The Progression from Leninism to Stalinism

Trotsky assumed key roles in the events and policies concerning the Bolshevik Government, which included the Bolshevik Revolution, Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, the Civil War and views on Russia's economic policies. The Bolshevik party focused on their one aim: overthrow the Provisional Government and replace it with a "dictatorship of the proletariat". Support from the people grew when they witnessed the Provisional Government fail in their all-out military attack in July. The Bolsheviks took advantage of this opportunity creating meaningful slogans for the people such as "end the war," "all land to the peasants," and "all power to the soviets." On the 12th of October 1917 the Military Revolutionary Committee (MRC) was established, lead by Trotsky they planned to fight against the Provisional Government.

A. After the Bolshevik Revolution of November 1917 took place, Lenin ruled the newly communist USSR until his death. “Joseph Vissarionovich Dzhugashivili,” commonly referred to as Stalin, was the one man he warned his country not to put in power. The man who appeared most qualified for the position, was rather Lev Davidovich Bronstein, or Leon Trotsky, the leader of the USSR’s military, an important member in the Communist party, and a close friend to Lenin (Rempel). Despite Trotsky’s superior position, Stalin became the new communist leader.

Though, he twisted Marxist ideas so much that they could no longer be recognised as socialism from below, rather socialism from above. This was a far cry from the original theory put forth by Karl Marx. The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP), headed by Vladimir Lenin, twisted Marxists ideologies to accommodate their political beliefs during the revolution. In the eyes of some in modern-day society, Leninism seemed to be a logical development of Marxism as it extended theory into practice (Benson, 2014). However, there is nothing logical in Lenin’s misunderstanding of Marxism.

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/Libs/PCL/Map_collection/commonwealth/Russia.94.jpg (April 27, l998) 5. "Russian History." http://www.bucknell.edu/departments/russian/history.html (April 27, l998) 6. "Russia-Northwest." l996.

The New Economic Policy instituted by Vladimir Lenin in 1922 was seen as a necessary evil in order to maintain power in the Soviet Union. While most historians agree with Lenin’s assessment and believe that without the change the entire Soviet economy would have collapsed there is a wide range of thoughts on the true effectiveness of the NEP. This paper will look at the progression of the NEP and the differing views Bolshevik leaders had on it as well as the perceived effectiveness of the limited free market policies adopted by these socialist leaders. It will also try to determine if NEP could have remained a viable option for the economy long term. The New Economic Policy was in many ways a reactionary policy put forth because of widespread public disdain for War Communism (Richman 1981,92-93).

One month after the Congress Stalin announced that instead of a policy of limiting and exploiting the activities of the kulaks the policy would now be to liquidate them as a class, effectively declaring war on the peasantry. 2. The policy of "Socialism in One Country" This policy stated that Soviet Russia could successfully build socialism on its own. It put priority on strengthening the international position of the Soviet state, even at the expense of world revolution; this policy had much to offer the party faithful. The point of the policy was to make Trotsky appear disloyal and defeatist.

Certainly Truman was not blameless, but the U.S. was not expanding its empire, the Soviet Union was. Whether the expansion was for self-preservation, or whether it was merely imperialistic expansion, is relatively immaterial. What Stalin's actions unarguably did was start a string of chain-reactions within the western powers, and therefore, a good deal of the blame must rest with him.

Was Stalinism Inevitable? Introduction "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. Stalinist policies include, but are not limited to: - Rapid Industrialization: ‘Socialism in one country’- the doctrine of political construction that internalized all efforts of the Soviet Union instead of reaching outwards to faltering revolutions the world over; - Collectivization of agriculture - which transferred ownership of land and agriculture from wealthy individuals and families to the community and to the people at large, dominating Soviet agricultural landscape up till 1991; a rigid, secretive and tyrannical party system that placed importance and emphasis on the Communist party as the foremost representative of the people, the Soviet nation and the ideals of Marxism-Leninism. Another defining feature of Stalinism was the liberal and unchecked usage of state violence against so-called enemies of the state, saboteurs, foreign spies and any and all individuals that were deemed, almost always arbitrarily, as being harmful to the state.

Lenin 10. Lenin 11. Unknown, "Draft of a Speech at the Graveside of Karl Marx," in La Justice 1883 <http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1883deat/justice.htm> (29 October 2001) Links: www.philosophypages.com/ph/marx.htm http://www.maoism.org/marx/marx_idx.htm www.stud.unisg.ch/~ajaritz/marx/marxh.htm www.lucidcafe.com/library/96may/marx.htm www.xs4all.nl/~aboiten/marx.html

Lenin’s death in 1924 left uncertainty about who should become the next leader. Lenin had discussed within his inner circle and mentioned Stalin and Trotsky as possible candidates but stated that Stalin should not succeed him because he was rude. Only Lenin’s inner circle knew about these sentiments. From the beginning Stalin was placed in opposition to Trotsky. After Stalin came to power in 1924 an opposition mounted involving Trotsky, Zinoviev, and Kamenev, this united opposition called for local control and autonomy as well as opening up debate within the party.The opposition had a centrist position in politics that aligned itself with the previous position of Lenin.