Stalin's Rise to Power

Question 1

triumverate

Answer 1

stalin, zinoviev & kamenev

Question 2

lenin’s testament

Answer 2

• paints the triumverate in a bad light so puts it in jeopardy
• very critical of stalin who was vital to their majority in the politburo
• it was argued that it was made to slow communism’s progress so it was suppressed

Question 3

control of the party congress

Answer 3

• stalin began to ensure that only his supporters were sent to important meetings including the party congress
• importance = party congress elected central committee who elected politburo
• kept trotksy’s supporters away from important decisions

Question 4

what did the triumverate introduce?

Answer 4

CULT OF LENIN
- idealised lenin & made him a god-like figure
- to be disloyal to lenin would be like being disloyal to the revolution

Question 5

how did the triumverate destroy trotsky’s rep?

Answer 5

• S gave him the wrong date for the funeral so he missed it which seemed disrespectful - S also delivered the funeral oration (enhanced his rep)
• Z & K criticised his revolution account, saying it overplayed his role & ignored lenin’s contribution
• Z accused him of trotskyism (developing his own ideas set) that rivalled lenin’s
• said he had broken party unity by setting up the left opposition

Question 6

who were the duumvirate?

Answer 6

stalin & bukharin

Question 7

how did the duumvirate destroy new opposition?

Answer 7

• new opps = K & Z
• they attacked S at 14th Pty congress (wanting to speed up industrialisation & end NEP) but B spoke against them & crushed it - S won the vote 559 to 65 & the two lost their Politburo seats
• they suggested that T may use red army to gain power (bonapartism) so was stripped of being head of it

Question 8

united opps

Answer 8

• lack of goods from 1926 meant kulaks didn’t see the point in selling grain, causing a grain strike (prices rose)
• Z & K now feared S & teamed with T to scrap NEP & introduce rapid industrialisation - all opposed ‘socialism in one country’ so formed the united opposition who argued time was right for new leadership
• stalin packed the 1927 15th congress with his supporters & expelled the opps from the party
• Z & K apologised & joined again

Question 9

how did stalin destroy the right opposition?

Answer 9

• B linked with R & T who had powerbases in the trade unions & the gov
• B gave S pravda access - he attacked B’s position & highlighted his disagreements with L
• he pointed out that B was the theorist behind the NEP
• S pushed his ideas forward as an alt to lenin’s
• accused B of plotting with Z & K causing their anger & to arrange a secret meeting for B to tell them it was fake
• S leaked this to prove he was right

Question 10

Stalin becomes Vozhd

Answer 10

• 1929 central committee meeting = S defeated B by forcing him to admit his errors & support S’s ideas
• issued new stories that criticised B who was removed from his roles & politburo
• stalin became vozhd (great leader)

Question 11

why was stalin able to do all this?

Answer 11

• being general secretary
• ideological flexibility
• mistakes of opponents
• personality = ruthless,, violent, single-minded, pragmatic, cynical