1. Stalin (Sec-Gen of the party) 2. Kamenev (left) 3. Zinoviev (left) 4. Bukharin (right, editor of Pravda) 5. Rykov (right, selected to succeed Lenin as prime minister) 6. Trotsky (Leader of the Red Army)
General Timeline 1924: Lenins death 1925: Trotsky defeated 1926: K and Z defeated 1928: Stalin becomes undisputed leader of party and country 1929: Bukharin and Rykov defeated
Timeline Stage 1: Defeat of Trotsky (1922-1925) - Trotsky was popular with the army but had failed to establish a power base within the party. Trotsky was also not popular of with the industrial workers as he advocated strict military discipline for them - Through the Triumvirate, K,Z and Stalin, who headed important party organizations, were able to outvote Trotsky and his supporters. - Trotsky was politically nave and thought the position of leader would fall naturally to him. Lenin had given Trotsky ways to get rid of Stalin but he never made use of them. - Trotskys most valuable weapon was Lenins political testament but the central committee chose to keep it a secret. - Trotskys idea of a world revolution was not very popular as the Russian people were already tired of wars. Party members thought he was over-ambitious. - Trotsky alienated the central committee by criticizing and gathered signatures from 45 other members. He was called a factionalist and attacked by Stalin, K and Z. - Failure of Trotsky to attend Stalins funeral. - Arrogance Constantly attacked other party members, wrote a book Lessons of the October revolution, attacking K and Z. He also underestimated Stalins political abilities. - Eventually lost his position as commissar of war. Stage 2: The defeat of the left (1925-1926) - After the defeat of Trotsky, K and Z became uncomfortable with Stalins power. - K and Z felt that the policy towards the peasants should be changed as it was so difficult to get grain from them. - They attacked Stalins leadership. - Through his Stalins loyal friends in the Politburo, K and Z were voted out. - K and Z had underestimated Stalins influence and had assumed that he would remain a quiet administrator. Stage 3: Defeat of the right (1928-1929) - Bukharin and Rykov felt that the NEP must continue on for many years. - In 1927 there was a crisis of grain supply. Stalin enacted new laws: 1. Soldiers were sent to the countryside to requisition grain 2. Hoarded grain was to be confiscated 3. Hoarding grain was made a crime - Bukharin attacked Stalins new policy - Stalin now attacked the right for creating factionalism - In 1929, Bukharin lost his presidency of the Comintern, editorship of Pravda and his seat in the politburo - Stalin remained the dominant figure.
Other Reasons for Rise of Stalin Notes on Rise of Stalin
1. Stalins Personality Stalin was politically astute. He managed to outwit his opponents. He pretended to have been very close to Lenin and tricked Trotsky by giving him the wrong funeral date. This boosted his reputation as Lenins closest friend and led to a rise in support. Also, he played his opponents against one another. He also used disagreements to get factions to fight against one another. He used Bukharins arguments on the NEP to oppose Trotsky. Once Trotsky had been gotten rid of, he used Trotskys arguments to oppose Bukharin. His idea of socialism in one country was more popular among the people and he believed in building up Russias economic and military strength to defend themselves against attacks form the capitalists.
2. Position in the Party He also took on boring but important positions such as Sec-Gen of the Bolshevik Party. This allowed him to vote Kamenev and Zinoviev, his two remaining rivals, out of the party. He also appointed his supporters to important positions within the party, making them loyal to him as they owed their jobs to him. He controlled the local party committees and therefore was able to control policymaking.
Conclusion Stalins rise to power was made possible through a combination of his control of the Party Secretariat, his own political skill and ruthlessness, the weaknesses of his opponents and a certain amount of good fortune.