Contenders for Power-Stalin and Trotsky

Question 1

What was Stalins reputation?

Answer 1

being a man of violence and rude

Question 2

What was Stalins pet name used by his allies such as Bukharin?

Answer 2

Koba

Question 3

What was Stalin’s role in the Party?

Answer 3

General Secretary

Question 4

Why was Stalins role as General Secretary a strength for him after Lenin’s death?

Answer 4

as the Party bureaucracy was expanding and he was able to gain loyalty from subordinates

Question 5

Why did Stalin purposefully place himself close to Lenin ?

Answer 5

so that Stalin could claim that he knew what Lenin wanted

Question 6

When was Stalin elected to the Central Committee?

Answer 6

1917

Question 7

What was Stalin one of the 5 members of when it was set up by Lenin in 1918?

Answer 7

the Politburo

Question 8

From what year was Stalin Commissar of Nationalities ?

Answer 8

1918

Question 9

When did Stalin become General Secretary?

Answer 9

April 1922

Question 10

How did Lenin’s testament describe Stalin?

Answer 10

as rude and unfit as General Secretary

Question 11

How was Stalin’s role in the 1917 Revolution a disadvantage?

Answer 11

he only played a minor role as he was overshadowed by more prominent members

Question 12

In what year was Lenin’s sister enlisted to defend ‘comrade Stalin’ against criticisms from his opponents in the Politburo?

Answer 12

1926

Question 13

Who were 2 of Trotsky’s admirers?

Answer 13

• Serge

- Radek

Question 14

What did Serge and Radek back Trotsky on?

Answer 14

revolutionary ideology and Party democracy

Question 15

Who broke alliances with Stalin for Trotsky?

Answer 15

Zinoviev and Kamenev

Question 16

What was a strength about Trotsky’s character?

Answer 16

he was an extraordinary organiser

Question 17

What made Trotsky a key contender in regards to his knowledge?

Answer 17

He was an excellent ideologist and theoretician

Question 18

What was a weakness about Trotsky’s character?

Answer 18

he was arrogant and dismissive of people with lesser abilities

Question 19

Why was Trotsky unfit for the workload of being a leader?

Answer 19

He was often unwilling to get involved in the boring detail of party administration

Question 20

What was a quality of Trotsky’s which made him prominent during the Civil War?

Answer 20

he was an inspiring speech maker

Question 21

What did party members suspect Trotsky would do after Lenin’s death?

Answer 21

many feared in and thought he might use the Red army to seize power after Lenin’s death

Question 22

Why were ‘old Bolsheviks’ suspicious of Trotsky?

Answer 22

as he had previously been a Menshevik

Question 23

What was Trotsky’s ultimate downfall during the power vacuum?

Answer 23

he made no serious attempt to build a base of support within the party due to his arrogance

Question 24

What was a weakness of Trotsky’s that he was unable to control?

Answer 24

he often fell ill at critical moments, such as Lenin’s funeral

Question 25

What is an example of when Trotsky made a serious error of judgement?

Answer 25

He attacked the Party Bureaucracy in 1924 when he needed its support