How Did Joseph Stalin Gain Power

Joseph Stalin’s decisive and cunning actions facilitated his rise to power and also aided him to uphold that power and maintain control over the Soviet Society. Stalin’s cult of personality helped him achieve a complete totalitarian rule and one that was unobstructed. One of this methods included rewriting the history books portraying him as Lenin’s right-hand man during the Bolshevik revolution, imbuing the people with the thought of him as the heir to Lenin. This was however far from the truth, as Joseph Stalin had covertly covered up Lenin’s testament against Stalin. Lenin was aware that Stalin would rule as a dictator and assert his power at the head of government much like the Czars by employing tactics of fear and propaganda. The irony

This paved the way for the Communist party to rule Russia under the leadership of Lenin. Lenin had believed in a communistic society in which there was no class system or rulers. He alleged that this would be accomplished by a vanguard party. However, Leon Trotsky believed this would lead to the rise of a dictatorship. Which was exactly what happened. Shortly before Vladimir Lenin’s death, he wrote a testament concerning the Communist party and the recommendation for the removal of Joseph Stalin from power. Through a series of covert actions, Stalin obscured that statement and exiled Trotsky to prevent any form of jeopardy to Stalin becoming an autocratic ruler. As time progressed Stalin began to eliminate his political opponents so that his governance would not be questioned by anyone. These actions facilitated Stalin to reinforce his authority in the Soviet Union. Therefore, Stalin’s reign was parallel to that of the Czar’s, as they would take any measure to maintain their position of power even if it meant taking the lives of others. Furthermore, Stalin utilized propaganda and fear to instill subservience among the populace. This prevented the people from stepping out of