the power vacuum and power struggle Flashcards
Stalin’s strengths
- strong party position
- hardworking quality
- underrated by opponents
- patience
- tactical relationships
- knowledge of party
Stalin’s weaknesses
- reputation of cruelty and violence
- minor role in revolution
- Lenin’s testament
Trotsky’s strengths
- organised, action taking and authoritative
- power and prestige from involvement in civil war and revolutions
Trotsky’s weaknesses
- arrogant, opportunistic, indecisive and inconsistent
- prone to illness/ freezing at time of crisis
- feared
- Menshevik to bolshevik
- underrated stalin
- no attempt for support base within party
kamenev’s strengths
- capable and intelligent
- old bolshevik
- strong power base in Moscow
kamenev’s weaknesses
- reputation for flip-flopping
- inconsistent and opportunistic
- closely linked to Z
- too soft
- under estimated stalin
zinoviev’s strengths
- intelligent and educated
- speechmaker
- strong position in party
- old bolshevik
- high in Lenin’s favours
- political power base
zinoviev’s weaknesses
- opposition to Lenin
- reputation of vain, inconsistent
- bucked under pressure
- underestimated rivals
- left too late to support Trotsky
Bukharin’s strengths
- Dummvirate
- likeable and popular
- friendly to both right and left
- expert on economics
Bukharin’s weaknesses
- naive and lacked capacity
- no powerbase
- underestimated
- tactical mistakes
Rykov strengths
- old bolshevik
- administrative ability
- support from Sovnarkom
Rykov weaknesses
- conciliator over plotter
- lacked power base
- make politically unwise choices
- conflict with lenin
tomsky strengths
- old bolshevik
- chief spokesman for trade unions
- ally to Bukharin and rykov
Tomsky weaknesses
- hostility to trotsky = underestimated stalin
- alliance 1926
- power base in trade unions
- support for NEP
how and why Stalin became leader
- after Lenin’s death
- defeat of the left
- defeat of the right
how and why Stalin became leader
- after Lenin’s death
- defeat of the left
- defeat of the right
events after Lenin’s death = Stalin leader
- position in the party aiding stalin - in charge of funeral
- Trotsky absence from funeral, start of the weakening of Trotsky
the defeat of the left 1924-27
1924 - Stalin became stronger from Trotsky’s hesitations which broke triumvirate and alliance between Bukharin and Stalin formed
1925 - Z and K opposed Stalin at 14th party congress and Trotsky losing popularity
1926 - Z, K and T became united opposition and Stalin resigned
1927 - S and B fought back against united opposition = expelled from party officially at 15th party congress
what is key about the defeat of the left opposition between 1924-27
it was a joint force between stalin and Bukarin
actions to defeat the right 1928-29
1928 - alliance fracturing from different approaches and long term methods between S and B
1929 - alliance broke, B wanted alliance with T and B was deprived of positions in government and Stalin made speech entailing plans for future policies
outcomes for the right
Bukharin - expelled from Politburo 1929 and executed after show trials 1938
Tomsky - Removed from his role with the trade unions 1929, Removed from central committee 1934 and Killed himself in 1936 to avoid trail and execution
Rykov - Sacked and replaced Molotov from Politburo in 1930, Removed from central committee 1934 and Executed after show trial 1938
outcomes for the left
Trotsky
- Expelled from the part 1927
- Went into exile and criticised Stalin from afar 1929
- Murdered by one of Stalin’s agents 1940
Zinoviev and Kamenev
- Gave into Stalin in 1928 but lost high place in Politburo
- Expelled from party 1932
- Executed after show trial 1936
