Lenin’s Death
From Lenin to Stalin
Lenin’s relationship with Stalin
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Stalin became General Secretary of the Communist Party
in 1922 and had a lot of influence – in the same year
Lenin had a stroke which left him disabled.
Lenin wrote a testament to be read after his death that
warned Stalin had become too powerful and that he
should not become his successor
Lenin disagreed with the Stalin on the issue of the Soviet
Republics
Lenin mounted an investigation in to the way Stalin had
been running Georgia
It seems likely that Lenin was trying to crush Stalin’s
political ambitions, but before this could happen he died
Lenin’s Funeral
Lenin died on 21 January 1924
 There was national mourning and millions filed past his
body which lay in state at the House of Trade Unions
 Trotsky had been unwell and was in the south of the
country having a rest holiday
 Stalin contacted Trotsky and told him not to rush back as
he would not make the funeral in time…
 Stalin exploited the funeral and was one of the main
pallbearers
 Stalin made a moving speech at the funeral and set
himself up as the man who would carry on the work of
Lenin
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The Cult of Lenin
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This had begun after the assassination attempt in
1918
Under pressure from Stalin, Lenin’s body was
embalmed and his tomb turned into a shrine (this
went against Lenin’s last wishes)
Lenin’s brain was sliced into 300,000 pieces and
stored so that future scientists could discover the
secrets of his genius
Petrograd was renamed Leningrad
Memorabilia was produced and streets renamed
Trotsky and Lenin’s wife were appalled by these
acts, but speaking out would make them appear
disrespectful to the masses
Lenin in the Mausoleum
Lenin’s legacy
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Lenin created the Bolsheviks and a new brand of
Marxism
His steely determination led him to believe a
coup in October 1917 was probable
He was a good orator and excellent writer
He was diplomatic and could bring party
members behind even unpopular ideas
He worked 16 hour days, and often neglected
his private life – the Revolution was his life
Lenin’s legacy
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He oversaw the Treaty of Brest-Litowsk
He brutally closed down the Constituent
Assembly and dissolved democracy
Arguably he instigated the Civil War
He crushed the Church and political rivals
He was flexible, and when War Communism did
not work he re-introduced some limited
capitalism: NEP
Millions of citizens lost their homes and lives
through famine, war and persecution
What next?
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It is almost certain that Lenin had high hopes that
Trotsky would succeed him – his values and talents were
clearly recognised by the ailing dictator; they were
working together to try and bring more democracy to
the USSR
Lenin also realised that Bukharin was a popular figure
among the Russians
Lenin was suspicious of Stalin’s motives and tried to curb
his power
Stalin manoeuvred himself into the role of Lenin’s keeper
after his sudden death – the next 5 years would see a
grim power struggle to fill the vacuum left by Lenin