Stalin GOVERNMENT Flashcards
WHAT WAS THE BIG ISSUE WHEN LENIN DIED IN 1924
Who would succeed him as LEADER
What was put in place to lead after Lenin’s death in 1924
Collective leadership: from 1924-28
Group of politburo members, but rivalries emerged within the group
How did Stalin emerge as the real power of the Communist party?
Used powers gained from GENERAL SECRETARY ROLE (appointed in 1922)
What opportunities did General Secretary give Stalin
- access to huge amounts of information across whole party
- 26000 personal files! Info to be used against rivals
- Dzerzhinksy reported to him regularly
- decided agenda for party meetings
- Lenin Enrollment
- had the right to appoint people to party positions (loyalty)
Lenin Enrollment
1923-25
Membership drive of the communist party
500,000 members recruited
Good for Stalin as he was in charge of the drive. The poorly educated members were now loyal to Stalin and its sucess improved his influence within the party.
Comrade Card-Index
Stalins nickname due to his willingness to take on administrative tasks.
Stalins Politburo opponents
-Trotsky
-Zinoviev
-Lev Kamenev
-Tomsky
-Ryov
Trotsky
Lenin’s obvious successor.
Commissar for war in 1918 - strong leader in civil war!
STALINS MAIN OPPONENT
RIGHT
Zinoviev
-close with Lenin
-party secretary in Leningrad => bug power base there
-orator
-ineffective in practice
left
Lev Kamenev
Party secretary in Moscow
Accused of ‘Lack of Principle’
left
Bukharin
Lenin’s Golden Boy of the party
- young
-intelligent
-lacked political experience
right
Tomsky
Leader of Trade union movement
=> his influence declined as trade unions declined (by Lenin)
right
Rykov
Succeeded Lenin as Chair of SOVNARKOM
- upset the Bolsheviks with his outspokenness
- serious alcoholic
RIGHT
LEFT OF THE PARTY MEMBERS:
Trotsky
Kamenev
Zinoviev
What did the LEFT want?
Permanent revolution - encourage revolutions of the proletariat globally
Break with the Capitalist NEP
Right wing party members
Bukharin
Tomsky
Rykov
What did right wing of the communist party want?
Stick to Lenin’s policy in the short term
Dealing with the LEFT 1926
- views criticised at 15th Party Congress
- accused of forming factions
=> expelled from the party and demoted
(After renouncing views Zinoviev and Kamenev are allowed back)
What happened to Trotsky after 1926
Expelled from party like the rest of the LEFT.
-stuck to his principles and did not renounce views like Zino and Kam
=> EXILED to Alma-ATA in Central Asia
1929 = EXPELLED FROM SOVIET UNION!
EMERGENCE OF THE RIGHT OPPOSITION
Stalin wanted to industrialise with the 5 Year plans which means scrapping NEP
1928 the Right Opposition emerges from worries that food production will decrease
Socialism in one country
Policy of modernisation via industrialisation, using resources only from Soviet Union to bring them forward to Socialism.
How did Stalin defeat the RIGHT opposition?
- THE FOUNDATIONS OF LENINISM: presented case for removing NEP
-undermined Bukharin by revealing Bukharins disagreements with Lenin in 1920
-Bukharin accused of TROTSKYISM and met with zino and kam - accused of forming factions
-1929 forced to admit errors of political judgement