Power Struggle

Question 1

Who was Stalin?

Answer 1

He held a strong position in the party who was underestimated by many within it. He had a reputation of violence but also being a hard-worker who kept his long-term aims hidden.

Question 2

What were Stalin’s strengths?

Answer 2

•His position as General Secretary gained him loyalty and trust.
•He worked hard to master Marxism-Leninism and was close to Lenin at the end of his life.
•He was good at concealing his intentions.

Question 3

What were Stalin’s weaknesses?

Answer 3

•Colleagues read Lenin’s testament and knew Lenin had turned against him.
•He was overshadowed by others who had had a more significant role in the 1917 Revolution.
•He was seen as crude and violent by many colleagues.

Question 4

Who was Trotsky?

Answer 4

In 1924 he was widely regarded as the most popular man in the party. He held prestige from his position in three Revolution and Civil War, however he was also arrogant and dismissive of others.

Question 5

What were Trotsky’s strengths?

Answer 5

•He was a brilliant speech
maker, intellectual and theorist.
•He had a clear role in the Revolution and Civil war.
•He had formidable political skills, authority and organisational ability.

Question 6

What are Trotsky’s weaknesses?

Answer 6

•Many Bolsheviks feared him and his hold on the Red Army.
•He used to be a Menshevik so the ‘Old Bolshevik’s’ were suspicious of him.
•He made no attempt to build a power base and was inconsistent in alliances.

Question 7

Who was Kamenev?

Answer 7

He was a skilful politician and was an important figure in the collective leadership but lacked the ambition to seek solo power.

Question 8

What were Kamenev’s strengths?

Answer 8

•He was an Old Bolshevik and was close to Lenin.
•He had a strong power base in Moscow as he ran the local party.
•He was intelligent and good at sorting out difficulties with opponents.

Question 9

What were Kamenev’s weaknesses?

Answer 9

•He has a reputation for inconsistency and opportunism by opposing Lenin in 1917.
•He underestimated his rivals.
•He was regarded as ‘too soft’ lacking the ambition for solo leadership.

Question 10

Who was Zinoviev?

Answer 10

He was intelligent and well-educated however had a reputation of being unpredictable and vain.

Question 11

What were Zinoviev’s strengths?

Answer 11

•He was an Old Bolshevik so commanded respect.
•He was high in Lenin’s favour before 1924 - Lenin described him as his “closest and most trusted assistant.”
•His role as party leader in Leningrad gave him a strong political power base.

Question 12

What were Zinoviev’s weaknesses?

Answer 12

•His opposition to Lenin in 1917 was held against him.
•He underestimated his rivals.
•He left it too late before switching his alliance to Trotsky.

Question 13

Who was Bukharin?

Answer 13

He was a brilliant intellectual described by Lenin as the “darling of the party” who was associated with the right, working closely with Stalin and against Trotsky.

Question 14

What were Bukharin’s weaknesses?

Answer 14

•He had no power base as he was on good terms with everyone.
•Regarded as the best theoretician in the party.
•Expert of agriculture and economics when debates about peasantry were of major concern.

Question 15

Who was Rykov?

Answer 15

Associated with the moderate, he was Chairman of the government who wanted to play a unifying role. He was always loyal to Lenin despite frequently disagreeing with him.

Question 16

What were Rykov’s strengths?

Answer 16

•Widely respected for being an Old Bolshevik.
•Showed administration ability between War Communism and NEP.
•Extensive support from Sovnarkom who chose him as Chairman in 1924.

Question 17

What were Rykov’s weaknesses?

Answer 17

•He was overshadowed by Bukharin.
•His policy of putting heavy tax on vodka was socially correct, however it aroused a lot of opposition.
•Argued against Lenin in 1917.
•He underestimated Stalin.

Question 18

Who was Tomsky?

Answer 18

He had moderate political views and as the son of a factory worker he had a long association with trade unions. He had a reputation for plain speaking.

Question 19

What were Tomsky’s strengths?

Answer 19

•He was respected for being and Old Bolshevik and for his working class backgrounds.
•His role as Chief Spokesman gave him strong positions within the party.
•He was General Secretary of Red International Trade Unions from 1920 and elected to Central Committee and Politburo in 1922.

Question 20

What were Tomsky’s weaknesses?

Answer 20

•His hostility to Trotsky blinded him to the danger of Stalin.
•Alliance with Stalin, Rykov and Bukharin in 1926 handed massive power to Stalin.
•Trade Union/power base made him a target to Stalin.
•His support for NEP would be used against him in the grain crisis of 1927.

Question 21

What were Stalin’s positions?

Answer 21

1. Commissar of the Workers and Peasants Inspectorate (The Rabkrin).
2. Member of the Orgburo.
3. Member of the Secretariat.
4. General Secretary.
5. Supervised the Lenin enrolment.
6. Commissar for Nationalities.

Question 22

What was the significance of Stalin being the Commissar of the Workers and Peasants Inspectorate?

Answer 22

His task was to root out the corruption amongst workers. He was given the power to investigate and expel government workers as a result of this which increased his power of patronage and ensured the government workers were loyal to him.

Question 23

What was the Orgburo?

Answer 23

The organising body of the Central Committee.

Question 24

What was the significance of Stalin being a member of the Secretariat?

Answer 24

This gave him control of appointments to positions of responsibility in the party - ensured they were all loyal to him.

Question 25

What was the significance of Stalin being General Secretary?

Answer 25

He could select who went to Part Congress meetings and could ‘deliver the votes’ used to control the party machine which gained him majority support in key divisions.

Question 26

What effect did Stalin have on the numbers of Lenin enrolment between 1924 and 1925?

Answer 26

The membership of the party doubled to almost 1 million.

Question 27

What was the significance in Stalin’s role as Commissar for Nationalities?

Answer 27

He was responsible for overseeing the affairs of non-Russians within the USSR (50% of the population) and was able to manipulate his position to gain loyalty from those he was responsible for.

Question 28

What was the importance of ideology?

Answer 28

•Each contender had to prove he was an ideological heavyweight and a true Leninist.
•Trotsky was received well on the radical left while Bukharin was on the right and Stalin was moderate - he was able to make alliances with both sides.

Question 29

Bureaucracy or the Rule of the Proletariat?

Answer 29

Lenin’s ideology: Dictatorship of the proletariat led by a revolutionary vanguard party as an establishment of communism.
Trotsky: Wanted a return to revolution with a broad-based government listening to the will of the proletariat.
Stalin: Favoured centralised bureaucracy.

Question 30

What was Permanent Revolution?

Answer 30

The idea that the revolution in Russia was a prelude to revolutions elsewhere.

Question 31

Who advocated for Permanent Revolution?

Answer 31

Trotsky.

Question 32

What was Socialism in One Country?

Answer 32

Socialism should be established in the Soviet Union first, then others would follow their example.

Question 33

Who advocated for Socialism in One Country?

Answer 33

Lenin and Stalin - it was very popular in the right wing as it aligned with NEP.

Question 34

When was the debate of Permanent Revolution and Socialism in One Country the most important, and what alliances did it cause?

Answer 34

It was the most important between 1924 and 1927.
It caused alliances between Kamenev, Zinoviev and Trotsky (left wing) and Stalin, Bukharin, Rykov and Tomsky (right wing).

Question 35

What was rapid industrialisation?

Answer 35

It was Stalin’s first 5 year plan adopted by the party in 1928, which called for rapid industrialisation of the economy, with emphasis on heavy industry. This set unrealistic goals for industry.

Question 36

What are some examples of the goals rapid industrialisation set?

Answer 36

A 250% increase in overall industrial development, and a 330% expansion in just heavy industry.

Question 37

Why did disagreements regarding NEP arise?

Answer 37

In 1924 a poor grain harvest led to increases that enriched the peasants - prices rose so they hoarded their own grain. This angered some Central Party members.

Question 38

Where in the party was Stalin after 1928?

Answer 38

He had moved from the middle into more extreme policies such as rapid industrialisation and a war in the countryside with the kulaks.

Question 39

Who was in the Triumvirate?

Answer 39

Stalin, Kamenev and Zinoviev. They were allied against Trotsky.

Question 40

Who was in the Triumvirate?

Answer 40

Stalin, Kamenev and Zinoviev. They were allied against Trotsky.

Question 41

How did Stalin make Trotsky seem weak?

Answer 41

He told Trotsky the wrong date for Lenin’s funeral and claimed that he was absent because he did not respect Lenin.

Question 42

What happened as a result of Trotsky missing Lenin’s funeral?

Answer 42

In 1925, Trotsky’s economic policies were rejected by the Party Congress, and the Ban on Factions from 1921 made it difficult for Trotsky to gain support within the party.

Question 43

Who did Stalin then switch alliances to form a Duumvirate with?

Answer 43

Bukharin

Question 44

How did Zinoviev and Kamenev attack Stalin at the 14th Party Congress in 1925?

Answer 44

They called for a vote of no confidence against Stalin ant an end of NEP.

Question 45

Why did Zinoviev and Kamenev lose the vote of no confidence?

Answer 45

Stalin’s control of the party machine was so complete they gave him little trouble - he had control of the delegates.

Question 46

Who did Kamenev and Zinoviev ally with in 1927 and what did they form?

Answer 46

They joined with Trotsky and they formed a United Opposition against Stalin. They reached out to workers trying to organise demonstrations in Moscow.

Question 47

Why was reaching out to the workers a mistake for Kamenev, Zinoviev and Trotsky?

Answer 47

They could now be accused of factionalism.

Question 48

Why did Stalin then turn against Bukharin?

Answer 48

Stalin now rejected the NEP and advocated rapid industrialisation including the use of force to make the peasants co-operate to left policies, while Bukharin mounted defence against the NEP.

Question 49

Who got outvoted at the Party Congress of 1929?

Answer 49

Bukharin’s defence of the NEP was outvoted as the congress was full of Stalin’s supporters and left wingers who were anti-NEP.

Question 50

What was the fate of Zinoviev and Kamenev?

Answer 50

They were expelled from the party in 1928 and executed in 1936.

Question 51

What was Tomsky’s fate?

Answer 51

He committed suicide in 1934.

Question 52

What was Rykov’s fate?

Answer 52

He was expelled from the Politburo in 1930 and executed in 1938.

Question 53

What was Bukharin’s fate?

Answer 53

He was expelled from the Politburo in 1929 and executed in 1938.

Question 54

What was Trotsky’s fate?

Answer 54

He was expelled in 1927 and murdered by Stalin’s agents in 1940.

Question 55

How did Stalin emerge as a solo leader?

Answer 55

He used his alliances to gain power and to be able to knock his opponents out of the running one by one instead of having to deal with them all at once. Also, his roles have him great influence and allowed him to idealise on the party which Lenin had left behind.