Stalin, originally named Djugashvili, took the nickname Koba before he became Stalin – “Man of steel”. Stalin was more of a plodder. However, he was practical and ambitious, a talented administrator. Stalin was also ruthless and had an excellent memory, especially for people that he held grudges against.
Stalin made his way to the top slowly and “behind the scenes”. He spent a lot of time with Lenin when he was alive and tried to appear close to Lenin.
Stalin started as head of the Orgburo where he managed the communist Party machine. He soon became head of the Control Commission and here he controlled party membership. This was an important position for Stalin as he could replace people in the Party who didn’t support his views with people who did. He could also reject membership from those he did not want in the Party.
In 1922 Stalin made his way up to General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Stalin told the Russian people that the Party should try to have Socialism in one country, not try to spread revolution over the world. This gained him many supporters as the Russian people were tired and wanted peace.
One trick that Stalin supposedly played on Trotsky was that he told Trotsky Lenin’s funeral was on the 26th January, when it was really on the 27th. However, Trotsky was one of the cleverest men in Russia so this story is doubted.
At Lenin’s funeral, Stalin praised Lenin saying he was a great leader. He declared eternal loyalty to Lenin’s ideas. However Lenin criticised Stalin in his testament that he had written before he died. In his testament Lenin said:
“Comrade Stalin, having become Secretary, has unlimited authority concentrated in his hands, and I am not sure whether he will always be capable of using that authority with sufficient caution”
Later in his testament Lenin states that he thinks Stalin is rude, suggests that he is removed and praises Trotsky. In 1924, when this testament was found and read out to the Central Committee of the Communist Party, Stalin “looked small and miserable” according to an eye-witness.
Zinoviev relieved the situation by saying that when Lenin wrote his testament he was very ill and that Stalin had worked well with himself and Kamenev since Lenin’s death. This reassured Stalin and he soon regained his confidence.
From January 1925 Kamenev, Stalin and Zinoviev were a triumvirate against Trotsky (who was now the ex-war Commissar). However, in the Party Congress of 1925 Bukharin and Stalin on the right clashed with Kamenev, Trotsky and Zinoviev on the left. The right believed in Socialism in one country and the left believed in Trotsky’s theory of “Permanent Revolution”.
In 1926 Trotsky was dismissed from the Politburo and in 1927 he was dismissed from the Party.
At the Party Congress of 1927 Stalin said there should be “no deviation from the Party line as interpreted by the General Secretary.” This let Stalin control everything the Party did as he was the General Secretary.
In 1928 Stalin clashed with Bukharin over the NEP (New Economic Policy); Stalin believed the country should be collectivised and nationalised. Bukharin soon resigned from the Politburo.
In 1928 Trotsky was sent to Siberia and in 1929 he was sent into exile.
