It was also the case that, despite his proven skills, Trotsky was not popular within the party or with the people. He was viewed as an aloof intellectual rather than a man of the people. He was also unpopular because of his views. Whilst Stalin believed in ‘Socialism in one country’ – a focus on making Russia a military and economic superpower, Trotsky believed in ‘World Revolution’ – the funding and support of communist revolutions throughout the world. On the whole people agreed much more with Stalin’s view and he won a lot of support.
However Stalin’s success was not just due to the mistakes of Trotsky. Stalin himself was very cunning and devised many ways to boost his popularity and increase his position. He was the one who arranged Lenin’s funeral, purposely telling Trotsky the wrong date. The absence of Trotsky made it look as though Stalin cared much more about the great Lenin and deserved to be his successor. Stalin was clever enough to take the role of chief mourner at Lenin’s funeral, making him look caring rather than power-hungry, as well as suggesting that he would be the one most likely to continue Lenin’s good work. Stalin carried Lenin’s coffin, set up a Lenin Library and Lenin Museum, and created a fake photograph showing himself and Lenin enjoying each other’s company. This photo was displayed everywhere and many began to believe that Stalin was immensely loyal to Lenin.
Stalin was underestimated by many, particularly because he did the jobs that more important people had no desire to do, such as General Secretary of the Communist Party. However Stalin used this position to his great advantage, as it meant he was able to appoint his friends to positions of power, so long as they gave him their absolute loyalty. He also had the power to tap telephone conversations, which allowed him to find out exactly who his supporters were. This enabled him to build up a power base within the party and he was able to outvote Trotsky on all issues by 1925. He also went to visit small towns to gain support for himself and managed to build a huge regional level power base.
Stalin was also ruthless; he had no interest in sharing power, but was obsessed with having it all himself. He systematically got rid of the other members of the party, using the rightists to help him get rid of Trotsky and the other leftists, then turning on the rightists!
