the rise of stalin 1924-1929 Flashcards
when did Lenin die?
21/1/1924
what were the key areas of disagreement regarding the future direction of the party?
party democracy or centralised control
role and extent of the state bureaucracy
organisation of the economy
future international relations
what was said in Lenin’s testament?
assessment of his collegues in the inner circle of party leadership
critical of all but particularly Stalin after his brutality in Georgia calling him the “great russian chauvanist”
suggested removal of stalin as secretary general
no endorsement of any individual - wanted collective leadership?
troika managed to persuade not to publish testament
stalin’s strengths in the power struggle
General secretary - crucial in expansion of party bureaucray
appointment over 500,000 loyalists - Lenin enrolment
chairman of the orgburo controlled appointments in CPSU
firm believer in marxism-leninism
understood Lenin’s vision for the future
formed troika with zinoviev and kamanev
stalin’s weaknesses in power struggle
seen as crude and violent
played small role in Oct revolution
trotsky and bukharin more popular
seen as grey blur and given nickname “comrade card index”
trosky strengths in power struggle
held significant power and prestige from the october revolution and role in the civil war
excellent orator
authority and organisation ability
popular with younger radical elements of the party
gained red army loyalty
trotsky weaknesses in power struggle
orginally a menshevik and a late convert - became a bolshevik in 1917
uncompromising views could cause splits in the party
too loyal to party - accepted decisions he didn’t agree with because he didn’t want to damage party
opposed troika but later worked with zinoviev and kamanev - tarnished image
criticised lenin enrolment when he needed support most
strengths of kamanev in power struggle
old bolshevik
had access to lenin’s papers during stroke
close to lenin
strong power base in Moscow where he ran the local party and was chairman of the soviet
weaknesses of kamanev in the power struggle
lacked ambition and ruthlessness
gained a reputation for inconsistency by opposing lenin in 1917 and switching allegiances between stalin and trotsky
zinoviev was more popualr
underestimated stalin
strengths of zinoviev in the power struggle
old bolshevik since 1903
contributed to revolution in october 1917
high in lenins favour
called him “my closest and most trusted assistant”
party leader in leningrad
strong power base
weaknesses of zinoviev in the power struggle
opposed timing of coup in 1917
underestimated rivals
alienated trotsky by forming troika
left it too late to switch support to trotsky to remove threat posed by stalin
“too eager to occupy the empty throne” -Carr
strengths of bukharin in the power struggle
popular across party
lenin called him “golden boy”
expert on economics and agriculture
leading role in Pravda
lenin’s favourite
weaknesses of bukharin in the power struggle
criticised Lenin and Trotsky in trade union controversy
not a full politburo member until 1922
limited support and experience
no power base as he tried to remain on good terms with all factions
left tactical alliances too late
strengths of rykov in power struggle
old blshevik
implemented war communism and NEP
showed pragmatism and flexibilty
popular with sovnarkom
weaknesses of Rykov in power struggle
lacked power base
overshadowed by bukharin
unpopular as he put tax on vodka
underestimated stalin
opposed revolution
strengths of tomsky in power struggle
popular because working class credentials
spokesman for unions
seen as natural ally of moderate leaders
weaknesses of tomsky in power struggle
hostile to trotsky blinded him to threat of stalin
opposed Lenin trade union debate 1920
different ideological views on NEP and industrialisation
STALIN
position inconsistent
mainly agreed with left until agreeing wiht NEP in 1928 and then until the Great Turn
LEFT
abandoned NEP ASAP as it undermined true socialist values
Trotsky wanted a return to war communism - increased fear of bonapartism
RIGHT
keen to keep NEP as a bridge to full socialism
different ideological views on permanent revolution or socialism in one country
STALIN
socialism in one country so the USSR could act as a beacon of hope to rest of the world
LEFT
permanent revolution
wanted to spread socialism like marxist-leninist ideology
support cominterm
RIGHT
socialism in one country
concentrate more on domestic matters
different ideological views on leadership and the nature of the party
STALIN
feared Trotsky’s dictatorship
potential bonapart
LEFT
too bureaucratic
lost revolutionary character
Decleration of the 46
RIGHT
fear of dictatorship and Trotsky
what is bonapartism?
political movements that advocate for an authoritarian centralised state
what was the Great Turn 1928?
changed form supporting NEP to wanting rapid industrialisation and collectivisation of agriculture
what was the decleration of the 46?
The Declaration of the 46 is considered the founding document of the Left Opposition
what were the issues surrounding nature of the leadership?
one person or a collective leadership committee
does party stay centralised?
what were the issues surrounding permanent revolution or socialism in one country?
world revolution had not happened yet and the USSR was isolated
do they expand socialism and promote revolution in other countries through cominterm or focus on domestic affairs and make communism more appealing to other countries
what were the issues surrounding NEP and industrialisation?
temporary measures?
how to industrialise? do they rely on support from other countries?
by 1926, industry had reached 1913 levels- how do they provide new impetus?
how do they solve high unemployment?
how do they solve food shortages?
how did Stalin use Lenin’s funeral to become party leader?
stalin placed in charge of arrangments and seized the opportunity to promote the cult of lenin
attached himself to Lenin’s legacy and promoted himself as the ‘true disciple’
gave Trotsky the wrong date reflecting badly on Trotsky
how did Stalin use expansion of bureaucratic control to become party leader?
position as Gen Sec
Lenin enrolment
support in congress
how did Stalin use 13th party congress 1924 to become party leader?
Trotsky didn’t move against Stalin despite criticism in LLT
Troika was strong and protected its members
Trotsky lost most of his support by the end of 1924
who was in the troika?
Stalin
Zinoviev
Kamanev
who was in the right opposition?
Bukharin
Rykov
Tomsky
who was in the left opposition?
Trotsky
Kamanev
Zinoviev
how did Stalin use the literary war to become party leader?
stalin attacked Trotsky’s criticisms of Lenin in ‘On the Foundations of Lenninism’
Trotsky fought back in the ‘Lessons of October’
Bukharin attacked Trotsky in the ‘Theory of Permanent Revolution’
denunciations of Trotsky became common at party meetings
how did Stalin use loyal supporters to become party leader?
spent time building up support and putting loyalists in important positions eg
Molotov - Dep Gen Sec
Kalinin - Chairman of the Soviet Central Committee
how did Stalin use factionalism in the left opposition to become party leader?
Trotsky criticised the party for becoming to bureaucratic and Zinoviev and Kamanev did a vicious campaign against Trotsky, questioning his loyalty and ideological commitment
left opposition tearing itself apart
how did Stalin use the 1925 Central committee meeting to become party leader?
meeting called to address ‘Trotsky question’
Trotsky forced out of his position as People’s Commissar for war
isolated but not fully defeated as wasn’t expelled from party
how did Stalin use the 14th party congress 1925 to become party leader?
troika began to fall apart
Kamanev and Zinoviev wanted to remove Stalin and launched a direct attack on him at congress
due to Stalin’s loyalists they were portrayed as factionalists and labelled with trotsky as the left opposition
how did Stalin use the duumvirate to become party leader?
Stalin and bukharin formed a partnership anf were virtually running the country 1926-1927
marginalised and demonised the left opposition
elections in moscow and petrograd removed zinoviev and kamanev as secretaries of local soviets
how did Stalin use literary discussion in 1926 to become party leader?
both Stalin and Trotsky published their theories
Stalin’s book on “discussions of Leninnism” appealed more to majority of party members and justified socialism in one country rather than Trotsky’s internationalist concepts
how did Stalin use the death of Dzerzhinksy to become party leader?
head of the GPU was replaced by Menzhinsky
responsible for large scale anti-Soviet counter intelligence
staunch stalinist
how did Stalin use central committee explusions 1927 to become party leader?
expelled trotsky, zinoviev and kamanev
united opposition were defeated
formally expelled at 15th party congress
breakdown of the duumvirate 1928
Stalin and Bukharin began disagreeing about the future of NEP
Bukharin wrote “notes of an economist” criticising the new agricultural policy
right denounced as factionalists
shakty trial
1928
This famous trial based on fabricated charges was used by Stalin to start a three-year attack on the technical intelligentsia of the USSR and to discredit moderates within the political leadership. Fifty-three mining engineers and technicians, including some top officials and three German engineers, were accused of acts of sabotage and treason dating back to the 1920s and taking part in a conspiracy directed from abroad
increased sense of fear against Bukharin who was increasingly isolated and vulnerable to Stalin’s attacks
why did Stalin win the leadership struggle?
rivals made mistakes
both opportunist and ideologically driven
able to exploit internal and external developments
internal party dissent obliterated
growth of central authority
lack of clarity in LLT
seen as most relatable out of proletariat
1925 vote of no confidence
14th congress
vote of no confidence against stalin
64 votes / 559 votes
how did Stalin control the impact of Lenin’s testament?
only allowed it to be read out once to politburo
what were the reasons for the Great Turn 1928?
weakness in industrial management - greater efficiency was needed
slow industrialisation - drive too slow for Stalin
grain crisis - purchasing levels reduced by 25%
ideology - many wanted to return to true socialism
stalin’s attitude - initially supported NEP but now pushed for him to search for new solutions
party congresses- announced first FYP
what what Stalin’s style of government?
adaptability - had managed to deal with lots of issues and rivals
bureaucratic centralism - Stalin used position as Gen Sec
Ban on factions - Stalin extended to fit his means
Lenin’s legacy - portrayed himself as Lenin’s true successor
Loyalty - able to build up a group of loyal supporters in lower levels
Fear - terror and coercion
Propaganda - reinforced ideas of industrial success, Stalin pictures alongside Marx and Lenin - Stalin cult developed
approach to China
Stalin focused on internal affairs in the USSR rather than supporting the CCP as he did not like the Chinese interpretation of marxism so he favoured nationalists.
betrayal of communism criticised from Trotsky expelled from party at 15th party congress for criticising policy
showed future relations with CCP
approach to Germany
natural allies as they were both outcasts
rapallo treaty 1922 re-established diplomatic relations such as economic relations
german officers trained Red Army in tank warfare and German army trained and experimented with weapons banned by the treaty of versailles in USSR
Germany made long term loans to USSR to assist with five year plans
47% of Russian imports came from Germany in 1932
Locarno treaty 1925 strengthened relations between britain, france and germany which worried the USSR
Treaty of Berlin re-empahsised terms agreed on rapallo and good relation continued until wall street crash
cominterm
stalin focused on socialism in one country so he dismissed potential of cominterm and of foreign communists to bring about revolutionary change “one soviet tractor is worth 10 good foreign communists’
trotsky and supporters were alarmed by how Stalin was sidelining cominterm
until great turn 1928
at 6th cominterm congress stalin instructs foriegn communist parties to denounce social democratic parties - calling for permanent revolution
from 1929 starting preparing for ‘stalin revolution’ imposing discipline on communist parties in italy, germany and france
