The Power Struggle

Question 0

When did Lenin write his testament?

Answer 0

December 1922

Question 1

What did Lenin propose to change about the central committee?

Answer 1

Increase the members from 50 to 100.

Question 2

What did Lenin say about Trotsky in his testament?

Answer 2

• That he has shown ‘outstanding ability’
• That “he is currently the most capable man in the central committee”
• That he is ‘excessively self-assured’
• That he is ‘pre-occupied with administration’
• That he is not fully Marxist
• Lenin also hints at Trotsky’s past as a Menshevik.

Question 3

What does Lenin say about Zinoviev and Kamenev in his testament?

Answer 3

He mentions ‘The October episode’ in which they told Lenin to delay the Bolshevik seizure of power in October 1917.

Question 4

What did Lenin say about Bukharin in his testament?

Answer 4

• Lenin called him ‘a valuable and major theorist’
• He acknowledged that he was the favourite of the whole party
• He called him ‘not fully Marxist’

Question 5

What was Stalin’s nickname?

Answer 5

‘Comrade card-index’

Question 6

Describe the 3 different stages of The Collective Leadership.

Answer 6

1. The Triumvirate (1923-1925) Allied with Zinoviev and Kamenev against Trotsky
2. The Dumvirate (1925-1928) Allied with Bukharin against The United Opposition
3. Stalin alone (1928….) Stalin alone against Bukharin