Topic 9 - The Power Vacuum and the Power Struggle Flashcards
Where was Lenin’s body preserved after his death in 1924?
The Politburo decided to preserve his body and place it in a mausoleum on Red Square.
What was the ‘cult of personality’ that developed after Lenin’s death?
Petrograd was renamed Leningrad, Lenin’s statue was built in every Russian city and children were named after him.
What was the power struggle?
When Lenin died there was no obvious successor. A collective leadership was therefore established to govern Russia. From 1922 to 1929, a relentless struggle for supremacy was waged by Politburo leaders.
What was Lenin’s leadership based on?
Lenin’s leadership was based on his personality and his authority. He was able to lead because he had the respect of all his senior colleagues. They knew that he had masterminded the revolution, and that the Government that emerged reflected his vision. ‘He was the leader of the Soviet Union because he was Lenin, not because he held official position’.
What was the key to power in the Soviet?
Gaining a majority on the Politburo. Winning a majority meant winning votes at the Party Congress, as the Party Congress elected the Central Committee, which in turn elected the Politburo.
What was Lenin’s Testament?
Lenin’s Testament was written a year before his death in 1924. The notes were addressed to the Central Committee and were highly critical of the main contenders for power.
What did the testament accuse Trotsky of?
Of arrogance, and in coded language of being too willing to use violence.
What did the testament accuse Stalin of?
Impatience and rudeness.
What did the testament remind the Central Committee of?
That Zinoviev and Kamenev had been disloyal to the party immediately before the October Revolution.
What did the testament argue about Bukharin?
That he did not fully understand Lenin’s ideology.
What happened to the testament?
Lenin’s wife Krupskaya handed it to the Politburo with the intention it would be made public in the Party Congress in May 1924. Key members of the Central Committee declined to read it out. It would be damaging if it was published. It was suppressed.
