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Why did-stalin win the struggle over power following the death ofLenin?

There were a number of factors, which contributed to Stalin's victory in the struggleover power in Russia following the death of Lenin. These factors were dividedbetween those which Stalin controlled and those which he did not control thoughplayed into his favour.

Stalin's exploitation of his seemingly unfavourable role as General Secretary-" "(Gensek) of the Bolshevik Party and his progression through the parly structure gaveimpetus to his victory in the struggle over power. Lenin had appointed Stalin tomany positions throughout the Party prior to his death including Commissar ofNationalities in 1917, Commissar of State Control 1919, and eventually to Gensek in1922. Martin McCauley describes, in his book 'The Soviet Union 1917-1991', Stalinas a party'climber'whom had"1-o"ascend the "party ladder step by step" to reachtne top. This was contrary to his rivals, particularly Trotsky, who were placed at thetop in '1917 through "a single stroke. " From his new position as Gensek of the Party,Sta rn rnras able to modify and control Party membership to his own betterment. Theyears following Lenin's death, Stalin purged the Party of members whom did notsupport him, esteblishing a substantial support base which he exploited later inovercoming his opponents. Despite his clear manipulation and liquidation of theParty, Stalin remained unobtrusive and unassertive. Niki+a-Khrushehev described '- r'''' t:Stalin as a "grey blur" who went unnoticed despite tti-';tyii-i,t-fiikel; characteristics.ln this way, Stalin's position as Gensek contributed to his victory to obtain powerfollowing Lenin's death. Nrts o\ai >ule.kran,s^rAnother factor which contributed to Stalin's success in the struqqle over power washis unparalleled political skill which was far superior to his oppJn'"nr.Yfo*ingLenin's death in 1924, a leadership void emerged in the Bolshevik Party with manycontenders vying for the position. Despite this, Stalin remained patient and believedthat time was essential to his success. He chose to wait for the right moment beforeattacking his opponents and destroying their opportunity to take leadership of theParty..Martin McCauley also describes Stalin as "head and shoulders above therest" in terms of political skill Rlg!:xperience. His skills were most notably displayedduring the Tenth Party Congress in 1921where Stalin effectively projected himselfas a positive and constructive member of the Party whilst also undermining Trotsky,Zinoviev and Tomsky as negative and destructive. Furthermore, Stalin used theprevailing mystique of Lenin to his advantage. Alan Wood, author of 'Stalin andStalinism', mentions that Stalin was "by far the cleverer politician " and "Trotslq'sinfatiffit was Stalin's "skilful manipulation of the 'cult' of Leninism" whichprojected him as Lenin's disciple. From here, Stalin could demonstrate hisdedication to Lenin and the Party toward the population and the other members of

the Bolsheviks, enabling him to overcome the threat of Trotsky. Therefore, Stalin'spolitical skill was crucial to him winning the struggle for power in Russia followingLenin's death in 1924.

Part of Stalin's success can also be attributed to the failures of his potentigL-/opponents, particularly in cooperating to collectively overcome Stalin. Stalin'spolitical skill allowed him to establish a strong support base throughout the partyand also exploit the weakness of others. ln his book 'Hitler and Stalin: ParallelLives'Alan Bullock indicates that "Sta/in's persistence...patience andffion" were"phenomenal" and crucial to his success following Lenin's death. Rather thanintervening in the Bolshevik Party straight after Lenin's death, Stalin "played awaiting game" an{ggatff)ed his potential opponents - Trotsky, Zinoviev andBukharin - fight between each other for power over the Party. Stalin allowed hiscompetitors to undermine each other, albeit ineffectively, to a point where he couldeventually overcome and cripple them. Trotsky, Zinoviev and Bukharin allunderestimated the power of Stalin and the size of his support base which he hadestablished as Gensek in 1 922. The only way for Stalin to be;lgfuated was for theother contending members of the Party to ally and defeathim. This did not happen.Rather, Stalin's opponents worked in isolation from one another, allowing Stalin toeasily ovenruhelm each one. Their inferior political skills meant that they too failed tocapitalise on vital opportunities and eventually fell victim to their own failings. Theinability of Stalin's opponents to rally a combined effort to defeat him proved to bea major error, contributing directly to Stalin's eventual victory in succeeding Lenin.The public and Party's perception of Trotsky was a factor which benefited Stalin'scampaign for victory. Throughout Lenin's years as head of the Bolshevik Partyduring the Russian Revolution and the consolidation of power, Trotsky acted asLenin's aide-de-camp. lt therefore appeared that Trotsky should be the successor toLenin and the next leader of the Communist Party, though his personality provedcaustic and toxic to the Party environment. Unlike Stalin, whose superiority camepartly from his pragmatism, Trotsky proved highly dogmatic and this reflected

1-4oorly upon other members of the Party. Trotsky was consequently alienated fromother authoritative members of the Party who did not appreciate his hubris. This

L-4xtended to Lenin who, in his testament (known as Lenin's Testament) mentionedthat althou gh "Comrade Trotsky... [has] outstanding ability" unfortunately "he hasdisplayed excessiye self-assurance and shown excessive preoccupation with thepurely administrative side of the work." Trotsky's dogmatism was demonstrated also

v-++rfough his aspirations for a "permanent [socialist] revolution" which wouldconsume the world. This was contrary to Stalin whose philosophy reflected a matureand pragmatic response to the times - "socialism in one county." Stalin'sphilosophy was also far more popular than Trotsky's in Russia. FurLhermore, Trotskywas seen by the public as an outsider. His opponents exacerbated the fact that hewas not Russian but Ukrainian and of Jewish heritage, undermining the public's

perception of him. ln spite of this, Trotsky's arrogance proved to be his downfalland played directly into the hands of Stalin whom later became the leader of theBolshevik Party.

Stalin's manipulation of his position as General Secretary of the Party as well as hisunparalleled political skill enabled him to win the struggle over power in Russia.Also, the incapability of Stalin's potential opponents to cooperate a combined effortto defeat him as well as the Party and population's perception of Trotsky played intoStalin's favour following Lenin's death.

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