Reasons for Stalin’s victory in the power struggle
1. Stalin’s position within the party:
Head of Orgburo and General Secretary (1922)
‘Comrade card-index’
Able to control appointments and the composition of the central council, so gradually
created a support base around him
He built his leadership campaign on these foundations
“Circular flow of power” – Robert Daniels
“A triumph not of reason, but of organisation” – EH. Carr
2. Stalin’s shrewd political manoeuvrings and lack of ideological purity
Pragmatic policy maker rather than ideologically pure, meaning he was able to adapt and
alter his policies in order to conform with public sentiment and maximise his support
i. E.g. he announced his support for rapid industrialisation and the left in 1925,
despite expelling Trotsky over the same matter
ii. He was willing to distort Lenin’s views, e.g. socialism in one country was written 9
years prior in one of Lenin’s writings (small extract)
He outmanoeuvred his opponents through various factions that ousted them one by one
He kept quiet during the debates, so his reputation wasn’t tarnished whilst his opposition
effectively ruined their own credibility – Stalin assumed the moderate centre – “no creed of
his own”
He shrewdly manufactured a fake foreign crisis in 1927 after Chinese communists were
defeated, so as to increase the support for his rapid industrialisation policy
“Unique ability to manufacture situations for his own betterment” – I. Deutscher e.g. Cult of Lenin
3. Weaknesses of his opposition
Trotsky:
i. Alienated himself from his peers with ‘Lessons from October’
ii. He was already despised within the party, and was seen as both arrogant and fake
(previously a Menshevik) – Stalin utilised this by releasing a 1913 letter written by
Trotsky, which denounced Lenin, and during the ‘Cult of Lenin’ (manufacturing a
crisis)
iii. Trotsky’s biggest weakness was his ideologically purity, and devotion to Bolshevism,
as it caused him to refrain from making a faction (Lenin banned them in 1921), which
meant he had no power base nor support within the party
iv. “His reluctance to split the party was one of the basic reasons for his fall” – JN Westwood
Z+K+B:
i. Z and K both didn’t recognise the threat of Stalin until it was too late, and they
allowed him to gradually accumulate power while he removed their influence
(abolishing the Moscow Party – source of power for them). They also allowed him to
prevent the release of Lenin’s testament
ii. Bukharin was both too ideologically pure and too devoted to the right wing, with
meant that when he came into conflict with Stalin over dekulakisation and rapid
industrialisation, he stood no chance and was easily ousted – Bukharin and the RW
supported ‘socialism at a snails pace’ and continuation of the NEP, whereas Stalin
supported rapid industrialisation through heavy taxation of the population – this
disagreement ultimately undermined Bukharin’s position in the party, as Stalin had
accumulated so much power
Reasons for collectivisation
Economic
o Stalin wanted rapid industrialisation, and felt the best way to fund this was through a mass
increase in exports of grain to generate income
o He needed to modernise agriculture in order to increase the production levels
1. Stalin’s position within the party:
Head of Orgburo and General Secretary (1922)
‘Comrade card-index’
Able to control appointments and the composition of the central council, so gradually
created a support base around him
He built his leadership campaign on these foundations
“Circular flow of power” – Robert Daniels
“A triumph not of reason, but of organisation” – EH. Carr
2. Stalin’s shrewd political manoeuvrings and lack of ideological purity
Pragmatic policy maker rather than ideologically pure, meaning he was able to adapt and
alter his policies in order to conform with public sentiment and maximise his support
i. E.g. he announced his support for rapid industrialisation and the left in 1925,
despite expelling Trotsky over the same matter
ii. He was willing to distort Lenin’s views, e.g. socialism in one country was written 9
years prior in one of Lenin’s writings (small extract)
He outmanoeuvred his opponents through various factions that ousted them one by one
He kept quiet during the debates, so his reputation wasn’t tarnished whilst his opposition
effectively ruined their own credibility – Stalin assumed the moderate centre – “no creed of
his own”
He shrewdly manufactured a fake foreign crisis in 1927 after Chinese communists were
defeated, so as to increase the support for his rapid industrialisation policy
“Unique ability to manufacture situations for his own betterment” – I. Deutscher e.g. Cult of Lenin
3. Weaknesses of his opposition
Trotsky:
i. Alienated himself from his peers with ‘Lessons from October’
ii. He was already despised within the party, and was seen as both arrogant and fake
(previously a Menshevik) – Stalin utilised this by releasing a 1913 letter written by
Trotsky, which denounced Lenin, and during the ‘Cult of Lenin’ (manufacturing a
crisis)
iii. Trotsky’s biggest weakness was his ideologically purity, and devotion to Bolshevism,
as it caused him to refrain from making a faction (Lenin banned them in 1921), which
meant he had no power base nor support within the party
iv. “His reluctance to split the party was one of the basic reasons for his fall” – JN Westwood
Z+K+B:
i. Z and K both didn’t recognise the threat of Stalin until it was too late, and they
allowed him to gradually accumulate power while he removed their influence
(abolishing the Moscow Party – source of power for them). They also allowed him to
prevent the release of Lenin’s testament
ii. Bukharin was both too ideologically pure and too devoted to the right wing, with
meant that when he came into conflict with Stalin over dekulakisation and rapid
industrialisation, he stood no chance and was easily ousted – Bukharin and the RW
supported ‘socialism at a snails pace’ and continuation of the NEP, whereas Stalin
supported rapid industrialisation through heavy taxation of the population – this
disagreement ultimately undermined Bukharin’s position in the party, as Stalin had
accumulated so much power
Reasons for collectivisation
Economic
o Stalin wanted rapid industrialisation, and felt the best way to fund this was through a mass
increase in exports of grain to generate income
o He needed to modernise agriculture in order to increase the production levels
