Power Vacuum

Question 1

Stalin

Answer 1

S:
-General secretary when party bureaucracy was expanding rapidly- could install who he wanted
-Placed himself close to Lenin during his illness
W
-Crude and violent, Georgia civil war as commisar of nationalities.
-Overshadowed by Trotsky’s province and Bukharin’s popularity

Question 2

Trotsky

Answer 2

S
-Extraordinary organiser
-held power and prestige from leading red army, revolution and civil war
W
-Old menshevik
-Badly underated Stalin
-no base of support in party

Question 3

Kamenev

Answer 3

S
-Old Bolshevik close to Lenin, entrusted personal papers to him at death
-Strong power base in Moscow where he ran the local party
W
-Reputation of inconsistency and opportunism opposing Lenin/switching on Stalin
-Too close to Zinoviev who was more popular then he was

Question 4

Zinoviev

Answer 4

S
-One of the party’s best speechmaker’s with a commanding presence, chairman of the cominterm congresses
-Old Bolshevik
-Strong power base in Leningrad, party boss
-Lenin referred to him as “closest and most trusted assistant”
W
-Voted against revolution
-underestimated Stalin

Question 5

Bukharin

Answer 5

S
-popular, close to Lenin, for a long time friendly with Trotsky, close associate with Stalin calling him pet nicknames such as “Koba”
-Expert on economics and agriculture
-widely regarded as best theoretician
W
-Too friendly, avoided faction fighting, no power base
-underestimated Stalin
-Tactical mistakes, too long to ally with Z and K

Question 6

13th party congress

Answer 6

-tensions rise in triumvirate, Trotsky fails to speak out against Stalin

Question 7

14th party congress

Answer 7

• Tv broke down. Z+K launch attack on Stalin which he uses to accuse them of factionalism, angry as they could not control his influence
• gained influence in party by installing a personal following of loyal supporters such as Molotov, Kaganovich, Voroshilov, Kirov

Question 8

United Oppostion

Answer 8

• Trotsky, Zinoviev, Kamenev launch a literary discussion against Stalin which he combats by threatneing resignation, increased pressure on Stalin by blaming him for the crushing of Chinese communists in Canton and Shanghai
• Voted out CC

Question 9

Great turn

Answer 9

• Stalin disagrees with Bukharin and wants industrialisation and collectivisation
• starts using Ural Siberian method without Bukharin permission
• Bukharin thus removed from power