Obstacles faced during Stalins rise to power

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Analyze the obstacles faced and the methods used in Stalin’s rise to power by 1929

Stalin can be viewed as the dark horse in Russia’s history. His steps towards complete control were subtle, calculated and largely unnoticed by significant part officials; however, they were certainly not smooth. Stalin faced competition for Lenin’s position, blatant criticism and a power struggle within the politburo left in charge after Lenin’s death. Though with skillful political maneuvering coupled with the reputation that he had built for himself during his rise within the party Stalin was able to overcome his obstacles and become the head of communist Russia.

From 1917 to 1921, Trotsky, the commander in chief of the Russian army, was practically Lenin’s second in command. He led the Bolchiviks to victory in the civil war, he was a brilliant orator and had to the ability to inspire hope in the masses. Stalin was able to overtake Trotsky because he intelligently used his powerbase within the party to bring Trotsky down and allow him to rise above in comparison. Firstly, he managed to decrease Trotsky appeal as Russia’s next leader. He was able to do this because in 1922 as General Secretary of the party Stalin was given the duty to handle lenin’s enrolment which required him to mass hire new party officials who were previously surviving under bleak circumstances, without a proper education or any experience in the political arena. As a result, these naïve new comers were completely devoted and loyal to Stalin for they viewed him as the person who gave them an opportunity to better their lives. As Stalin’s popularity rapidly increased, Trotsky’s fell drastically. Trotsky was adamantly against Lenin’s enrolment; therefore, since a majority of the party members now consisted of men completely loyal to Stalin they felt that if they were in support of Trotsky rising to power he would eventually come to the position and remove them from their posts.

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Stalin used his position within the party to cause Trotsky to lose support, thus isolating him in the party. Even though he was able to do this with ease, Trotsky’s fall had a lot to do with luck and timing as well. His support base was limited to the army, he seemed to be disconnected from the party most of the time which was a result of his disinterest in day to day politics and his ill health. Furthermore, he was eager to spread communism around the world by means of war, an idea that were unsettling to the Russians ...

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