topic 6 facts

Question 1

when was Lenin’s death and what were the implications?

Answer 1

January 1924:

- created a power struggle during supposed collective leadership

Question 2

was was the Triumvirate?

Answer 2

1923- Zinoviev, Kamenev and Stalin formed to block the ambitions of Trotsky

Question 3

what was Lenin’s testament?

Answer 3

a letter that was not meant to be read out at party congress after his death. Lenin dictated it in December 1922. He was harsh in his criticisms of Stalin

Question 4

what were Stalin’s strengths?

Answer 4

• held crucial positions as General Secretary when party bureaucracy expanded rapidly
• worked harder to master Lenin and Marxist theories
• underrated by his opponents
• deliberately places himself close to Lenin

Question 5

what were the weaknesses of Stalin?

Answer 5

• colleagues saw him as crude and violent
• criticised heavily by Lenin
• only played a minor role in the Feb 2017 revolution

Question 6

what were Trotsky’s strengths?

Answer 6

• good organiser
• ideologist
• held power and prestige from previous achievements in civil war

Question 7

what were Trotsky’s weaknesses?

Answer 7

• feared by many Bolsheviks
• had been a Menshevik
• arrogant
• made no serious attempt to build a support base within the party

Question 8

who were the left opposition?

Answer 8

• led by Trotsky, Zinoviev and Kamenev, wanted to abandon the NEP.

Question 9

who were the right opposition?

Answer 9

• Rykov, Tomsky and Bhukarin wanted to continue with the NEP. Stalin’s attitude was inconsistent, with a left-leaning position up to 1925, continuance of NEP up to 1928, switching back in 1928 to a policy replacing NEP

Question 10

what was the Lenin cult?

Answer 10

Stalin was in charge of arrangements for Lenin’s funeral and seized the opportunity to promote the cult of Leninism by making the funeral a state occasion. Trotsky was absent. Lenin brain was cut into 30k segments to discover the secrets of his genius

Question 11

how did Stalin come to lead the power struggle?

Answer 11

• he showed single-minded focus on building up a following of loyal supporters

Question 12

how did Stalin defeat the threat from Zinoviev and Kamenev?

Answer 12

Kamenev and Zinoviev opposed Stalin in the central committee in September 1925 and launched a direct attack at the 14th party congress. They were easily painted as factionalists and were gradually pushed towards the united opposition in 1926

Question 13

was the Duumvirate?

Answer 13

formed by Stalin and Bhukarin and was virtually running the country in 1926-7

Question 14

what was the literary discussion?

Answer 14

a war of words fought by the main contenders in a flood of books and pamphlets in 1926

Question 15

how were the left opposition defeated?

Answer 15

in October 1927, the central committee voted to expel Trotsky, Zinoviev and Kamenev from the central committee. In November, Trotsky and Zinoviev were expelled from the party altogether

Question 16

what did Stalin do after defeating left opposition?

Answer 16

reverted to radical revolutionary policies in 1927-8: a war in the countryside against the kulaks, sudden and rapid industrialisation, aggressive support for the comintern (socialism in one country)- Bhukarin ceased to be a partner as a result

Question 17

what happened to Bhukarin in 1929?

Answer 17

April 1929 he was deprived of several of his government posts, including editorship of the Pravda. November he was expelled from the Politburo

Question 18

what happened to all the contenders for power?

Answer 18

• out of all the contenders for power in the 1920s, Stalin was the only one to live beyond 1940
• Zinoviev and Kamenev expelled in 1932 and executed in 1936
• Tomsky removed from central committee in 1934
• Trotsky expelled in 1927 and murdered in Mexico in 1940 by one of Stalin’s agents
• Rykov expelled from Politburo 1930 and Bukharin 1929- both executed 1938

Question 19

how did the 1921 ban on factions create conflict after Lenin’s death?

Answer 19

• it cemented the idea of a leader who commanded loyalty and obedience
• this clashed with Trotsky and his supporters who believed in ‘party democracy’ (allowing dissent and debate)
• Stalin and his followers however wanted to avoid any factionalism

Question 20

what were the ideological differences of Trotsky and Stalin (left and right)?

Answer 20

Trotsky and the left thought the Soviet Union should commit to ‘permanent revolution’. But from 1923 Stalin came to the pragmatic view that there should be ‘Socialism in One Country

Question 21

what were Kamenev’s strengths?

Answer 21

• an ‘Old Bolshevik’, had great influence
• strong power base in Moscow
• one of first members of the Politburo in 1919- trusted by Lenin

Question 22

what were Kamenev’s weaknesses?

Answer 22

• gained reputation for inconsistency- opposing Lenin in 1917 and later switching alliances between Stalin and Trotsky
• underestimated rivals

Question 23

what were Zinoviev’s strengths?

Answer 23

• old Bolshevik so respected for contribution to revolution
• head of Comintern
• role as party boss of Leningrad gave him strong political power base

Question 24

what were Zinoviev’s weaknesses?

Answer 24

• reputation for being vain

- seen as a compromiser without consistent philosophy

Question 25

what were Bukharin’s strength’s?

Answer 25

• popular within the party

- regarded as best theoretician in the Party

Question 26

what were Bukharin’s weaknesses?

Answer 26

• tried to remain on good terms with everyone and avoid factionalism so had no power base
• underestimated Stalin
• popularity within party made him a target for Stalin’s enmity