Stalins Rise To Power And Dictatorship 1924-41 Flashcards
When did Lenin die
1924
What had Lenin written right before he died
A testament criticising the other senior communists
What was Stalin appointed as in 1922
General Secretary of the Bolshevik Party
Who were the 5 main candidates for leadership
Trotsky Bukharin Kamanev Zinoviev Stalin
What was the strengths of Trotsky
- believed in ‘permanent Revolution’ - communism revolutions must happen in all countries
- didn’t support NEP - believed in rapid industrialisation instead
Strengths
- brilliant speaker
- Lenin’s close comrade - natural successor
- successfully organised/ lead Bolshevik Revolution and the civil war
- supported by younger bolsheviks
What was the weaknesses of Trotsky
- arrogant and bossy
- Menshevik until 1917 - unlike others
- lack of supporters outside military
- Jewish - outsider
- permanent Revolution - most Russians wanted to concentrate on their recourses in fully establishing communism in their own countries
- underestimated Stalin
- end the NEP
- made tactical mistakes - resigned from commander of the red army
- wasn’t urgent enough
- did not like secret alliances, preferred to win by intellect
Strengths of Kamanev
- Leader of party in Moscow
- ally of Stalin and zinoviev against Trotsky
Weaknesses of Kamanev
- opposed Bolshevik Revolution of 1917
- seemed to lack the capacity to run a country
wanted to end the NEP
Strengths of zinoviev
- party leader in Moscow
- helped Lenin set up party in 1903
- head of Comintern
Weaknesses of zinoviev
- not liked in the party
- vain/ incompetent
wanted to end NEP (like Trotsky/ Kamanev)
Strengths of bukharin
- very popular within the party
- excellent writer
- supporter of NEP
- Lenin called him ‘ the favourite of the whole party’
- open person
Weaknesses of bukharin
- opposed treaty of Brest-Litovsk
- lacked political cunning
- main supporter of NEP - most bolsheviks thought of as capitalist
Who did Lenin favour in his testament to take over
Trotsky
How did Stalin defeat his rivals
- persuaded other members to keep Lenin’s testament secret - criticised all of them
- presented himself as Lenin’s close follower - chief mourner at Lenin’s funeral. Trotsky was ill - Stalin tricked him into thinking the funeral was the next day. Trotsky seen as arrogant and disrespectful as didn’t show up
- in 1925, forced Trotsky to resign as commissar of war - no longer had control of red army
- Stalin packed the Congress of soviets with his supporters through his secretary position
- worked party members against each other
- turned against zinoviev and Kamanev to bukharin
- turned against bukharin in 1928
How did bukharin die
In the purges
How did trotsky die
Assassinated by a hired hitman in August 1940 after writing many articles against Stalin from Mexico
Strengths of Stalin
- held key role of general secretary - used position to appoint officials who supported him and removed Trotsky supporters
- built up an image as someone who was very close to Lenin - natural successor
- chief mourner at Lenin’s funeral/ made a speech praising him
- doctored pictures of himself showing him at Lenin’s side
- played off his rivals against each other - Kamanev and zinoviev feared Trotsky. Used their support to remove him then allied himself with bukharin and others on right wing to remove Kamanev and zinoviev
- promotes socialism in one country - won popular support within communist party - focusing on securing communism at home before supported revolutions abroad
- attacked bukharin/ tomsky/ rykov for supporting NEP
When did the purges begin
1932
Who did Stalin purge
Anyone who held up, criticised or opposed his plans of collectivisation for agriculture and industrialisation
How was Kirovs assassination significant
- Kirov one of Stalin’s closets allies criticised Stalin’s policies at 17th party congress
- he was assassinated in 1934
- after death he purged the party of potential rivals - and spread to the whole of soviet society - 40,000 arrests
- marked the start of a new set of more extensive purges
How many soviet generals had been purged by 1941
- 90% of soviet generals shot by 1941
- including commander in chief of the red army
What were the reasons for the purges
Threats to his position
- concerned his enemies were plotting against him
Stalin not totally responsible
- some believe that they were started by Stalin but lost control over
Economic problems
- accidents/ set backs and failure to achieve targets under 5 year plans can be blames in sabotage not faults in his own plans
Paranoia
- suffering from a persecution complex
- feared everyone was plotting against him
Nature of purges
Attack on the party and government
- after Kirov arrests focused on party members accused of not following orders
Forced confessions
- those arrested were beaten until they confessed to any crime they had been accused of - many didn’t even know why they were arrested
Use of gulags
- state system of labour camps
Mass terror
- the nkvd had targets for number of arrests
