A Random History Lesson

How significant were the personalities of the contenders to succeed Lenin in accounting for Stalin’s defeat of his opponents in the years 1924-1929?

Throughout the power struggle, Stalin used his attributes to the best of his ability. By playing off the opposition (getting rid of them one by one), Stalin was able to cease power of Russia. However, the different personalities of the other contenders played a strong part in Stalin’s success, and without the other contender’s failures – Stalin may have not gained power.

Each of Stalin’s opponents had different personalities. In hindsight, none of the contenders posed as a big threat to Stalin or his struggle for power. In fact, Stalin was able to use all the contenders’ strengths and weaknesses to rid of them one by one. An example of this would be Trotsky’s arrogant personality. This made the people question his motifs and be weary of him – moreover, in Lenin’s testament, Lenin described Trotsky as ‘too self – confident’. Stalin however, was called the ‘grey blur’ as he was seen as a relatively simple character; the other contenders underestimated his power – one of their biggest mistakes. Bukharin was the polar opposite to Stalin. He wasn’t devious and he was very honest, in fact, Lenin called him the ‘golden boy’. Unfortunately for him, Lenin did not believe he was a ‘true Marxist’ but he was the brains of the communist party and had control of the media; Stalin had to use this to his advantage. Zinoviev and Kamenev both had very little to contribute to the party, whilst they were both friends with Lenin, Lenin reminded people of Zinoviev’s disloyalty. Both men were very unpopular within the party and with the people.

Stalin’s ability to consolidate his powerbase played a large part in him winning the power struggle. For example, by removing Trotsky from the struggle (by exiling him), Stalin was able to take more power for himself. Also, Stalin undercut Trotsky’s influence by telling Trotsky the wrong date for the funeral of Lenin, it looked as if Stalin cared more for Lenin and had better intentions than the ‘illusive’ Trotsky. Another example of Stalin consolidating his powerbase was that he kept himself away from heated debates. These debates resulted in Zinoviev and Kamenev’s positions being greatly weakened. As Stalin kept out of this debate (letting Bukharin do the arguing), he was able to secure his power and the Russian people didn’t turn against him. Stalin was able to undercut the influence that Bukharin had by reminding people of the of Bukharin’s many disagreements with Lenin. This gained Stalin more power. Stalin’s devious tactical manoeuvring helped him to consolidate power and remove the other personalities he faced...

Stalin knew he had to remove the other opponents in order for him to gain power once Lenin had died. His use of tactical manoeuvring was devious, but ultimately helped him to gain the power he wanted. By creating ‘The Triumvirate,’ Stalin was able to remove Trotsky from the power struggle by rubbishing his ideas and undermining him. After, Stalin knew he had to remove Zinoviev and Kamenev so the ‘Triumvirate’ split. Stalin then created ‘The Duumvirate’ with Bukharin. By switching to right wing, Stalin was able to remove Zinoviev and Kamenev from the struggle as they lost their influence. A final switch from right wing to left wing, meant that Stalin had to remove Bukharin. This was his final struggle to gain power over Russia. Stalin was now master of the party machine and was victorious in his struggle for power.

Stalin made use of ideology in the power struggle – especially against Trotsky. One ideological argument that played a big part in the power struggle was battle between ‘Socialism In One Country’ and ‘Permanent Revolution.’ All of the leading Bolsheviks had accepted the Marxist principle of internationalism. The Bolsheviks hoped that developing countries would have revolutions of their own and in turn, the workers’ government would be willing to give aid to the backward Soviet Russia. However, these hopes had faded by 1923. However, Stalin thought of a new concept (against Trotsky) – ‘Socialism In One country’. Stalin stressed the need for peace and stability, also arguing that Trotsky had a lack of faith in Russia and its people. This made Trotsky even more disliked. Also, Trotsky’s argument in defence – permanent revolution – was seen to threaten the alliance between workers and peasants.

Whilst the personalities of all the people in the power struggle had a lot to do with Stalin ultimately winning, Stalin’s ability to use tactical manoeuvring ultimately won him the struggle for power. Trotsky was arrogant and Stalin was able to manipulate this by using ideological battles to undercut his authority and make him look disinterested (by missing Lenin’s funeral for example). Moreover, by his use of tactical manoeuvring, Stalin was able to remove Zinoviev and Kamenev from the struggle by again, undermining their authority – he mainly did this by staying out of heated debates which could affect his (Stalin’s) power. The final time Stalin used tactical manoeuvring (moving away from the right wing and Bukharin) was his breakthrough as he won the power struggle and now ruled over Russia.