Explain why Stalin and not Trotsky emerged as Lenin's successor
I think there are a number of main factors to consider when investigating this issue. The first thing to consider is the fact that Trotsky and Stalin come from completely different backgrounds. Trotsky was from a prosperous Jewish farming family whereas Stalin was from s peasant stock in Georgia. This meant he understood the peasants situation, as he had been there himself and peasant made up a lot of the population therefore he was quite popular already.
Trotsky believed in war communism. This made him unpopular because it caused a famine in 1920-21. 7 million Russian people died and therefore people didn't like Trotsky supporting this kind of behaviour. They didn't want to have a leader who would think it ok to cause famine. However, Trotsky was not too concerned about amassing supporters and wasn't to bothered by this. Stalin, however, was a supporter of the New Economic Policy, which was less tightly constrained than the war communism that Trotsky supported. Stalin was only a supporter of this policy publicly, because he introduced collectivisation when he was elected. This was all propaganda by Stalin.
I think there are a number of main factors to consider when investigating this issue. The first thing to consider is the fact that Trotsky and Stalin come from completely different backgrounds. Trotsky was from a prosperous Jewish farming family whereas Stalin was from s peasant stock in Georgia. This meant he understood the peasants situation, as he had been there himself and peasant made up a lot of the population therefore he was quite popular already.
Trotsky believed in war communism. This made him unpopular because it caused a famine in 1920-21. 7 million Russian people died and therefore people didn't like Trotsky supporting this kind of behaviour. They didn't want to have a leader who would think it ok to cause famine. However, Trotsky was not too concerned about amassing supporters and wasn't to bothered by this. Stalin, however, was a supporter of the New Economic Policy, which was less tightly constrained than the war communism that Trotsky supported. Stalin was only a supporter of this policy publicly, because he introduced collectivisation when he was elected. This was all propaganda by Stalin.