Stalin Flashcards
Stalin’s Background
Poor
Rebellious as a child, went against Church teachings
Fan of Karl Marx, ended up a revolutionary bandit
Marries but wife dies»_space; Throws himself into more revolutionary activity
Rose the ranks of the party; the brawn rather than the brain
General Secretary
Powerful Admin role of the Red Party
- Boring position which seemed to have no glory
+ Actually underrated role, all events in the party went through Stalin
+ Could control appointments of people to different places, putting his supporters in key positions that mattered
+ Built his support base
Lenin’s Funeral
Stalin as the chief Mourner
- Made it seem like he was very close to Lenin
- Made an impression on Party Members and the public that he was a trusted aid to Lenin
Basically a PR move.
Lenin’s Testament
Criticizing Stalin, wanting him to be removed from Gen-Sec position.
- Basically criticizing the entire Politburo and successive leaders
- Hence was not released to the public
Stalin got away from this Exposé.
Troika alliance (Triumvirate)
Stalin, Zinoviev, Kamenev alliance against Trotsky.
Trotsky, as Lenin’s right hand man, was seen as the biggest political opponent.
Battle of ideologies (Trotsky vs Stalin)
- Permanent Revolution vs Socialism in One Country
- Abolish NEP vs Keep NEP
Trotsky eventually relieved of his position in 1925 Party Congress.
United Opposition vs Right Wing
Trotsky, Kamenev, Zinoviev vs Stalin and Bukharin
- USSR being backward economically, wanted NEP abandoned, forced industrialization
- But Party Congress didn’t budge against Stalin’s ‘Socialism in One Country’
Kamenev & Zinoviev dismissed as Soviet Chairmen, Trotsky expelled from Politburo and later exiled.
Defeating the Right
Stalin turned on Bukharin, Rykov, Tomsky
- Stalin’s aggressive grain procurements was similar to what Trotsky proposed
- Stalin ordered purge on trade unionists, destroying the Right’s support base
Eventually got dispelled from the Party.
