Stalin and Trotsky: Patrons of World Domination One of the most well known countries in the world is Russia. Since the Paleolithic Period, Russia has faced misfortune and difficulties through its brutal leaders. Every change that has made this country more inclusive has been won with toil, tears, and blood. The year of 1879 was the beginning of another "great new chapter" (Flachmann p. 357) in Russia's history. It was the year two patrons of world domination were born. These patrons were Joseph Stalin, born Dzhugashvili, and Leon Trotsky, born Bronstein. They would soon become two of Russia's most important leaders who altered the world in many ways. Stalin and Trotsky were the same age, and both had once been members of the Russian Social Democratic Party. These two dedicated Communists shared similar viewpoints such as their commitment to the "unity of theory and practice" (McClellan p. 62) and both prospered on spreading Communism throughout the world. However, each had a unique childhood that gave them both special qualities, which influenced them to live different lives. The tension between Trotsky and Stalin worsened into a life-and-death fight as Lenin got sick and died. Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky were two committed communists who represented the strength of the Soviet Union during the early 20th Century. Leon Trotsky was born on October 26, 1879 in the Southern Ulkaine. His real name was Lev Davidovich Bronstein. Leon's parents were simple Jewish farmers who lived better than most peasants at the time. At the age of 9, Leon moved to Odessa to live with some relatives and attend a prestigious private school. His father hoped that Leon would return home as an engineer, but instead he became attracte... ... middle of paper ... ...ition" (Commine p. 35) to Stalin's regime. Despite his ability to be ruthless, Trotsky was no match for Stalin when it came to struggle for political power that ensued after Lenin's death. The antagonisms between the two were very little but there were some. For example, both Stalin and Trotsky were "philosophical materialists" (McClellan p. 77) who were once in the same Russian Social Democratic Party as youths. In addition, they both competed for Lenin's place in office. However, the personal differences between the two were the reason for their rivalry. As committed communists, Stalin and Trotsky both believed in the revolution but conflicted in their different strategies for it to take place. Despite their personal differences and antagonisms, but Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky became two patrons of world domination, neither to be beyond recollection.
As relations changed between Russia and the rest of the world, so did the main historical schools of thought. Following Stalins death, hostilities between the capitalist powers and the USSR, along with an increased awareness of the atrocities that were previously hidden and ignored, led to a split in the opinions of Soviet and Western Liberal historians. In Russia, he was seen, as Trotsky had always maintained, as a betrayer of the revolution, therefore as much distance as possible was placed between himself and Lenin in the schoolbooks of the 50s and early 60s in the USSR. These historians point to Stalin’s killing of fellow communists as a marked difference between himself and his predecessor. Trotsky himself remarked that ‘The present purge draws between Bolshevism and Stalinism… a whole river of blood’[1].
The establishment and success of both the USSR and Nazi Germany are largely due to one common factor. The attributes of Stalin and Hitler enabled them to successfully gain and maintain complete control over their government and enforce total rule to establish the party superiority. Schlesinger describes leadership as the ability to “move, inspire, and mobilize masses of people so that they act together in pursuit of an end” (Schlesinger 1). Stalin and Hitler themselves as individuals and leaders are as infamous and complex as the ruthless totalitarian governments they implemented. Being on polar opposite...
Trotsky played a key role in the Bolshevik party, encouraging revolution, which saw the Bolsheviks gain power in 1917. He built up a strong Red Army during the civil war, used to ensure the survival of the Bolshevik government and was seen by many as the most likely candidate to take over as leader after Lenin’s death, showing the significance he was held in by Russians. However, evidence suggests that after Lenin’s death he lost his a considerable amount of power, eventually being exiled from the Communist party. In the short-term it is clear that Trotsky had a huge significance in the development of Russia, shown clearly through both his letters and documents, and the opinions of those close to Trotsky. The significance is obvious through his role in the build up to the October Revolution, his negotiations with Germany through the Brest-Litovsk Treaty, his contribution to Bolshevik success in the civil war and his attitude towards terror and his failure to out maneuver Stalin to succeed Lenin.
The outbreak of revolution in Russia lured Trotsky back into action, but he was soon arrested. While in jail, Trotsky joined the Bolsheviks (“Leon Trotsky”). After his release, Trotsky allied with Vladimir Lenin as he gained control of the Russian government. Trotsky was made commissar of war and was charged with the formation of the Red Army to defend communism (“Leon Trotsky”). Although the Red Army proved successful in its endeavor, its Red Terror campaign caused “thousands of people, many of whom were only suspected of being anti-communist, [to be] slaughtered in unthinkably cruel ways” (Asnes, Tania. Kissel, Adam ed). Soon after, Lenin's death left Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky to battle to be Russia's leader. Although Trotsky had the skills and the intellect that should have made him the clear choice, jealousy among his colleagues prompted them to side with Stalin (“Leon Trotsky”). Soon after Stalin gained power, he exiled Trotsky. His role in Russian history had come to an abrupt
His work ethic, public speaking skills and overall leader aided him in influencing the russian citizens to trust him. The citizens were tired of the horrible factory conditions and overcrowding. (Figes, 1) There was hardly any legislation to protect the workers laboring in the factory. Another problem in the factory was the dangerous equipment, the workers could be severely injured and the government wouldn’t compensate for their recovery. Workers pleaded for an insurance policy to protect them if they were injured but the government denied it. So when Leon Trotsky, an upcoming major political figure, decided to support their revolution, many government officials grew to hate him. This is yet another cause of Stalin's ruthlessness towards
Leon Trotsky, to a large extent, made a meaningful impact in the early stages of his life, through to the Bolshevik consolidation period. However, after Stalin’s rise to power, Trotsky’s failed to continue to have a meaningful impact on his time. Trotsky was instrumental with the engagement and spread of socialist ideas prior to and in 1917 which had the most meaningful impact on his time due to the establishment of the first socialist state in the world. During the Bolshevik consolidation period, Trotsky continued to have a meaningful impact on his time as Commissar of Foreign affairs and Commissar of War, as it sustained the first socialist revolution. Although, upon his exile, despite continuing revolutionary activities Trotsky did not
These two men were very demanding in obtaining what they thought should be the rule of a nation by their own personal control. Stalin and Hitler were very close in the same way that they had an aggressive vigor to force a type of commanding dictatorship into their respective countries. Each had a special army that they put in high regard politically to where they were considered special police agents. These armies were under different orders, but their main objectives were to stop anyone who opposed, or were thought to be in opposition to the head of state. Also, both Stalin and Hitler had ideas to improve the education levels and economic prosperity of their own countries, each trying to put their own at the top of the world in industry and commerce. Although Hitler and Stalin were opposed to each other’s own strategies and political stance on being a world dominator, they were very similar in the way to which they fought for political power.
Stalin, whose original name was Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili, was born on Dec. 21, 1879, in the Caucasian town of Gori, Georgia. He was the only one of four children to survive infancy. His father, Vissarion Dzhugashvili, an unsuccessful cobbler, entered a factory in Tiflis, took to drink, and died in 1890 from wounds received in a brawl. However, his mother, Yekaterina, kept the family together by taking in washing and sewing, hiring out for housework, and nursing young Joseph through various sicknesses including smallpox and septicemia, which left his left arm slightly crippled for life. An illiterate peasant girl herself, Yekaterina was deeply religious, puritanical, ambitious, and intent on securing for her son training for the priesthood, one of the few careers in which the non-Russian Georgian poor might easily rise to higher station. He was enrolled in the local Orthodox parochial school in Gori in 1888.
middle of paper ... ... M. Lewin makes a parallel to Carr’s criticism where he states: "He also had the weakness of a man who was too haughty and, in a sense, too idealistic to indulge in the political machinations inside the small group of leaders. His position as an outsider, on account of his past and his style, prevented him from acting when the moment came - for him, it only came once - with the necessary determination. " Even Trotsky himself stresses that power is made by close relationships: "power is not a prize which the most'skillful' win.
The Communist Russia Under Stalin Stalin wanted the USSR or Russia to become more powerful than other countries. To do this he had to modernise the USSR's economy by a programme of rapid industrialisation. This means developing industry to such an extent that a country that mainly depends on agriculture or farming is changed into one which mostly depends on industry. Stalin said that the USSR was 50 or 100 years behind the advanced countries.
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 .
According to most historians, “history is told by the victors”, which would explain why most people equate communism with Vladimir Lenin. He was the backbone of Russia’s communist revolution, and the first leader of history’s largest communist government. It is not known, or discussed by most, that Lenin made many reforms to the original ideals possessed by many communists during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. He revised Karl Marx and Friedrich Engles’ theories to fit the so-called ‘backwardness’ of the Russian Empire. Lenin’s reforms were necessary to carry out a socialist revolution in Russia, and the contributions he made drastically changed the course of history. It can be assumed that, the Soviet Union would not have been as powerful if it was not for Lenin’s initial advocacy of violence and tight organization.
Joseph Stalin was born on December 18th 1878 in of Gori, Georgia. As a child he had many health issues. This included smallpox and two adjoined toes. Joseph Stalin later became involved with the Bolsheviks party and later became the leader of the USSR or the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
1. Lenin: Vladimir Lenin, born Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, on April 22, 1870, in Simbirsk, Russia, died at the age of 53 in Gorki-Leninskyie, Russia on January 21, 1924. Lenin was a well-educated lawyer and revolutionary who was one of the most influential leaders in the 20th century. Lenin crafted the Bolshevik Revolution and ultimately became the first leader of the Soviet Communist Party and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR). Lenin was a follower of the works of Karl Marx and his socialist ideas of “Dialectical Materialism.” He modified them to become what is referred to as Marxism-Leninism, which advocates for the worker in a classless society and abolished the bonds between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat.
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. However, a third blow practically silenced Lenin, and Stalin was free to completely push Trotsky out of power; when Lenin died, Trotsky was isolated and alone, and outsmarted by Stalin. From that point on, Trotsky was pushed out of important roles gradually on Soviet government and, was eventually, pushed out of the entire