Leadership Struggle Aft Len Death Flashcards
Lenin’s testament
Dec 1922 len prop changes to party memb of cent com + commented on some Indiv membs
Criticised everyone in party leadership especially st- been rude to len’s wife + used brute force to suppress Georgian indep- against Lenin’s orders
L didn’t endorse any1 as his successor- party back to collective leadership
Entrusted w/ his wife- read at 12th party congress April 1923- read at 13th party congress in may 1924
Kam, Zin + St formed a triumvirate- keep trot out of power. Testament crit all 3- didnt want made public
Stalin strengths
Role as gen sec, could app key sups to key role in party
Opponents underest him, v gd at concealing real thoughts + ambitions
Placed himself close to L in 1922-23 + claimed to know L’s wishes
Did not seem to be a threat, Kam + Zin allied to isolate Trot
Trotsky strengths
Rec as hero of Oct/ Nov rev for leadership + org of seizure of power
Rec as hero of CW for creating + leading RA
Inspirational speaker + intellectual: writer of many important books on com theory
Known for formidable pol skills + organisation ability
Zinoviev strenghts
‘Old Bolsh’ Lenin had once called his ‘closest + most trusted assistant’
Strong power base in Leningrad he ran the local party
One of the best speech makers commanding presence
Zinoviev weakness
Opposed Lenin in Oct 1917 ag timing of uprising + briefly leaving the party
Vain + prone to unpredictable mood swings
Underestimate st: he + Kam too late swapping sup from st- trot
Kamenev strengths
‘Old Bolsh’ helped form party politics + close to Len
Strong power base in Mosc, ran local party
Effective team player… gd at reaching compromise between different ppl
Kamenev weakness
Opp Len Oct 1917 over timing, briefly left party
Viewed as Zinoviev side-kick: lacking ambition to be a sole leader
-underestimated opps especially stalin
Bukharin strengths
Pop in party: close to Len + Trot, close associate of St
Widely regarded as best theoretician in the party
Expert on Econ & ag
Bukharin weakness
Wld co-op to avoid party in-fighting, had no power base
Popularity in party made him a target for Stalin’s enmity… even after joined sup w/ him
Underestimate St: too late for an alliance w/ Zin + Kam
Rykov strength
Old Bolsh
Good administrator, helped implement war com + NEP
Supported by Sovnakom; dep chairman 1923, chairman 1924
Rykov weakness
Policy of heavy taxation on vodka was v unpopular
Opp L of timing of rev
Lacked a power base: too much of a conciliatory moderate, overshadowed by Bukharin
Tomsky strengths
Old Bolshevik- WC origins
Strong sup from being gen sec of the red international of the TU
Nat all of mods such as Rykov + Bukharin
Tomsky weakness
Hated trot sm, cold not see threat from st
Power base in TU made him a target for St’s resentment
Sup of NEP used against him by St when grain crisis of 1927 hit
Trotsky weakness
Arrogant + dismissive of ppl who were not as intellectual as him (underrat st)
Indecisive + inconsistent eg allied w/ Zin + Kam after opp them
Many Bolsh feared trot, use of RA infl to seize power
Did not srsly build a base of followers in the party, attacked party bureaucracy in 1924 when he needed its help
Stalin weaknesses
Not v prom in Oct/nov rev or CW
Colleagues saw him as ill-educated, rude + crude. L crit his violent methods
seen as boring ‘a grey blur’
L’s testament blocked but clear he had fallen out of favour
