REASONS FOR STALIN’S
RISE TO POWER
Nadya
Alliluyeva &
Stalin
Death of
Stalin
Obstacles/ Opposition to His Path
A. Lenin’s Death & Will
“Comrade Stalin, having
become Secretary-General, has
too much power in his hands;
and I am not sure that he
always knows how to use that
power with sufficient caution.
Stalin is too rude and this fault
is insupportable in the office of
Secretary General. Therefore I
propose to the comrades to
remove Stalin from the
position and appoint another
man who will in all respects
differ from Stalin - more
patient, more loyal, more polite
and more attentive to
comrades.
Stalin and daughter
Svetlina
B. More Capable Communists
Prominent Bolshevik
revolutionaries are
pictured centered
around their leader,
Vladimir I. Lenin, in a
montage
commemorating the
Great October
Revolution of 1917.
The hammer and sickle
of the new Soviet state
are depicted at top. Top
four left to right: Rykov,
Radek, Pokrevsky,
Kamenev. Middle Left
to right: Trotsky, Lenin,
Sverdlov. Bottom left to
right: Bukharin,
Zinoviev, Krylenko,
Kollontai, Lunacharsky.
Conspicuous by his
absence in the early
collection is Stalin
Lev Trotsky
- Menshevik
turned
Bolshevik
- Lead role in
1917
Revolution &
Russian Civil
War
- Brilliant
writer and
great public
speaking
skills
Kamenev and wife
(sister of Trotsky)
- Member since 1903
- Lenin’s Deputy
-Opposed Lenin on the timing
of the October Revolution
Leon Kamenev (1883-1936)
- Member of
Bolshevik party since
1903
- Trusted by Lenin
- Good leadership and
organizational skills
- Opposed Lenin on
the timing of the
October Revolution
Grigory Zinoviev (1883-1936).
I. Letter and Testament was kept
private
- Lenin’s testament
was mailed to the
central committee by
Kupskaya
- Supposed to be read
at the 13th Party
Congress in late 1923.
- Political statement
not made public
because all leaders
were criticized
On the other hand, C.
Trotsky is perhaps the ablest
person in the present Central
Committee, but is too
boastfully sure of himself and
too carried away by the
strictly administration side of
things.
Deathbed
1940
II. Pretended to be close to Lenin
& acted weak
- tricked Trotsky into
missing Lenin’s
funeral
- Made it seem as if
Trotsky was too
proud.
- Stalin made chief
mourner
- Kamenev and Ziniev
moved to have Trotsky
expelled
- Stalin opposed
- Trotsky lost his post of
Revolutionary Military
Council and Red Army
- Removal of
Tukhachevsky and
appointment of Klim
Voroshilov
III. Used post of Secretary
General
- Controlled the whole central party
machinery and local party
committees
- 15,000 functionaries.
- Power to appoint local officials and
inspect their work.
- Increased his influence among the
rank and file, especially provincial
party positions
- Eventually able to join forces with
Bukharin to have Trotksy, Kamenev
and Zinoviev expelled in 1927
Nicholay Bukharin and Maria
Ilyinichna Ulyanova, the sister of Lenin,
prominent members of the editorial
staff of the Soviet journal Pravda at
work
IV. Called for Socialism Within
One Country vs. World
Revolution (Trotsky)
V. Overconfidence of his rivals
“We don’t like Stalin but we
hate Trotsky more. Stalin is
not so smart. We can easily
defeat him. Trotsky is the real
threat. He is arrogant and not
interested in our opinions.
Trotsky is so sure that he is
always right. This is an insult
to the other party members.
We will support Stalin at the
next party meeting” Kamenev to Zinoviev
Trotsky sat through party
meetings pointedly reading
French novels instead of joining
in the arguments between
Zinoviev/Kamenev and Stalin
1879-1940
Trotsky’s
expulsion.
Arriving in Paris
In October 1927, Trotsky and Zinoviev
were expelled from the Central Committee.
When the United Opposition tried to
organize independent demonstrations
commemorating the 10th anniversary of the
Bolshevik seizure of power in November
1927, the demonstrators were dispersed by
force . Their leading supporters, from
Kamenev down, were expelled in December
1927, which paved the way for mass
expulsions of rank and file oppositionists as
well as internal exile of opposition leaders
in early 1928.
After 1928