8 - The Struggle For Power 1924-1928

Question 1

Who were the opposition of Stalin from 1924-1928?

Answer 1

• Leon Trotsky against Stalin and everybody else - Left opposition
• Lev Kamenev, Gregory Zinoviev, Leon Trotsky - United opposition
• Nikolai Bukharin, Alexei Rykov, Mikhail Tomsky (and Stalin) - Right of the party

The United opposition wanted to end the NEP, the right of the party wanted to continue the NEP. However Stalin was not being very truthful, as he wanted to end the NEP and focus on industrialisation.

Question 2

What were the strengths of Stalin’s opposition?

Answer 2

• Trotsky: Had organised successful October revolution, played a big role with the army in the Civil War and was chosen by Lenin to be his successor
• Kamenev: Leader of the Bolshevik party in Moscow
• Zinoviev: Was in charge of trying to launch communist revolutions of other countries, help set up the party with Lenin in 1903
• Bukharin: Was a member of the Politburo and was considered the favourite of the party by Lenin
• Rykov: Was chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars
• Tomsky: Head of the trade union movement and a member of the Politburo

Question 3

What were the weaknesses of Stalin’s opposition?

Answer 3

• Trotsky: Lacked urgency to become leader, was Jewish and was a previous Menshevik so seen as an outsider. Made many tactical mistakes which made him vulnerable to Stalin and did not like making secret alliances
• Kamenev: Lacked capacity to lead a country
• Zinoviev: Not liked in the Bolshevik party and seen as vain and incompetent
• Bukharin: An open person and lacked political cunning
• Rykov: Very outspoken (shares controversial views very easily) and drank a great deal
• Tomsky: Wanted to continue the NEP, which Stalin wanted to replace with industrial plans

Question 4

What did Lenin’s will state and what happened at his funeral?

Answer 4

• Lenin’s will criticised Stalin and other members, but Stalin persuaded the members to keep it quiet for ‘unity reasons’
• At Lenin’s funeral, Stalin told Trotsky the wrong date in order to make him look bad in front of the party

Question 5

How did Stalin defeat his rivals?

Answer 5

• Stalin worked closely with Kamenev and Zinoviev and forced Trotsky to resign from Commissar of War, so that he would no longer have power of the army, so no army coups could be launched
• Stalin then worked with Bukharin to expel Kamenev, Zinoviev and Trotsky from the party
• When he had sufficient power, Stalin turned against Bukharin and forced him to resign
• Tomsky and Rykov were then gradually removed from the party

Question 6

What were the strengths of Stalin?

Answer 6

• Built up an image of himself being very close to Lenin, and as the rightful successor
• Cleverly played off all his rivals
• Promoted ‘Socialism in one Country’, instead of expanding communism revolutions into other countries first
• As General Secretary of the Communist Party, he used his position to remove Trotsky supporters and place his own supporters in the party