Trotsky Power Of Manipulation Essay

Trotsky himself, is arguably the most influential factor in determining the result of the power struggle between with Stalin. Despite having had great potential, Trotsky failed to utilise his assets and as a result was soon out of the race to succeed Lenin. In 1924, it was seen that Trotsky would almost certainly be the next leader of the Bolshevik Party however this prophecy wasn’t fulfilled for a number of reasons; Trotsky’s personality, his nativity to the workings of the political world, and the accumulation of past mistakes which could be used against him– all of which were under his control. However other external influences also played a role in Trotsky’s fall from prominence within the Bolshevik Party after Lenin’s death to 1928, the most significant of these being Stalin’s power of manipulation. Trotsky’s failure in the period after 1924 is predominantly a result of his own mistakes, Trotsky was widely considered to have been a “naïve idealist who refused to play the political game” thus allowing him to adopt the title as “the architect of his own downfall”.

Trotsky’s personality played a huge role in his isolation from the Bolshevik party. His arrogance and air of superiority allowed Trotsky to make unnecessary enemies with other members from within the Bolshevik Party. Trotsky frequently patronised those around him and considered himself to be above certain mundane elements of politics “If an address to the Central Committee bored him, Trotsky was known to have read a novel instead.” . Trotsky constantly found himself making new enemies as a result of his seemingly self-absorbed personality. Trotsky consistently found himself on the losing sides of debate despite his powerful public speaking ability, as he lacked the ...

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...articularly influential in determining the outcome. Stalin was greatly underestimated within the Party, especially by Trotsky. Stalin’s political awareness and tactful decision making allowed him to construct the world around him and path his way to success. Trotsky failed to recognise the importance of the mundane positions within the party and often rejected taking them, Stalin on the other hand happily used these positions to manipulate both people and information and he slowly built up his reputation and support which inevitably lead to his success and the alienation of Trotsky. Despite these being external factors, many of which could have been avoided had Trotsky been tactically aware. Trotsky regarding Stalin as inferior and failed to take him seriously as a contender to the position of power, until it was too late when he’d built up the necessary support.