Stalins rise to power, 1924-1929

Question 1

ideology and the nature of leadership

Answer 1

lenin - marxism = promote world revolution, collective leadership = power should not be held by a single man
political will and ideological debates were intertwined
stalin = general secretary

Question 2

lenin’s testament

Answer 2

“political will”
intended to be read at party congress after lenin’s death in 1924
gave warnings about men who intended to succeed him - particularly harsh on Stalin after brutal crushing sin georgia and rudeness with lenin’s wife
candidates managed to convince party to not read it out loud

Question 3

stalin

Answer 3

strengths = good at gaining loyalty of subordinate s
general secretary
placed himself close to lenin in his last years
understood theories of leninism well
severelyunderestimated by opponents
weaknesses= played minor role in revolutions of 1917
known as crude and violent
colleagues knew lenin had turned against him

Question 4

trotsky

Answer 4

nights = played a large role in victories in october revolution and cicivil war, intellectual and theorist, formidable political skills
weaknesses = believed he could win independently, no attempt to build a power base, many feared he would create a military dictatorship, arrogant, seemed bored by everyday runnings of party

Question 5

kamenev

Answer 5

strengths = helped form party policy and had great influence in early stages, large support in moscow (local party leader), thoughtful and intelligent with the ability to get things done
weaknesses = didn’t see stalin as a threat until it was too late,regarded as too soft, reputation of inconsistency, too closely linked with zinoviev

Question 6

zinoviev

Answer 6

strengths = one of lenin’s closest friends in early stages, old bolshevik commanded respect, large power base in leningrad
weaknesses = left it too late to support trotsky, underestimated stalin, oppositionto lenin over timing of october revolution

Question 7

bukharin

Answer 7

strength = popular within party, close friend of lenin and trotsky, best theoretician, expert in economics and agriculture, diumvirate with stalin
weaknesses = had no power base, underestimated stalin, made tactical mistakes

Question 8

rykov

Answer 8

strengths = implemented war communism and NEP,respected by sovnarkom - chairman in 1924, respected as reputation of “old bolshevik”
weaknesses = overshadowed by bukharin, heavy taxes on vodka, underestimated stalin, lack of power base, argued with lenin over revolutionary tactics in 1917

Question 9

tomsky

Answer 9

strengths = working class origin made him popular, chief spokesperson for trade unions
weaknesses = hostility of trotsky blinded him of threat posed by stalin, target of stalin’s jealousy due to power base

Question 10

NEP and industrialisation

Answer 10

NEP = rapid divergence from Marxism, those on the right wanted to continue with the NEP as they felt it had been a success whereas those on the left wanted to abandon it, saying it went against bolshevism
Stalin was inconsistent and left it until 1925 before stating that he wanted continuation of the NEP until changing his mind in 1928, wanting it replaced by a revolutionary surge

Question 11

permanent revolution vs socialism in one country

Answer 11

all theories of marxism believed it would be impossible for communism to only exist in one country - bolshevik revolution would trigger chain reaction
defeat in russo-polish war blocked bridge to west
Trotsky and the left believed in permanent revolution - max support given to comintern
In 1923, Stalin adopted a more pragmatic view of socialism in one country - aim to create a workers paradise
many in the party liked this as they feared the military dictatorship Trotsky wanted and wanted more stability

Question 12

how stalin became party leader - stop Trotsky 1922-25

Answer 12

Stalin creates Triumvirate with Zinoviev and Kamenev in 1922
Trotskys own failures = failure to read Lenins testament, did not attend Lenins funeral, made no attempt to create a power base
lessons of October = Trotsky calls out contenders
1925, resigns as Commissar for Military affairs

Question 13

How Stalin became party leader - Defeat of the Left, 1925-27

Answer 13

Stalin makes it clear he does not fully agree with Zinoviev and Kamenev by claiming he wanted to continue NEP - Z+K call him out and Stalin is able to denounce them using the 1921 Ban on Factions
1926 - United Opposition, Z+K and Trostky, but came too late
Stalin moves to the idea of socialism in one country
forms Dumvirate with Bukharin

Question 14

How Stalin became party leader - Defeat of the Right, 1927-29

Answer 14

Stalin switches to left wing ideologies, removal of NEP
introduces collectivisation - begins to exterminate peasants
Bukharin, Rykov and Tomsky banned from Politburo after trying to reconcile with him

Question 14

outcome for other contenders

Answer 14

Zinoviev and Kamenev - submitted to Stalin in 1928, expelled from party in 1932 and executed after show trial in 1936
Bukharin and Rykov - expelled from Politburo in 1930, removed from Comintern in 34, executed after show trial in 1938
Tomsky - killed himself to avoid show trial in 1936
Trotsky - expelled in 1927, exiled in 1929, murdered by Stalin’s agents in 1940

Question 15

The Great Turn

Answer 15

reasons for: many in party were impatient to revert back to true communism, industrialisation was going to slow, weaknesses in management= more efficiency needed, problems in countryside and cities, crisis of grain in 1927, 25% down and prices fell so peasants began to focus on growing things they could sell for, Stalin wanted greater control in countryside
Dec 1927, removal of NEP and introduction of first Fiver Year Plan
impact: clash of opinions between Stalin and Bukharin caused relations to break

Question 16

economic shift

Answer 16

industrial economy badly hit by WW1 and civil war, period of growth in 1924 but this was too slow
industry and agriculture too closely interlinked = sufficient food supplies needed for the workers, wanted grain surplus to help pay for industrial investment
wanted ‘backward Russia to become a Soviet America’
overriding aims = catch up with west, control in country and city

Question 17

First Five Year Plan

Answer 17

1928 programme for rapid industrialisation - improvement in infrastructure, expanding work force, develop industrial output by 300%
introduced collectivisation - needed to increase food supplies to feed workers = grain requisitioning
extensive use of propaganda - workers felt they were working for better employment prospects and higher living standards
focus on new infrastructure, espec railways - Steel City - Magnitogorsk
began dekulukisation policy - created opposition as many felt they were backbone society
light industry not a priority but still expected to double in production

Question 18

decision to collectivise

Answer 18

reasons for: grain procurement crisis of 1927, right socialist path to follow, needed food for five year plan
25,000 party officials sent to countryside to push for collectivised farms
focus of west Siberia and Urals where harvest had been good but procurement fell by 1/3 - encouraged local officials to use force to seize grain
Stalin was prepared to use his Ural-Siberian method in the battle of grain procurement
1929 - began policy of dekulakisation

Question 19

Stalins style of government

Answer 19

understood advantages of his position as general secretary and bureaucratic centralism was key
factionalism was a crime and dissent equates to disloyalty
built on politics of divide and rule
owed much of his ability to his loyal supporters in the lower levels of the party
fear was driving force in Stalins government - use of secret police (OGPU), growth of forced labour camps and way collectivisation was imposed
presented as a continuation of Lenin’s legacy

Question 20

beginning of the Stalinist cult

Answer 20

second most important person in the party, control
after lenin’s death he portrayed himself as a hard working man of moderation
assumes figure of Lenin’s disciple
1925 - Tsaritsyn renamed Stalingrad after civil war

Question 21

Stalins attitude towards foreign powers - China

Answer 21

chinese communist party formed in 1921, expected to have backing of Stalin but he gave it to the Guomindang instead (GMD)
Stalin was suspicious of independent interpretation of Marxist ideology developed by the CCP, so pushed them to join the GMD
March 1926, GMD massacred striking workers and established a military dictatorship
April 1927, GMD repressed a communist led revolt and thousands were killed
1927 = 30,000 workers killed by the GMD
stalin gave military and financial support to the GMD and pressured the Politburo into accepting them as members of the comintern

Question 22

Germany and the Treaty of Berlin 1926

Answer 22

adapting the Treaty of Rapallo to a new situation - reinstated the importance of Rapallo as the basis of friendly German-Soviet relations
if either country was attacked by a third power, the other would remain neutral
joint promise not to join any economic boycott that may be launched against the other
would remain in force for 5 years
June 1926, USSR received large financial credits from German banks

Question 23

changes to the Comintern

Answer 23

Sixth comintern congress July 1928 - put forwards his view that social democratic parties were ‘social fascists’ and to prepare for a return to fight to spread world revolution
potentially done just to pick a fight with Bukharin
soviet control over comintern became tighter - loyal yes-men put in charge and strict discipline imposed
tool of stalins top-down policy