Explain how other factors helped Stalin in his Rise to Power.

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Explain how other factors helped Stalin in his Rise to Power

Following the death of Lenin in 1922, it was simply a matter of time before one member of the Politburo, who announced they would be acting as a collective leadership, gained individual power. The successful individual was Stalin, who hailing from humble beginnings, rose up through the ranks to become the brutal and ruthless dictator of the Soviet State. Stalin managed to do this not simply because of his personal strengths or brilliances, neither was it purely down to luck. It was due to a combination of factors, some concerning Stalin’s actions and his opportunist ways, some to do with his opponents such as Trotsky and their fundamental weaknesses, and other factors which were simply out of Stalin’s control.

Stalin’s background and personality played a large role in Stalin’s rise to power. He was from the tough, fierce region of Georgia, which made him a strong character, but also gained him the post of Commissar for Nationalities, which was the first step in his rise to power within the party. He trained as a priest at a seminary which showed another side to Stalin’s character as he was not a religious man, so this fine-tuned his ability to lie convincingly. He was later expelled from there seminary for his involvement in revolutionary activities and was arrested on many occasions.

Stalin’s personality was clearly not complex and flamboyant like the intellectual Trotsky. Instead he was more of a mediocrity, described as a ‘grey blur’ which deceived people into trusting him. However Stalin was a very cunning man. He made up for all of his weaknesses with his ruthless and cunning ways in which he skilfully manipulated the entire party machine into his hands. But his ability to keep this cunningness secret allowed him to do this without anyone suspecting a thing.

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The post of Commissar for Nationalities gave Stalin little power, but it was the first step in his rise up through the ranks. Lenin remained impressed by Stalin’s work and continued to promote him further. By 1919 he was the Liaison officer between the Politburo and Orgburo, allowing him to monitor both party policy and party personnel. It was here that Stalin first showed signs of taking advantage of the opportunities his positions gave him. He began to build up personal files on all party members, detailing their actions which he later used against people such as Kamenev and Zinoviev ...

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