Lenin's Death as the Beginning of a Period of Struggle for Leadership between the Leading Bolsheviks

Lenin's Death as the Beginning of a Period of Struggle for Leadership between the Leading Bolsheviks Lenin’s death marked the beginning of a period of struggle for

leadership between the leading Bolsheviks, at the end of which Stalin

emerged as the undisputed and unchallenged dictator. Divisions in the

party over the future of the Revolution enabled Stalin to position

himself in a place of power, providing him with opportunities to rid

the party of his opponents from the left and the right.

The situation that the party found itself in 1924 was better suited to

Stalin’s personality for a number of reasons. Stalin was very

practical minded, even though he was not an intellectual like his

rival Trotsky. He was able to adapt to situations to suit his motives,

which is clearly seen when he presented himself as Lenin’s chief

mourner and closest friend at his funeral by reading out the eulogy

and carrying Lenin’s coffin. He therefore presented himself as the

heir to Lenin’s legacy. Moreover, Stalin, though not a theorist, was

an effective and shrewd administrator, a quality that earned him the

nickname ‘Comrade Card-Index’. While his comrades underestimated him,

Stalin was able to use his administrative skills to build a large bank

of information against his opponents, giving him the ability to

blackmail people to follow his orders. Stalin had obviously realised

the potential power in the post of General Secretary in an

increasingly bureaucratic party, as others had rejected the job as

dull and uninteresting. This was a position he had held since 1922 and

it was ...

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...ful that without this post Stalin would have

been able to outmanoeuvre his rivals in such a way, as controlling the

votes and securing his support allowed him to assure the majority

beforehand to ensure success. Stalin’s personality was most suited to

organising the down fall of his opponents and though the issues that

divided the Bolshevik party were not deeply ideological and

irreconcilable, Stalin magnified them so that he was able to remove

his rivals in the struggle for power. The personality of his

opponents, such as Trotsky, did not suit to winning the struggle, and

a mixture of Stalin’s strengths and his opponents’ weaknesses allowed

him to succeed. The result of his efforts was that the coalition

formed in 1924 ceased to exist and Stalin stood as a single dictator,

free to implement his policies unchallenged.