Explain why Stalin, and not Trotsky, emerged as Lenins successor.

Another of Trotsky’s errors was that he did not take his opposition seriously and he made little effort to build support within the party. As he had underestimated Stalin, he was easily fooled by his tricks such as over the funeral and he failed to take decisive action against him. He was arrogant and did not spend a lot of time with people who he considered to be inferior. He also refused to get involved in the dirty business of political in-fighting. Gaining support and making people be on his side was something which he did not consider. Since Stalin was taking on jobs and roles which were unpopular and boring, he attracted little jealousy and became more popular within the party. Also Stalin was from a peasant background and this image made people think that he could relate to them better than Trotsky who appeared arrogant and conceited. This support from the peasant increased Stalin’s chances to win since it made him arguably more useful to the party. With Stalin rapidly gaining support and Trotsky not making any effort to stop Stalin or rally support for himself and save the support that he already had but was decaying little by little, it was a recipe for disaster for Trotsky.

Another of Stalin’s advantages was Trotsky’s mistake in not publishing Lenin’s last testament. If the will had been published Stalin would have been finished. Stalin made a political concession which allowed Trotsky to have concessions over economic policy so that the will was kept secret. As Trotsky hated the new economic policy he thought that it was a good deal to make, especially as Lenin had said that he was ‘arrogant’ in the will. But he was wrong; this is maybe the most important factor in who won and who lost. This was Trotsky’s biggest mistake, and Stalin’s biggest advantage. This testament could have wrecked Stalin’s chances of securing the succession because it expressed Lenin’s unwillingness to have Stalin in power, the will described him as ‘rude’. Trotsky made no effort to exploit Stalin’s criticism in the will when it was read out four months after Lenin’s death.

The reasons for Trotsky’s failure and Stalin’s success are numerous. But the main reason was that Stalin was determined to achieve a dominant position, while Trotsky on the other hand, was not. Stalin was assisted by the support that he gained, Lenin’s trust in him in 1917-1922, Trotsky’s errors, his cleverness and ruthlessness for opposition. All of Trotsky’s mistakes obviously led to his failure and the success of Stalin. Probably the most important reasons for this outcome, are that Lenin’s will was not released and Trotsky not turning up to Lenin’s funeral. Also closely following was Stalin’s determination, Trotsky’s illness and the death of Lenin. Stalin winning over Trotsky was a surprise as Trotsky was the closest by miles to be the next leader. But when the events are mapped out and all of Trotsky’s mistakes are listed, the results seem predictable.