Topic 3- Stalins Rise To Power (1924-29) Flashcards
(18 cards)
The power vacuum and power struggle
- Lenin had become incredibly ill after suffering a series of stokes and had to withdraw from public life
Ideology and the nature of leadership
Lenin’s last testament
- extracts taken from Lenin’s writings, kept secret until they were delivered to delegates at 13th party congress
- he expresses distain for Bureaucratisation of the party and the lasting effects of ‘democratic centralism’ (members of the sovnarkom and politburo were all essentially the same small group of people that ignored the various committees that fed up to them.
- he expressed fears that Trotsky was arroant and desired complete authority, fear of bonapartism- establishment of a fake democracy with a dictator
+ fear for the decisive relationship between him and Stalin - expressed deep dislike to wards Stalin, referring to him as a risk to stability and implying that he should be replaced with a more loyal, polite and considerate member.
(Stems from the event of the Georgian affair which demonstrated his aggressive nature) - zinoviev and Kaminev almost cost the successes of the party in the October revolution, releasing their plans in a newspaper
Contenders for power
- Stalin strengths and weaknesses
- chair of the CCC- the central control commission (disciplinary branch, member of the politburo, general secretary- allowing control over party admissions, opportunity to appoint loyalists into key positions- giving him him influence over the machinery of the state and allowed him to build a power base within the party
+ a member of the troika (triumvirate) - established to lead in Lenin’s absence - was undermined, referred to as ‘comrade card index’ and not viewed as a potential threat next to fears and blatant dislike for Trotsky
- Lenin’s testimony clearly outlines his nature and his risk to stability
- Georgia affair of 1922 when he was operating as the peoples com self nationalities
Stalin, with his influence within the Bolshevik party, pushed for a centralized approach to Sovietization in Georgia, including the suppression of local opposition, the dismantling of national institutions, and the subordination of Georgian organizations to the Bolshevik party.
Lenin, while acknowledging the need for Sovietization, favored a more decentralised approach
Trotsky
- strengths and weaknesses
- key architect during the October revolution, particularly in relation to his authority and influence as chair of the petrograd soviet and chairman of the military revolutionary committee
(Instructed red guard, resulting in the seizure of the winter palace)
+ impacted their success during the civil war - leadership in military strength and support base amongst the youth and intellectuals
- strategic ability/ political shrewdness- his arrogance and aloofness alienated him from other members + his lack of interest in party politics left him vulnerable to Stalins Machiavellian tactics
- 1923-6 he suffered from an undiagnosed fever, sapping his strength and leaving hi unable to effectively deal with political attacks
- Absent for Lenin’s funeral and crucial votes in the politburo (also partially due to not being informed of the event by Lenin)
+ previously a Menshevik - His control over the red army made many Bhavi’s fear him as they feared he may use this to seize power
Zinoviev
+ strengths and weaknesses
- positioning in the party- member of the troika (triumvirate) , trusted as an early Bolshevik and was close to Lenin, with strong ties to the comintern
- leadership of the Comintern allowed him to build international base of support
+ role as party secretary for Leningrad (the heart of the revolution) - Had strong connections in Lennon grad – renamed Petrograd which gave him a strong power base
-perceived as weak, cowardly and ultimately lacked respect of his colleagues.
- reputation for being inconsistent and seen as a compromise without any consistent philosophy
- tended to shy away from danger hurt his credibility
- opposes to Lennon in 1917 with his April thesis and the October revolution they were the two who voted against it
Kamenev
+strengths and weaknesses
- capable and intelligent, a skilful politician good at managing people and situations
- Closely associated with Zinoviev and often acted with him in a partnership
- As one of the old Bolsheviks he had helped form party policy and was close to Lennon
In 1922, after a stroke, Lennon trusted many of his personal papers to come in now - Around the local party and therefore had a strong power base in Moscow
- Similar litres of Novio he gained reputation for inconsistency and opportunism by opposing Lennon in 1917 and later switching an irons between Stalin and Trotsky
- He undermined his rivals and many believed he left the drive to be a sole leader
- both he and Zenobia blew the whistle in Prada after opposing the armed uprising a
- wanted a socialist coalition government
Bukharin
- both impressive and likable, brilliant intellectual and theoretician as well as highly popular with his poet bureau colleagues and party members
Often referred to as the golden boy or the darling of the party by Lennon for his opening cooperative relations - He was also particularly expert on economics and agriculture at a time when debates about peasantry will have major concerns to the Bolshevik government
- Had little power base as he attempted to avoid factional in fighting
- Seriously underestimated Stalin and made other tactical mistakes such as leaving it too late to make an alliance with all the coming of
Rykov
- why they are respected in the party for his experience as an old Volvic
- Had shown administrative ability and implementation of war communism during the Civil War and in managing the switch policy of
- Chosen as deputy chairman of the SOCOM in 1923 and then chairman in 1924 and therefore had extensive support
- Was a conciliator more than a plotter and among the moderate he was overshadowed by Karen’s ability and popularity
- Lacked a power base
- Policy of putting heavy taxes on vodka was politically unwise and aroused intense opposition
- And underestimated darling
- Disagreement with Lennon over revolutionary tactics in 1917 was held against him
Tomsky
- respected for his long record and old Bolshevik and his working class origins
- Role of chief spokesman for the trade unions and general secretary of red International of the trade unions from 1920 and elected into the poet in 1922
- Intensely hostile to Trotsky, which blinded him to the danger Stalin; his alliance with stallion Rykov Karen and purging left winners from the party in 1923. How did a massive potential power to Stalin?
- His support of nap was used against him when the grain crisis of 1927 hit the economy
Leadership struggle 1922-1924
- Stalin was appointed party general secretary in April 1922 meaning he could appoint and dismiss secretaries of the local communist party organisations
- Furthermore his position as chair of the or bureau allowed him to manage invitations
- He, Zinoviev and Kaminev opposed Trotsky’s philosophy of permanent revolution with ‘socialism in one country’
( also marked the personal rivalry between the two since Trotsky had asked Lennon to dismiss him) - Upon Lenin’s death in 1924 Stalin tricked Trotsky into not going to his funeral, instead positioning himself as ‘Lenin’s disciple’
- he reduced the impact of Lenin’s testament
(With the aid of Zenobia and Camner who both did not see him as a threat instead wanted to remove any influence that Trotsky still had. - Trotsky remained silent, unwilling to become involved in political maneuvering and instead criticized the party for becoming too bureaucratic and less democratic, he was outvoted at congress + instead of appealing outside the party he abided by the ‘ban on factions’ (1921)
Literary war - Zinoviev and Kamenev mounted a vicious campaign against Trotsky, the leader of the ‘Left Opposition’. They questioned his loyalty, raising his ideological commitment
in 1917 and opposition to Lenin’s methods before 1918. Trotsky retaliated with The Lessons of October- 1924 in which he criticized the duo’s unwillingness to back Lenin in the 1917 revolution
Kamenev produced the most devastating reply to Trotsky in Pravda (Nov 1924) claiming that he had been a Menshevik, quoting letters written by Trotsky in which he condemned the whole foundation of Leninism.
Leadership struggle
1925-26
Key issue was NEP- were still problems such as insufficient food supplies reaching the cities.
- bukharin championed NEP, encouraging the peasants to produce more by granting concessions
In a speech in April 1925 he exhorted the peasants to enrich yourselves, accumulate
Stalin supported Bukharin’s policy from a centrl position as the 1925 harvest was an excellent one, probably the best since 1917, and this seemed to vindicate the policy and the new alliance.
The Left Opposition of Zinoviev and Kamenev vigorously opposed Bukharin and Stalin,
feeling that their policy came at the expense of industrial workers. Both men had strong power bases in Moscow and Leningrad, and feared losing popularity and moving too far away from socialism in the direction of capitalism.
Zinoviev began a series of speeches criticising Bukharin, demanding rapid industrialization and an end to concessions to the peasantry. He even attacked Stalin’s theory of ‘socialism in one country’.
At the Fourteenth Party Congress (Dec 1925) kamenev delivered a blistering speech criticizing Stalin personally for the first time
- A vote of no confidence in Stalin was called but the Left Opposition could only must 64 votes against 559. In the elections for the Politburo (membership increased from seven to nine), Kamenev was voted out, and three new Stalinist members were voted in
Leadership struggle
(1926-27)
- formation of the ‘unite opposition’ of Trotsky, kaminev and zinoviev
The ‘Declaration of the Thirteen’ (July 1926)- a direct appeal to party massses and workers criticized the government’s ‘soft’ policy towards the kulaks (wealthy rural peasants) and insisted that NEP could not be relied on to produce sufficient grain, instead calling for a speeding up on industrialization so that workers’ conditions andwages could be improved
also criticized ‘socialism in one country’
Stalin cunningly pointed out that Trotsky’s ‘permanent revolution’ proved he cared for foreign countries rather than Russia – he was therefore a traitor.
Stalin also accused Trotsky of being insincere in his concern for industrial workers, raking up Trotsky’s earlier policy of strict labour discipline.
When the United Opposition persisted in their campaign against Stalin he revealed his trump card, accusing them of factionalism – a breach of party discipline (1921).
Leadership struggle (1928-29)
Stalin now made a dramatic policy change. Because of the continuing grain shortages, in the spring of 1928 he suddenly launched campaigns to seize grain by force, turning radically against the NEP and the Right of the party.
The problem was that NEP had run into serious crisis;
the 1927 harvest had been disappointing + the scissor crisis was worsening the divide
Peasants felt that the grain prices were too low, so they withheld grain and sold meat, vegetables and dairy produce instead. By the time the Fifteenth Party Congress met in December 1927 there were already food shortages in the cities. Congress accepted
That more pressure would have to be exerted, but this should be introduced without coercion.
In January 1928, Stalin paid a visit to Siberia to investigate for himself why grain supplies were dwindling. On his own initiative he began to order grain requisitioning- which was gradually extended to most parts of Russia, not by order of the Politburo but on Stalin’s orders given to local party secretaries.
This provoked intense and sustained opposition from Bukharin, Rykov and Tomsky – the Right Opposition. They claimed that Stalin was exaggerating the danger from the kulaks and they deplored the use of violence.
By April 1929 the Right Opposition were also criticizing the breakneck pack of rapid industrialisation and Stalin’s First Five Year Plan for industry (1928-32). Stalin responded by quietly removing Bukharin’s supporters from their posts all over Russia and replacing them with his allies. In November 1929 Stalin delivered a scathing three-hour speech directly against Bukharin.
The Right Opposition were accused of ‘right deviation’ and promptly ousted from the Politburo and removed from other party bodies
Why was Stalin successful in his leadership bid
(His skills)
Political skills and ruthlessness-
- Policy change over the NEP (which he had supported in 1925 to 6 due to excellent harvest), but betrayed Buchanan ideologically in 1928 due to worsening scissor crisis
- Placement of those loyal to him whilst acting as general secretary
- Allowing an Ovi and common nerve to take out Trotsky in the literary war without getting involved
- Ability to utilise his own policies to disregard other politically, in particular Trotsky’s theory of permanent revolution versus his socialism in one country
- Manipulation at Lennon‘s funeral to place himself as a disciple and remove Trotsky‘s presence
(Questions arose as to his loyalty and if Lenin actually wanted him there)
Why was Stalin successful in the leadership bid
(Luck)
- The lack of resurfacing of Lennon’s last testament despite clear opposition to Stalin’s authority opposition
- Trotsky being away from the centre of power during Lennon‘s funeral as he was away in Georgia and his undiagnosed illness that stopped him from being being able to respond to political attacks
- The conditions of the economy popular to continue nap in 1925 due to the successful harvest, failure of net by 1926 due to the scissor crisis which made the timing for his shift in policy against Karen effective
- The timing of Lennon‘s death before he could be fully removed
Leadership bid
(Failure of opposition)
- Trotsky‘s failure to place those loyal to him beneath him and overcome his arrogance to participate politically
- Underestimated by all other members of the party, especially an of the camera he chose to deal with their fear of Trosky first and didn’t see Stalin as a threat all throughout the literary war or when they chose not to reveal Lennon’s last testament
Leadership bid
(Party control)
Rule as general secretary allowed to appoint and dismiss as well as part as control party activities
- The enrolment of half 1 million members in order to remove bureaucratisation under the pretense that it was what Lennon would’ve wanted while also placing individuals loyal to him in positions of power
