Intro
Lenin died in 1924 who was leader or Russia, therefore there needed to
be a new leader of Russia. Lenin was seen like a god-like figure to
the Bolsheviks, who were now known as the communist party and had
complete control of Russia, the two rivals who wanted to lead the
communist party were Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin.
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Stalin became leader because he saw the working class as “one of the
people”. Giving them a sense that they are important and have a say in
how their country is run. As general secretary of the party, he gave
his supporters powerful jobs and kicked Trotsky supporters out of the
party. Lenin wanted a strong person at the centre of the Party
apparatus to root out corruption and bureaucratism. He thought that
Stalin was such a person, but he was mistaken.
Once installed in such an important post, Stalin began to staff the
Party's central offices with cronies such as Kaganovich, who was put
in charge of the Party's Organizational Department (Orgotdel). This
committee controlled appointments. It therefore had powers of
patronage. It would never have occurred to Sverdlov to use this
position for personal gain. And the Party itself was very clear on the
question of appointments and non-elective positions in general.
A secret triumvirate was formed of Zinoviev, Kamenev and Stalin, aimed
at isolating Trotsky. In his Testament, Lenin not only referred to
Trotsky as the most capable member of the Central Committee but also
stated that his non-Bolshevik past "should not be held against him
personally". Yet the triumvirate ignored Lenin's advice and launched a
vitriolic campaign against Trotsky, inventing the myth of
"Trotskyism". As part of this they created the cult of Lenin. Against
Krupskaya's wishes, his body was embalmed and placed on public display
in the mausoleum in Red Square. Later Krupskaya stated: "All his life
Vladimir Ilyich was against icons, and now they have turned him into
an icon."
A fatal role in all this was played by Zinoviev and Kamenev, who were
death in 1953. But how is it that Stalin emerged as the new leader of
Trotsky was a Marxist revolutionary and theorist, and a Soviet politician who built the exchange of all political energy to the Soviets. When Lenin died, Trotsky and Stalin had to compete for the leading spot. In the end, Stalin came out on top by using propaganda techniques making it seem like Trotsky was a spy. After Stalin won, he kept Trotsky alive for a whole year just to blame social and economic problems on him. Joseph didn’t realize “The biggest problem with scapegoating a government is that it makes it much harder to solve social and economic problems,” (Douglas, governmentisgood.com). Trotsky was a very disliked person and was kicked out of multiple states, he even survived a machine gun attack on his home. Eventually, Stalin banished him from the USSR and had him assassinated by a Spanish communist, Ramon Mercader, in Coyoacan, Mexico on the 21st of August, 1940. Just like how Goldstein was demonized in society, Trotsky was
A temporary government was set up to decide on what kind of government Russia was going to set up. Two political parties were set up. The Bolsheviks were one of the two. The leader of the Bolshevik party was a man named Lenin. Lenin was a firm believer in the theories and ideas of Karl Marx.
"Let's replace Long Live Leninism with Long Live Stalinism!” This declaration by a communist leader and staunch Stalin supporter Lazar Kaganovich perhaps best summarizes the popularity and personality cult of Joseph Stalin which overtook and in some cases, replaced the precepts of Marxism-Leninism. Although many see Stalinism as the natural heir and iteration of Leninism, others see it as a gross deviation from the principles of Marxism-Leninism, deeming Stalinism as all those steps and policies that lead to the formation of a society based on the vision, principles and ideals of Joseph Stalin, while maintaining a threadbare association or even using as a cover the adherence to Marxist-Leninist’s philosophy.
In the beginning Josef Stalin was a worshiper of his beloved Vladimir Lenin. He followed his every move and did as he said to help establish and lead the Bolshevik party. Much of the early part of his political career was lost due to his exile to Siberia for most of World War I. It wasn’t until 1928, when he assumed complete control of the country were he made most of his success. After Lenin’s death in January 1924, Stalin promoted his own cult followings along with the cult followings of the deceased leader. He took over the majority of the Socialists now, and immediately began to change agriculture and industry. He believed that the Soviet Union was one hundred years behind the West and had to catch up as quickly as possible. First though he had to seal up complete alliance to himself and his cause.
After Lenin's death, Russia looked for a new leader. The two favourites were about to embark on a political campaign trying to eliminate each other out of the running with their popularity, ideas. for the future dedication of the church. Some say however, it was Stalin's ability. to manipulate the people around him, using them to higher his popularity and to aid his lack of political knowledge.
Once Stalin was out of the picture Khrushchev was named the successor. Like Stalin, he climbed the communist latter behind the scenes. There is much to be said about Stalin and Khrushchev’s relationship but one would note that Khrushchev would turn out to be a genuine man of the people. Khrushchev came from a peasant family and was generally uneducated. However, he grew to power and popularity and saw the window of opportunity after Stalin’s unexpected death in 1953. Khrushchev was tough, resourceful, and independent, three traits that were important for rebuilding Russia’s infrastructure. Khrushchev gave a secret speech to the twentieth congress, denouncing Stalin of his crimes, paranoia, and cult-personality. Khrushchev proved to be an effective
As a dictator Stalin was very strict about his policies, especially working. For instance. Stalin had set quotas very high , as they were very unrealistic. The workers had very long days, and under the rule of Stalin most people worked many hours in overtime, and resulting in no pay. Stalin treated workers very, very harshly. Those who did not work were exiled to Siberia or killed. Some may say you got what you deserved in Stalin’s time. Those who worked very hard for Stalin sometimes got bonuses such as trips, or goods likes televisions and refrigerators. The workers had to conform to Stalin’s policies . Stalin’s harsh treatment of workers received a very unwelcoming response, but in fact the liberal amount of goods that the workers had made, had in fact
The dichotomy between Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky is pivotal in understanding the power hierarchy in the Bolshevik party and their successful attempt at revolution in 1917. When considering the various schools of historiography examined, the views on the two political figures differs greatly depending on the sources school and therefore biases. However, generally Stalin is presented far more negatively in most historiographies being depicted suspicious and threatening, rapidly gaining power through deceptions and generally antagonizing the political climate of Soviet Russia, only being seen as truly pure in pro-Stalinist propaganda. Contrastingly, Trotsky is presented as cunning but never conniving, a prestigious and unparalleled military
In his speech, the 144 times Khrushchev talks about Vladimir Lenin or Leninism, it is always about his the communist ideology, a positive way Lenin ruled, or a negative quote Lenin said about Stalin having power. In the beginning of his speech he reminds the audience about their feelings toward Lenin and his ability to rule: “The great modesty of the genius of the Revolution, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, is known. Lenin always stressed the role of the people”, “Lenin never imposed his views upon his co-workers by force.”, “Lenin resolutely stood against every attempt aimed at belittling or weakening the directing role of the Party”. These quotes emphasize to the audience how Vladimir Lenin was a true communist who believed in equality, liberation, and classlessness; but, they were also used because Khrushchev understood how highly his audience thought of Lenin. His audience’s thoughts about Lenin, combined with repeating and stressing his name near positive words, creates positive memories of a better time and a sense of patriotism for the communist party and communist ideology. This is important because it catches the audience’s attention, making them want to
Stalin wants -and still wants - to seize power and become the dictator that he represents. Since Lenin had appointed Stalin to the new post of Central Committee General Secretary, which was not one of the best decisions made, it gave Stalin control over all party-member appointments. He quickly strengthened his power and started lining up allies against Trotsky. Between 1922 and 1924, Lenin tried to oppose some of Stalin's authority and support Trotsky on several occasions.
After the death of Lenin, his chief lieutenant Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin fought for control of the country. Stalin was able to win out over Trotsky and gain control of the Russian government. He felt that Lenin and Trotsky’s socialistic ideas were flawed in that they were to wait for other countries to revolt and become socialistic as well. Staling believed that a single country could make socialism .
A prime instance of Stalin’s cult of personality rewriting history can be seen in the propaganda to portray a campaign that presented the Soviet Society how close Stalin’s relationship was with their deceased leader Vladimir Lenin. However, in reality, Lenin was not fond of Stalin; in a testament written by Lenin in January 1922, he states that “Stalin is too rude and this defect, although quite tolerable in our midst and in dealing among us Communists, becomes intolerable in a Secretary-General. That is why I suggest that the comrades think about a way of removing Stalin from that post and appointing another man in his stead”. Although Lenin’s true successor was Leon Trotsky, Stalin still managed to maintain his position and become the leader of the Soviet Union. Once Stalin rose to power, he and his allies, Grigory Zinoviev and Lev Kamenev, forced Trotsky to resign from his position as Minister of War.[6] Later these men came to realize the kind of leader Stalin leader was and they allied with Trotsky and tried to remove him from his position. However, before this could be accomplished Stalin had both men expelled from the Central Committee. Stalin also expelled Trotsky from the Politburo after leading the failed struggle of the Left Opposition against the ideologies of Stalin
While Trotsky was a brilliant orator and military mastermind, willing to do whatever it took to win the war, his greatest flaw was that he greatly lacked the political traits necessary to gain support of his party and obtain the leadership during the power struggle with Stalin. Trotsky was unable to formulate realistic policies following the death of Lenin and increasingly lost the support of his party and the general populace, on the other hand Stalin was a master political manipulator who was able to mould any situation in a way which put him in an advantageous position. This is delineated upon in Trotsky’s continued obsession of Marxist theory and the idea of permanent revolution, an idea which showed little prospect of success. He was unable to recognise the want for his surrounding members to focus on their own country following 8 years of political turmoil, while Stalin was able to, promoting his idea of “socialism in one country.” Combined with this Trotsky continued to carry himself in an increasingly egotistical way, with his patronising and demeaning manner doing nothing to gain the support of his fellow members in the Politburo, lacked an understanding of party organisation, displayed naivety in internal party affairs and misunderstood the mood of the country. As David
...eturn to Russia was a baffling period for Russian Socialists, who before had held Lenin in high admiration and had believed he would bring them together after his return. Even though his extensive positions caused more separation than ever among Russia’s many political groups. Lenin’s denial to agree backfired on him, however, in the autumn he would need the support of these groups to assure power.