The Soviet leaders in 1924 were professional revolutionaries and dedicated Westernizers. As such, they were very conscious of the French Revolution and its development; it served as a model for them. The great fear of many communists was that the Russian Revolution would end in "Bonapartism," that is, in a military dictatorship under a charismatic general. In 1922-1924, the role of Napoleon was most clearly filled by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky was a dynamic personality, and his support base was his creation, the Red Army. Trotsky also was well known overseas and had a great reputation as a speaker and historian of the revolution. Trotsky had some negative attributes as well. He was not an Old Bolshevik, and he was a Jew. Stalin and Zinoviev disliked him. Above all, he lacked a strong foothold in the Soviet bureaucracy or party structure. His very eminence created enemies and (more ominously) forced them to work together to conspire against him. In 1924, institutional power, not prestige, was the key to political succession. By Lenin's death, Stalin had built a strong political and institutional base within the Soviet state. As general secretary of the party, Stalin held the key to the entire power structure. He could promote and demote party members, reward and punish. The secretariat came to dominate the state bureaucracy or Ogburo. After 1922, Stalin alone served simultaneously on the Central Committee, Politburo, Ogburo, and Communist party secretariat. These four institutions allowed Stalin to coordinate his power and to increase it over time. Rykov was named as Lenin's successor as head of state (chairman of the Council of People's Commissars), but without the general secretary's support, the premiership meant little. The Sovie... ... middle of paper ... ...e only factor. Loyalty and self-interest have many sources. Stalin also understood the mentality of the communist rank-and-file. Most Communist party members were not intellectuals. They were unlike the Old Bolsheviks who were sympathetic to the West. The party increasingly was made up of ambitious young Russians who wanted to concentrate on domestic matters rather than foreign adventures. The younger members clearly preferred Stalin as a leader to the flamboyant Trotsky or the cautious rightists of Bukharin, Rykov, and Tomsky. The totalitarian aspect of Stalinism and the enormous problems of collectivization and super-industrialization were as yet unknown and unknowable. Men like Bukharin were eased out of power gradually; the murderous purges were far in the future. Stalin edged cautiously away from NEP and toward Preobrazhensky's idea of socialist accumulation.
The Development of Totalitarianism Under Stalin By 1928, Stalin had become the undisputed successor to Lenin, and leader of the CPSU. Stalin’s power of appointment had filled the aisles of the Party Congress and Politburo with Stalinist supporters. Political discussion slowly faded away from the Party, and this led to the development of the totalitarian state of the USSR. Stalin, through.
death in 1953. But how is it that Stalin emerged as the new leader of
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.
For most people that know who Joseph Stalin was, they can agree on one thing: Stalin was one of the most brutal and ruthless leaders that mankind has ever seen. He is known as the instigator and leader of the Reign of Terror, which incorporated extremely horrifying purges. These purges have been estimated to have killed five times as many people as the Holocaust. The purges also helped him establish his power base, which allowed him to build one of the most powerful countries in its day and age. But he was not born evil, in fact, when he was a child, family and friends said he was shy. This does not mean he didn’t have a bad childhood, which happened quite often in rural Georgia. The pain of his childhood built as the years went by. Growing up admiring people like Karl Marx, Machiavelli, and Ivan the Terrible only stoked the fire even more. I believe that Joseph Stalin’s reign of terror can be traced directly back to his brutal childhood and complete belief in Marxist principles.
was able to hold on to leadership of the Soviet Union. He was able to
Before Lenin’s death in 1924 Stalin held many pointless positions which allowed him to build up his power but only by a tiny amount. During the Russian Civil War and Polish-Soviet War, Stalin was political commissar of the Red Army at various fronts. Stalin's first government position was as People's Commissar of Nationalities Affairs (1917–23). Also, he was People's Commissar of Workers and Peasants Inspection (1919–22), a member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the republic (1920–23) and a member of the Central Executive Committee of the Congress of Soviets (from 1917).
People say that the Stalin’s Great Purges could otherwise be translated as Stalin’s Terror. They grew from his paranoia and his desire to be absolute autocrat, and were enforced the NKVD and public show trials. When someone went against him, he didn’t really take any time in doing something about it. He would “get rid of” the people that went against industrialization and the kulaks. Kulaks were farmers in the later Russian Empire. (“Of Russian Origin: Stalin’s Purges). There were many reasons as to what caused the Great Purges but the main one seems to be Stalin. He believed that the country had to be united under the circumstances that he becomes the leader if it was to be strong. The Soviet Union was industry was weal and in the decline, obviously lacking the capacity to produce enough meal and heavy machinery for the imminent war.
...In Soviet Union Stalin Pronounced his first five-year plans in ,1928, highlighting on the growth of future industrial. His approaches obtain popularity among the lower and poor working class. For Stalin’s prevail, also stressed on the idea of arrangement of agriculture. The arrangement of agriculture was to increase agriculture production and brought to the lower class and under classmen additional up-front political control. The leader of Politburo was Joseph and took pleasure with unrestrained power and control. In addition to the changes on the route of socialism, Joseph also gives reasons for banishing people who have more advantage over him and counter-revolutionary invaders.
How significant was Lenin’s leadership in the Bolshevik Consolidation of power in 1924? Lenin's leadership was a crucial factor in consolidating Bolshevik power up until his death in 1924. His pragmatic leadership helped gain some initial support as well as giving him unquestioned authority within the party. Furthermore, his push for the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk to help save the revolution from foreign invasion was crucial and his practicality was further exemplified through War Communism and the introduction of the New Economic Policy (NEP). The use of terror under Lenin's rule was also highly effective in removing political dissidents and exerting Bolshevik authority through coercive measures like the Cheka and the Red Terror.
Stalin’s hunger for power and paranoia impacted the Soviet society severely, having devastating effects on the Communist Party, leaving it weak and shattering the framework of the party, the people of Russia, by stunting the growth of technology and progress through the purges of many educated civilians, as well as affecting The Red Army, a powerful military depleted of it’s force. The impact of the purges, ‘show trials’ and the Terror on Soviet society were rigorously negative. By purging all his challengers and opponents, Stalin created a blanket of fear over the whole society, and therefore, was able to stay in power, creating an empire that he could find more dependable.
Around the early 1920’s, Stalin took power and became leader of Russia. As a result Russians either became fond of Stalin’s policies or absolutely despised them. Stalin’s five-year plans lured many into focusing on the thriving economy rather than the fact that the five year plan hurt the military. The experience of many lives lost, forced labor camps, little supply of food, influenced the Russians negative opinion about Stalin. Having different classes in society, many Russians had different points of views. For the Peasants, times were rough mainly because of the famine, so they were not in favor of Stalin and his policies; where as the upper classes had a more optimistic view of everything that was occurring. Stalin’s policies affected the Russian people and the Soviet Union positively and also had a negative affect causing famine for the Russian people.
at age 26. He no idea what was involved, what to do and went along
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
Stalins rise as a dictator over the USSR in 1929, was a struggle for power. It was set by Lenin, in his testament, that Stalin was not to takeover control as the party leader, and to be removed from his position as General Secretary, as Stalin in Lenins eyes had lack of loyalty, tolerance, and politeness. However, different factors, such as Lenins funeral, Stalins position as General Secretary and the rise of bureaucracy, and Stalins relationship to Kamenev and Zinoviev, made it possible for Stalin to become the undisputed leader over the USSR in 1929. This essay will discuss the methods and the conditions, which helped Joseph Stalin rise to power.
...change of industrial leadership crippled Russia's mechanization efforts and it is still argued today if the effects are still felt. By removing these people from the Soviet society both the biologist theories of Nature verses Nurture were challenged at best and destroyed at worst. For the argument of nature being the greatest influence on learning ability most of the intellectuals and brightest leaders were removed from the gene pool. In contrast to Nurture these people could not influence society any longer. Through these changes in society Stalin has forever made his mark. His pollicies effected every area in Russian culture.