Stalin and his rise to power
Cards (29)
- · Lenin dictated his ‘Testament’ in December 1922 in a letter to be read to the Party Congress on his death. He didn’t nominate a future leader but gave his critical opinion of other members of the Politburo (this was the highest policy-making government authority under Communist rule).
- · Lenin was particularly critical of Stalin, partly because of the Georgian Affair and because Stalin had criticised his wife (Stalin tried to see Lenin and Lenin’s wife Krupskaya wouldn’t let him; Stalin made a number of rude comments on a telephone call to her). The Georgian Affair was a disagreement where Stalin used force to impose Russian nationalism on Georgia and Lenin disagreed.
- · Lenin noted Stalin’s “personal rudeness, unnecessary roughness and lack of finesse” and suggested that comrades “should think about a way of removing Stalin from his post.” However, The Testament was never read in public as intended because the Central Committee decided against reading it, which helped Stalin.
- Organised the October 1917 takeover, created the Red Army; hero of the Civil War; member of Sovnarkom; regarded by Lenin as the “most able” man in the Central Committee; believed in permanent revolution; joined the Bolsheviks in Summer of 1917; a Jew of bourgeois background.
- Old Bolshevik but not a senior member until 1912; member of Sovnarkom; General Secretary of Communist Party from 1922; positions in Orgburo and Secretariat; peasant background.
- Joined Bolsheviks in 1906; not a senior member until 1922; theorist; described by Lenin as the ‘golden boy’; some support in Moscow and among youth; son of a schoolmaster.
- Founder member of Bolshevik Party; close associate of Lenin 1903-17; joined Kamenev to oppose timing of October Revolution; not a member of Sovnarkom; powerbase in Leningrad; a Jew; bourgeois background.
- Old Bolshevik and close associate of Lenin; had opposed timing of October Revolution; not a member of Sovnarkom; powerbase in Moscow; a Jew; bourgeois background.
- Apr 1923: 12th Party Congress (which Lenin couldn’t attend) enlarged the Central Committee to 40 members. Only 3 were strong supporters of Trotsky. Stalin used his powers as General Secretary to build up supporters at local level, ensuring his nominees were elected to future congresses.
- Jan 1924: Lenin died and Stalin gave Trotsky the wrong date for the funeral; Trotsky is absent and so Stalin gives the funeral oration instead. Stalin dismisses supporters of the Left Opposition.
- Dec 1925: Trotsky is forced from his position as Commissar of War
- A new Central Committee and Politburo are elected with a Stalinist-Bukharin majority and Zinoviev is forced to step down as leader of the Leningrad Party in favour of Stalin’s supporter, Kirov.
- Nov 1926: Zinoviev and Kamenev join Trotsky in the left-wing “United Opposition”, trying to appeal to the masses and organising demonstrations in Moscow. Stalin accuses them of “factionalism” and Zinoviev is removed from the Politburo. Zinoviev and Trotsky are expelled from the Communist Party and Kamenev is removed from the Central Committee. The United Opposition collapses.
- Sept 1928: Desperately, Bukharin contacts Trotsky about a possible alliance. Stalin accuses both men of factionalism.
- Dec 1929: Stalin celebrates his 50th birthday as undisputed Soviet leader.
- · From 1921, the Communists had been split over economic policy. Lenin’s “New Economic Policy” of 1921 had allowed some private enterprise which conflicted with Marxist teaching. “Whether or not Lenin intended this to be a temporary measure, to build the economy, as a precursor to full socialism was at the heart of the ideological debates of the 1920s.”
- · The Left was represented by Trotsky, Zinoviev and Kamenev and favoured abandoning the NEP. The Right was led by Bukharin, Rykov and Tomsky and supported continuing the NEP. Stalin fluctuated; from a left-leaning position, to temporary support for the right, then back again to the left. “This could suggest that he was a pure opportunist, although the last move could be accounted for by the bread shortages and high food prices of that year, rather than a lack of ideological principles.”
- “Despite the early expectations that revolution in Russia would trigger others, the Soviet Union remained the only Communist State in the 1920s.” Trotsky believed the Russians should be working to stir up revolution elsewhere and there should be “permanent revolution” until a truly socialist society was created. Stalin believed in “socialism in one country” and that they should build a worker’s paradise in the Soviet Union as an example to the rest of the world. This was less orthodox but appealed to those who favoured stability and feared revolutionary turmoil.
- •In August 1918, an SR called Fanny Kaplan, shot Lenin twice. He was hit in the arm and had serious wound in his neck under his jaw. She wanted revenge for the closing of the Constituent Assembly. •Possibly as a result, Lenin suffered a series of strokes and became more and more distant from central politics. •In March 1923, he suffered a severe stroke that left him unable to speak. He died on January 21st 1924. •Against his wishes, his body was embalmed and a mausoleum built in Red Square. A cult of personality emerged around him and Petrograd was renamed Leningrad.
- •Lenin died in January 1924 and Stalin told Trotsky the wrong date! This left Stalin to be the Chief Mourner, carrying Lenin’s coffin from the front and making a speech in Lenin’s honour. Trotsky missed it.
- •Krupskaya delivers The Testament to the Central Committee. Zinoviev and Kamenev argue against its publication and Trotsky doesn’t get involved so Lenin’s harsh comments about Stalin go unpublished. •Trotsky published “Lessons of October” which brutally attacked Zinoviev and Kamenev, but didn’t discuss Stalin! •At the 14th Party Congress, Stalin stabs Zinoviev and Kamenev in the back and instead moves to the Right with Bukharin, arguing for “socialism in one country”.
- •Zinoviev and Kamenev try to call a vote of no confidence in Stalin but fail the vote because the delegates are Stalinists. •Zinoviev and Kamenev are now forced to join forced with Trotsky as the “United Opposition”. Stalin accuses them of factionalism. Zinoviev and Trotsky are expelled from the Communist Party and Kamenev is kicked out of the Central Committee. The United Opposition collapses.
- •Realising he’s the next target, Bukharin desperately tried to contact Trotsky and form an alliance.
- •Stalin accuses them both of factionalism. Trotsky is deported to Constantinople and Bukharin is removed from his post as editor of Pravda and kicked out of the Politburo. •Stalin celebrates his 50th birthday in December 1929 as the undisputed Soviet leader.
- From 1921, Lenin’s “New Economic Policy” had allowed some private enterprise, causing debate within the Party. The Left (Trotsky, Zinoviev, Kamenev) wanted to get rid of it, the right (Bukharin) wanted it to continue. Stalin fluctuated and didn’t pick a side, opportunistically.
- Trotsky strongly believed that Russia should now push for a world revolution. Stalin now followed “socialism in one country” and aimed to build a worker’s utopia in Russia as an example. This view was popular amongst many who wanted stability and were worried about the turmoil Trotsky’s policy might cause.
- Many Bolsheviks thought that, now the Civil War was over, they should end central leadership of one person and have a “committee of equals”. These people were mostly worried about Trotsky and underestimated Stalin’s ambitions and so this argument weakened Trotsky’s case further.
- Trotsky on the other hand was so self-confident that he didn’t bother to build support or a powerbase.