How was Stalin able to defeat both his left and right opponents?

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How was Stalin able to defeat both his left and right opponents?

There were many combining factors that enabled Josef Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili, better known as Josef Stalin, to so easily slip into the role of successor to Lenin. His path the leadership of the Communist party of the Soviet Union,(the CPSU) can be attributed to many factors and certainly cannot be put down to inevitable occurrence as Stalin was by no means the natural choice for leader following the death of Lenin in 1924 especially as the deceased leader’s testament had branded Stalin “too rude.”

In 1903 Lenin created the Bolshevik party, and successfully led it through three revolutions to the helm of government, and headed the world’s first socialist state. His authority was recognised within the party and he was a respected leader. By 1918 a civil war broke out dividing the county. Lenin foresaw that a united Bolshevik front against the bourgeoisie (the whites) was a necessity and also that the government (SOVNARKOM) would be the dominant force in the new civil state following the cessation of the civil war. Thus in the same year all other political parties were banned and thus the CSPU remained the only party from which SOVNARKOM ministers could be drawn from. This left the ministers increasing isolated but, at the same time, increasingly powerful. As a result the position of General Secretary  increased also. This position effectively held power over entrance to the party as well as being the lynchpin between the CPSU and SOVNARKOM. The minister thus held effective power over the whole administration of the country. Lenin realised the error in giving so much power to one man (indeed this was a capitalist ideal) yet he realised his error too late and Stalin took up the post in 1922. Stalin was now in charge of administration and thus could refuse entrance to whomever he wished, especially his enemies. This his grip on power strengthened as no people who opposed his methods could enter the CPSU or SOVNARKOM and thus his power base grew – a useful tool should he be in competition with a senior party member eg.Trotsky.

        In 1922 Lenin suffered his first stroke and whilst he recovered at Gorky, the running of the country was left to his subordinates – Kaminev, Bukharin, Trotsky, Zinoviev and of course Stalin. Stalin’s post of General Secretary meant he held enormous power. Lenin had previously introduced a ban on factionalism to aid the NEP policy. Stalin used this to great effect in the 20’s as all his opponents he could brand factionalists and thus have them tried. This helped him as he was constantly surrounding himself with supporters and expelling enemies. Lenin’s illness began a power struggle amongst his subordinates yet it is not this that split the party. The Kronstadt Revolt and the Tambov Rebellion really were the determining factors in dividing the CPSU. The Tabov incident made Lenin realise the need for a step back, a comprimise with capitalism – NEP. The Kronstadt Rebellion led to an end of war communism and NEP’s introduction. Thus the party was split with this new policy – on the left were Trotsky and Prodrazasky and opposing them were the NEP supporters Bukharin, Kaminev, Zinoviev, Lenin and Stalin.

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        It was Trotsky that crushed the Kronstadt Rebellion with brute force. Many men died as a result of his tactics. Born Lev Bronstein, he was born in to a Jewish land owning family in the Ukraine in 1897. A gifted child, he was quick to learn foreign languages and showed great interest in Russian and European culture. As left opposition to Stalin, Trotsky had great intellectual strength, which he was keen to let others know about. He was therefore seen as very arrogant. This arrogance is displayed no better than when he considered himself as “A key player” concerning revolution. ...

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