred all his rivals to become the undisputed leader of the Soviet Union by 1929. This lesson examines how Stalin achieved this for AQA GCSE History.
After Lenin's death, several leading Bolsheviks competed for power.
| Leader | Position | Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leon Trotsky | Commissar for War; hero of the October Revolution and Civil War | Brilliant intellectual; powerful speaker; created the Red Army | Arrogant; seen as an outsider (Jewish, only joined the Bolsheviks in 1917); many feared he would become a military dictator |
| Joseph Stalin | General Secretary of the Communist Party (from 1922) | Controlled party membership and appointments; hardworking; seen as moderate and reliable | Seen as dull and unintellectual; Lenin's Testament warned against him |
| Grigory Zinoviev | Head of the Communist International (Comintern); party boss of Leningrad | Experienced; good connections | Had opposed the October Revolution; inconsistent; allied with and then against Trotsky |
| Lev Kamenev | Chairman of the Moscow Soviet; deputy chairman of Sovnarkom | Close associate of Lenin; experienced | Had also opposed the October Revolution; seen as indecisive |
| Nikolai Bukharin | Editor of Pravda; leading party theorist | Brilliant theorist; popular ("favourite of the whole party" — Lenin) | Not a practical politician; naive about Stalin's ambitions |
Stalin's position as General Secretary was the key to his rise. Most of his rivals underestimated this role, seeing it as merely administrative. In reality, it gave Stalin enormous power.
| Power | How Stalin Used It |
|---|---|
| Appointing officials | Stalin controlled who was appointed to key positions at every level of the party; he filled positions with his supporters |
| Party membership | As General Secretary, Stalin controlled who was admitted to the party; during the Lenin Enrolment (1924), over 500,000 new members joined — many were loyal to Stalin |
| Information | Stalin controlled what information reached other leaders and the wider party |
| Agenda | He could influence the agenda of meetings and committees |
Exam Tip: Stalin's role as General Secretary is the single most important factor in his rise to power. It gave him control over the party machine — the thousands of officials and bureaucrats who ran the Communist Party across the Soviet Union. When votes were taken at party congresses, Stalin could rely on the support of delegates he had appointed.
Stalin defeated his rivals by forming alliances and then turning on his allies — a strategy of divide and rule.
| Action | Detail |
|---|---|
| Alliance with Zinoviev and Kamenev | Stalin formed a triumvirate (alliance of three) with Zinoviev and Kamenev to block Trotsky |
| Suppressing Lenin's Testament | Stalin persuaded the Central Committee not to publish Lenin's Testament, which had called for his removal |
| "Socialism in One Country" | Stalin argued that socialism should be built in Russia first, rather than waiting for world revolution (Trotsky's position of "Permanent Revolution"); this was more popular with party members |
| Lenin's funeral | Stalin organised Lenin's funeral and gave a speech of dedication; he told Trotsky the wrong date for the funeral, so Trotsky did not attend — making him look disloyal |
| Cult of Lenin | Stalin promoted the cult of Lenin and presented himself as Lenin's faithful disciple and successor |
Trotsky was removed from his position as Commissar for War in 1925.
| Action | Detail |
|---|---|
| Zinoviev and Kamenev turn against Stalin | Having helped defeat Trotsky, they realised Stalin was becoming too powerful and joined Trotsky in the "United Opposition" |
| Stalin allies with Bukharin | Stalin now allied with the Right of the party (Bukharin, Rykov, Tomsky), who supported the NEP |
| Defeat of the Left | Stalin used his control of the party machine to defeat the United Opposition at the 15th Party Congress (1927) |
| Trotsky expelled | Trotsky was expelled from the party in 1927 and exiled from the Soviet Union in 1929; he was eventually assassinated on Stalin's orders in Mexico in 1940 |
| Action | Detail |
|---|---|
| Stalin turns against Bukharin | Having used Bukharin to defeat the Left, Stalin now adopted the Left's policies — rapid industrialisation and the end of the NEP |
| Bukharin outmanoeuvred | Bukharin, Rykov, and Tomsky were denounced as a "Right deviation"; stripped of their positions in 1929 |
| Stalin supreme | By 1929, Stalin was the unchallenged leader of the Soviet Union |
Exam Tip: Stalin's rise to power is a favourite essay topic. The key factors to discuss are: (1) his role as General Secretary, (2) his political skill in playing rivals off against each other, (3) the appeal of "Socialism in One Country," (4) the weaknesses of his opponents, and (5) the suppression of Lenin's Testament.
| Stalin's Position | Trotsky's Position |
|---|---|
| "Socialism in One Country" — Russia should build socialism on its own, without waiting for revolutions in other countries | "Permanent Revolution" — The Russian revolution could only survive if socialist revolutions spread to other industrialised countries |
| Appealed to Russian patriotism and the desire for stability | Seemed to suggest Russia was not good enough to build socialism alone |
| More popular with ordinary party members who were tired of talk of world revolution | Seen as unrealistic and dangerous |
| Factor | Explanation |
|---|---|
| General Secretary | Control of the party machine was decisive; Stalin appointed loyal supporters to key positions |
| Political cunning | Stalin formed and broke alliances to isolate and defeat each rival in turn |
| "Socialism in One Country" | A more popular and practical policy than Trotsky's "Permanent Revolution" |
| Weaknesses of opponents | Trotsky was arrogant and failed to build a support base; Zinoviev and Kamenev were inconsistent; Bukharin was politically naive |
| Lenin's Testament suppressed | The document that could have blocked Stalin's rise was kept secret |
| Lenin Enrolment | The influx of new, poorly educated party members who were loyal to Stalin |
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