death of Lenin and power struggle Flashcards
lenin’s death
-died in jan 1924
-coffin displayed in red square, people queued to pay respects
-cult of personality around him began
-leningrad, statues in e very city
lenin deterioration of health
-began even before his death
-struggle started in 1921, his death began to deteriorate
-by may 1922, he suffered a series of strokes
-mid-1923, clear he would not return to government
-he had no clear succesor
-lasted from 1922-1929
lenin’s leadership and politburo with death
ideology and nature of power
-lenins leadership came from his personality and authority
-had a lot of respect from senior members within the party
-mastermind of revolution and the government that came out reflected his vision
politburo
-emerged as the most powerful institution within the government
-therefore, for leadership needed to gain support within politburo
-made the battle a battle of support within the party not the people
-made it not very democratic
lenins testament
-written in 1923
-addressed to the central commitee
critical of key members:
-trotsky was too arrogant and too willing to use violence
-stalin was too incompetent and rude
-zinoviev and kamenev were disloyal to the party
-bukharin accused of not fully understanding his ideology