Why did Stalin win the struggle for power 1924-29?

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Why did Stalin win the struggle for power 1924-29?

Richard Ward

When Lenin died in 1924, there was vacancy in the position of recognised leader of the Communist Party. Five candidates emerged as contenders to fill the gap that Lenin had occupied: Bukharin, Kamenev, Zinoviev, Trotsky and Stalin. Bukharin was a comparatively moderate member of the CPSU, favouring the NEP and wanted to introduce Communist theory into Russia slowly. Kamenev and Zinoviev had played key roles in the October revolution 1917. Leon Trotsky was an orator of outstanding ability and a gifted leader. With no military training he had defeated the White Army in the civil war (1918-20) and was recognised as a figurehead perhaps more so than Lenin, who was more of a political strategist.

"Lenin did keep rather in the background, not speaking often, not writing much, but largely engaged in directing organisational work in the Bolshevik camp, whilst Trotsky thundered forth at meetings in Petrograd."1

It was acknowledged within the Bolsheviks even when Lenin was alive, that Trotsky had a persuasive manner that could captivate and enthuse - aided in how he made his speeches relevant to the masses, not attempting to condense volumes of political theory into a speech that would pass over the heads of most Russian workers.

"...one feels that however intelligent Lenin may be he begins to fade beside the genius of Trotsky."2

Trotsky was uncompromising and split no hairs as to his plans for Communist Russia. His theory of 'permanent revolution' (as Stalin referred to it) seemed to many dangerous, as it would involve a technologically and socially backward country in conflict, from which it had just escaped.

Stalin was an activist through and through. He spoke poor Russian and had made his mark by orchestrating raids on banks to raise party funds. He was hardworking, and got the job done. He was no great political theorist and was not a public speaker by any measure but was capable of winning public approval by appearing very close to Lenin, and by being very much a man of the people. Born a peasant in Georgia, he had trained as a Priest, but was thrown off the course for reading banned books. He was later exiled to Siberia for his work as a Bolshevik while Trotsky had been debating policy in another country. Stalin's conscientiousness was his success in the long term. He was happy to accept whatever job was going in the party, so long as it kept him out of having to speak in public often. Seemingly boring jobs such as 'Commissar for Nationalities' and 'General Secretary' allowed him to lay strong foundations for himself within the party. Stalin became General Secretary and this allowed him to strongly influence the elections for almost every job in the party.
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The CPSU was, in theory, democratic. It worked in a heirachy, the lowest level being members in party cells and the highest being the Politburo, made up of ten leading Communists. Party cells 'elected' members to the District meeting, which then 'elected' members to a Regional meeting. In Moscow, delegates were sent to the Congress which met every few years, much like a party conference. The Congress (numbering in the thousands) sent members to the Central Committee (hundreds), which then sent about ten members to the Politburo. The higher up in the party one travelled, the greater the ...

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