★ Power Struggle & Stalin's Rise

Question 1

★ When did the Power Struggle begin?

Answer 1

★ 1922 after Lenin’s stroke

Question 2

★ What was the Triumvirate and why did it form?

Answer 2

★ 1922
★ Alliance between Stalin, Zinoviev and Kamenev

Question 3

★ What was Lenin’s testament?

Answer 3

★ Lambasted potential successors of Lenin’s, most severely was Stalin who Lenin urged to remove from his post as General Secretary
★ ^ This was over his treatment of minorities in Georgia and Krupskaya, Lenin’s wife

Question 4

★ What did Lenin actually want?

Answer 4

★ Collective Leadership, where Russia was run by a committee of equals

Question 5

★ Stalin’s character?

Answer 5

★ Seen as intellectually inferior but hard-working and a man of violence
★ Regarded as rude and jealous but close to his allies
★ Patient, kept long-term plans hidden

Question 6

★ Stalin’s strengths?

Answer 6

★ General Secretary, could appoint people in key positions
★ Underestimated by the rest of the party
★ Understood theories of Marxist-Leninism
★ Placed himself close to Lenin to act as his successor even before his death
★ Triumvirate

Question 7

★ Stalin’s Weaknesses

Answer 7

★ Crude and violent
★ Was criticised harshly in Lenin’s testament which Lenin’s colleagues were aware of
★ Minor role in 1917 revolution

Question 8

★ Trotsky’s Character?

Answer 8

★ Extremely important in party, War commissar who had control of Red Army
★ Extraordinary organiser & strategist
★ Arrogant and dismissive
★ Prone to sudden bouts of inaction and illness

Question 9

★ Trotsky’s Strengths

Answer 9

★ Power Base in Leningrad
★ Had control of Red Army
★ Major role in 1917 Revolution and Civil War
★ Close to Lenin
★ Popular

Question 10

★ Trotsky’s Weaknesses

Answer 10

★ Used to be Menshevik
★ Underestimated Stalin
★ Arrogant, many feared him
★ Seen as inconsistent and an opportunist
★ Fell ill at critical moments (Lenin’s funeral)
★ Made serious errors in judgement, such as attacking the Party Bureaucracy in 1924 when he needed their support

Question 11

★ Zinoviev and Kamenev’s Characters?

Answer 11

★ Important role in 1917 revolution
★ Kamenev: Often clashed with Lenin, first member of Politburo in 1919, Lenin’s Deputy Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars, Chairman of the Moscow Soviet in 1918
★ Zinoviev: Chairman of Comintern Congress

Question 12

★ Z & K’s Strengths?

Answer 12

★ Old Bolsheviks
★ Intelligent
★ Strong power bases in Politburo & Comintern
★ Strong power bases in Leningrad and Moscow
★ Z: High in Lenin’s favour before 1924, called his closest and most trusted assistant

Question 13

★ Z & K’s Weaknesses

Answer 13

★ 1917, went against Lenin and voted against revolution 10-2
★ Underestimated Stalin, left it too late to support Trotsky
★ K: Too closely linked with Zinoviev

Question 14

★ Bukharin’s character?

Answer 14

★ Highly popular with Politburo colleagues and with party members, Lenin called him ‘ the darling of the Party. ‘ Open and cooperative with both the Left and the Right

Question 15

★ Bukharin’s Strengths

Answer 15

★ Popular, friend of Lenin and Stalin
★ Regarded as best theoretician in party, expert on economics and agriculture

Question 16

★ Bukharin’s weaknesses?

Answer 16

★ No power base
★ Underestimated Stalin
★ Left it too late to side with Zinoviev and Kamenev

Question 17

★ Alexei Rykov’s strengths?

Answer 17

★ Old Bolshevik
★ Managed switch to NEP
★ Extensive support from Sovnarkom, who chose him as Deputy Chairman in 1923 and Chairman in 1924

Question 18

★ Rykov’s weaknesses?

Answer 18

★ Overshadowed by Bukharin
★ Lacked power base, largely ceremonial position
★ Heavy taxes on vodka made him unpopular
★ Underrated Stalin

Question 19

★ Mikhail Tomsky’s character?

Answer 19

★ Working Class, son of a factory owner and long associate of Workers’ Unions

Question 20

★ Tomsky’s Weaknesses?

Answer 20

★ Hostility towards Trotsky blinded him from Stalin’s power
★ Alliance with Stalin, Rykov and Bukharin in purging left-wingers from party in 1926 handed massive power to Stalin
★ Power base in Trade Unions made Stalin jealous
★ Support for NEP backfired in grain crisis of 1927

Question 21

★ How did Stalin gain power?

Answer 21

★ Switched from the left of the party to the right to attempt to knock out opponents
★ Tricked Trotsky into not coming to Lenin’s funeral by sending him the wrong date, damaging his reputation
★ 1925: Managed to knock out Left of the party through his Socialism in One Country Policy, by the time Z & K complained in the Fourteenth Party Congress it was made up by Stalin’s supporters, 1926 Trotsky, K & Z formed the United Opposition which kicked them out of the party in 1927 due to Lenin’s ban on factionalism
★ Support for Rapid Industrialisation caused Tomsky, Rykov and Bukharin to lose their positions

Question 22

★ What was Rapid Industrialisation?

Answer 22

★ Policy brought forward by the Left of the party to militarise labour and squeeze more grain out of the peasantry

Question 23

★ What was Socialism in One Country vs Permanent Revolution?

Answer 23

★ Socialism in One Country: Backed by Stalin, said to focus on the USSR before spreading Communism elsewhere
★ Permanent Revolution: Backed by Trotsky, spread revolution to other countries to ensure longevity of the USSR’s Communist reign and gain allies