Stalin: Power Struggle

This is one topic which was quite hilarious at that time when I attended the class. The class took the incidents and saw it as a boxing match.... Such wonderful memories of the History class...

Stalin and Trotsky struggled for power after Lenin’s death, with Stalin succeeding for various reasons. The struggle occurred as Lenin died leaving no logical successor, as his leadership was based on his role in the Bolshevik’s foundation, and not in any party position. Also, power was vested in party organs, not individuals. When Lenin died in 1924 of a stroke, Trotsky was falsely told he would not be able to attend the funeral in time, allowing Stalin to lead the mourners and give Lenin’s eulogy, strengthening his image as the successor. Lenin’s will contained his fears of a party split because of this struggle as well as of Stalin’s use of his limitless power as Secretary General, even suggesting his replacement with a more qualified individual. This information could have crushed Stalin’s chances of gaining power, but because the.... other Politburo members feared it held criticisms against them and Zinoviev, wanting Stalin’s support against Trotsky, they prevented its publication to the Central Committee in 1924. Stalin had a strong existing power base thanks to his control of party machinery. He was able to do so as his Politburo membership gave him decision-making power. His position as Orgburo member and General Secretary after 1922 allowed him to appoint supporters to important government positions. He could even control the information and agendas of the Politburo as General Secretary. Furthermore, Stalin had forged an alliance with Kamenev and Zinoviev, strengthening his position in the Politburo. Meanwhile, Trotsky had been absent from Party meetings and even rejected the post of Vice Chairman, which would have guaranteed his succession, thus weakening his position. Rykov, who with Tomsky supported Stalin against Trotsky’s permanent revolution ideas, obtained the position of Vice Chairman. Stalin had gained support with his idea of “Socialism in One Country”, claiming Russia had to industrialize and strengthen itself before revolution took place elsewhere. People supported this idea as it promised stability and prosperity. Trotsky’s idea that the socialist revolution had to spread to foreign lands to aid Russia’s industrialization and prevent her defeat by the capitalist powers lost him support as it was unlikely and promised upheaval and poverty. Stalin’s simplicity and clarity were preferred to Trotsky’s intellectual ideas. Also, Stalin portrayed himself as a Leninist, loyal to Lenin’s ideals, unlike Trotsky. He set up places of pilgrimage, holidays and texts devoted to Lenin. He declared anyone opposing party policies which were supposedly based on Lenin’s ideas a traitor, discrediting Trotsky who had publicly disagreed with Lenin and was presently criticising Leninism and the Party Secretary’s limitless power, and eroding all his Party and Politburo support by 1924. However, there was still debate in the Politburo between the Left wing (Trotsky, Zinoviev, Kamenev) who supported rapid industrialization and collectivisation, and the Right (Stalin, Rykov, Tomsky, Bukharin) who supported the New Economic Policy’s gradual industrialization and cooperation with peasants. Stalin moved against the Left, expelling them in 1926 on grounds of “factionalism”, which had been banned early on. Now, Stalin moved against his former allies, the Right Wing, using his massive support base and power to oust them. By 1929, Stalin emerged the winner and had ultimate power, filling all 9 positions in the expanded Politburo and other party organisations with his own supporters.