Party members were also very worried about the unity of the party after Lenin’s death. They knew it was essential that the party stick together if it were to accomplish the huge task of transforming an unwilling population into good socialists. They therefore did not want a leader who might cause divisions among the different wings of the party. Again, it was Trotsky they feared.
The NEP and the industrialization debate (End now or keep going)
The issue that dominated party conferences in the mid-1920’s was the NEP and how the economy should be run. Everybody agreed on the need to industrialize as it was the key to creating a large class of proletarian to build socialism. As the 1920’s progressed, the NEP became increasingly unattractive to party members and they were deeply disturbed by its adverse consequences.
After 1925, serious problems began to emerge:
- Food shortages started to reappear. Peasants held on their produce.
- There was a high level of unemployment amongst workers. Wages were low and so many workers remained relatively poor.
- Industry had recovered, but there was an argument about where the resources to give it more momentum were going to come from .
The left wing of the party, led by Trotsky, Zinoviev and Kamenev, wanted to end the NEP and go for rapid industrialization. This entailed squeezing the peasants to get more grain out of them to pay for industrialization.
The right wing of the party, led by Bukharin, wanted to keep the NEP going and to encourage peasants to become richer, so that they would spend more on consumer goods and this would lead to the growth of manufacturing industry. They believed that conflict with the peasants might lead to economic collapse.
‘Permanent Revolution’ versus ‘Socialism in One Country’
Another important issue was the overall policy the party should develop for the future. Trotsky and Stalin developed different lines on this:
Trotsky believed in ‘Permanent Revolution’. He was convinced that the communist revolution in Russia could not really succeed because the Russian working class was too small and the economy underdeveloped; it needed the support of the working class in the more industrialized countries of Europe. He felt that the Russians should put energy and money into helping the working class in other countries to carry out their own revolutions. He wanted to achieve a world communist revolution by applying measures such as forcing peasants into collective farms.
Stalin put forward a different idea which he called ‘Socialism in One Country’. He said that the communists had to accept that the world revolution had not happened and was not likely to happen. Accordingly, he believed that the Russians should build a socialist state in the USSR without the help of people from outside. He proposed that they solve their own problems and create a workers’ society that was vastly superior to the capitalist West.
How did Stalin become party leader?
Stalin struck two significant blows at Lenin’s funeral:
- He tricked Trotsky into not turning up for the funeral, severely damaging Trotsky’s reputation
- He made the most of the funeral as he presented himself as Lenin’s disciple
Stalin dodges a knock-out blow: Lenin’s wife gave Lenin’s secret testament to the Central Committee in May 1924 just before the Thirteenth Party Congress. If read out to the congress, it would have spelt the end of Stalin. But Zinoviev and Kamenev urged that it should not be published because they thought that it might help Trotsky and it would have diminished them.
Trotsky criticized the party for becoming bureaucratic and less democratic. Despite making brilliant speeches, Trotsky was defeated in the votes because the congress was packed with well instructed Stalinist delegates.
In 1924, Zinoviev and Kamenev mounted a campaign against Trotsky, questioning his loyalty and raising to Lenin. Trotsky then attacked them by reminding them of their unwillingness to back Lenin in the 1917 revolution. Stalin stayed in the background, glad to see the two fighting while he seemed to be the moderate peacemaker.
In 1925, Stalin’s policy of Socialism in One Country proved very popular with party members, attracting the right wing of the party as it seemed to fit with the NEP. A new alliance emerged between Stalin and Bukharin, supporting the NEP. Zinoviev and Kamenev attacked Stalin and the NEP, but Stalin’s control of the party was so complete that they lost every vote. They then joined Trotsky and tried to organize demonstrations in Moscow. As a result, they lost their positions of power and were expelled from the party.
Stalin turned against the NEP and Bukharin and attacked the right wing. He now adopted the policies the very policies he smashed (industrialization). Bukharin found himself outvoted by Stalin’s supporters.
Stalin rose as the winner of the power struggle and the successor of Lenin.
Summary of points:
- The main contenders were Stalin and Trotsky.
- Key issues like leadership, NEP, policies were as important as the personalities involved.
- It was a struggle over power rather than a struggle for power. Contenders were keen on preventing rivals from coming to power.
- Party members tended to support Stalin’s policies (Socialism in One Country).
- Stalin’s control of the party was a crucial factor in his success.
- Stalin was a skillful politician who outmaneuvered his opponents. He was also very lucky.
