The Leadership Contest: Trotsky vs. Stalin
Question 1
Explain Trotsky's contribution to the success of the Bolsheviks up to 1922
Trotsky contributed a lot to the Bolsheviks success between 1917 and 1922. He played an important role in the November Revolution, by convincing Lenin to postpone his idea to storm the Ipativ house for a few weeks, to gain more power with the Red Army. The Red army were also transformed under his control, from the messy disorganised bunch of half trained soldiers they were, to the well oiled fighting machine they became, and ultimately helped the Bolsheviks to win the Civil War with the Whites.
Firstly his suggestion and persuasion to Lenin to hold off for a few weeks, helped the Red's gain support as it made the provisional government unpopular. His careful organisation of the Revolution made sure it ran smoothly and no hitches came up during it.
Secondly his famous leadership of the Red Army, tuned them from the disorganised bunch of half trained soldiers, to the well oiled fighting machine they became famous for. He had a seemingly 'magical' train which travled the length of Russia, which provide the Red Army with a place to sleep, train, and eat. He kept up the morale of the soldiers, which attributed their success in the civil war in 1921.
He was a magnetic appeal to his personality, and was a enthralling public speaker. His enthusiasm made him inspiring to listen to, and a lot of Bolsheviks attributed their joining the communists, due to him.
He used his knowledge of propaganda, and made a huge advertising campaign for the Bolsheviks, to attract new members.
He was extremely intelligent, and always seemed to be one step ahead of his opponents. He was also famously paranoid, and this ensured that no one leaked important information.
Explain why it was Stalin and not Trotsky who became Lenin's successor.
When Lenin dies in 1924, it was unclear, to the remaining Bolsheviks, who would assume control. There was originally four contenders, Stalin, Trotsky, Kamenev and Zinoviev. Eventually it came down to the main two, Stalin and Trotsky.
Trotsky appeared to be the favourite on the surface. Lenin had named him the most capable man for the job and he was the reason they had been so successful in the November revolution, by persuading Lenin to wait a few weeks. His organisation of the Red Army was the main contributor to their success in the civil war between the Reds and the Whites. He was a forward thinking individual, but also knew how to manipulate people, in order to get what he needed. This was due to his unique talent of judging people, within a matter ...
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Trotsky appeared to be the favourite on the surface. Lenin had named him the most capable man for the job and he was the reason they had been so successful in the November revolution, by persuading Lenin to wait a few weeks. His organisation of the Red Army was the main contributor to their success in the civil war between the Reds and the Whites. He was a forward thinking individual, but also knew how to manipulate people, in order to get what he needed. This was due to his unique talent of judging people, within a matter of days, therefore growing ever more knowledgably of their weaknesses and their strengths, and what he could use them for. Because of his success with the Red Army, he was popular with the soldiers, and with younger Part members. In addition he was one of the Bolsheviks most talented public speakers, and could enthral an entire group of people, probably one of the only other party members to rival Lenin as a public speaker. He was also a gifted writer of revolutionary ideas, and those who read his books were persuaded to think his way, through his persuasive language. He gained a lot of popularity, due to his belief in helping communists in other countries. He wanted them to stage revolutions, like the one in Russia. He offered to send them money and agents to push them along to communism. He was also an avid believer of pushing forward the revolution in the USSR. He wanted to end the NEP and bring the socialist ideals into running an economy.
On the other hand, he was unpopular with many older party members. He had joined the Bolsheviks later on in his carer, not until 1917, ( he was previously a Menshevik) and this lead to the other party members not trusting him, and thinking he may not be entirely loyal to Lenin. He was also an arrogant and did not suffer fools gladly. He also refused to get into, what he deemed political games. He did not want to get people on his side with 'underhand' tactics. Another reason for the older member to distrust him, was his conceited ways, and therefore people thought he could go onto become a dictator, especially with the power of the unstoppable red army. His radical thoughts and extreme views were seen to split the parry, therefore weakening him. He was also a Jew, and there were many people in the Bolsheviks didn't trust, or like him, due to their Anti- Semitic views. Lastly his illness in the last three years from the end of 1923, sapped all his strength and he was unable to rebound from attacks from his opponents.
Stalin on the other hand was in a very powerful position of General Secretary of the Communist party. He had the power to appoint and disappoint various jobs to people, which controlled the membership of the party. He had opposite views to Trotsky on 'underhand tactics' and was happy to appoint people in the party, who agreed with his ideas, to make sure he had mounting support when Lenin died. Additionally he expelled people who seemed too radical and likely to supported Trotsky, slowly eliminating the oppositions support. He was also a loyal and long standing Bolshevik, who was middle of the road and not likely to split the part with his ideas. . He was also the opposite of Trotsky in his public speaking; he was not good at capturing people and was the opposite of enthralling. Nor was he an intellectual, and regarded dull by other leading communists. He did not parallel Trotsky's idea of expanding communism around Europe was happy to keep communism in Russia, named his 'Socialism in One Country' scheme. His main downfall, was he lost Lenin's support in the end of his life, after he insulted Lenin's wife. Lenin then said he didn't want Staling to follow him, calling him selfish and rude.
Stalin cleverly, made sure that Lenin's dying testament was never published, and therefore the public didn't know of Lenin opposing him as a leader.
The following are all equally important reasons why Stalin was successful in holding on to power in the Soviet Union:
* The Purges
* The Secret Police
* Propaganda and the 'cult' of personality.
* Stalin's Foreign Polices
The above reasons are all equally as important reasons for Stalin's success in holding power in the Soviet Union.
The ' Great Purges' occurred in 1934 to 1958, a period in which millions of Russians, belonging to all walks of life, were either shot or sent to labour camps. Purge, meant to cleanse, and Stalin took this idea to a new level. He wanted to get rid of whole pieces of society, he deemed as 'dirty' and many members of the Communist party, he felt might oppose him. First to go where his old enemies, Kamenev and Zinoviev . Accused with 14 others of planning to assassinate Lenin. A large part of the Purges, was to get old party members to confess to crimes they didn't acuse. These were shown in Show Trails, which were broadcast live on the radio. These shows were often laughable, which charges that would be impossible to convict without confessions, such as people confessing to committing crimes whilst they were in prision, or abroad. Showing these trails was a clever propogander plan of Stalin's, making sure people thought he was justified in killing the part members, because they ;confessed'. What they didn't realise, is that the people oin trial, where often physically, or mentall tortures beforehand, which threats towards their families, if they didn't confess. Stalin knew this would make him appear as powerful and stop people from questioning him when he made a decision. He gained support throughout the purges, despite killing large parts of the public because of the way they were potrayed to the public.
This leads onto Propioganda.
Stalin had a constant advertising campign during his tiem as Soviet Leader. Stalins rule is now looked upin as a time of terror and unthinkable oppresiom. But at the time the majority of Russians supported and believed in Stalin. People completely believed in his propaganda, because it was so convincing. His dictatorship was seen a welcome gift, after the un organised leadership of Lnin's time. There are various sources, which put Stalin in an almost saintly light. There were fake pictures of him nest to Lenin in the last moments of his life. There were also pictures in every street, of him in a powerful stance and looking powerful. He re wrote history, so it was onloy hi and Lenin as the heros of the Revolution, completely cutting out Trotsky. Religious teachings were banned in schools, and people were encouraged to worship Stalin. He made sure history book,s containing information in previous party leaders, were burned or ripped out, often replaced with pictures of Stalin himself. Schoolchildren were pressures to join the Young Pioneers. Every town in Russia had a square and a statue of stalin in the middle. Poems were written about him, portraying him as powerful but fair. All music and theatre was closely monitored by the secret police, and free speech became a thing of the past.
All this would not have been possible to enforce, if it were not for Stalin;s secret police. They were a group of ex- red army soldiers, who stalin got to do all his dirty work. The idea of secret police, stopped people from speaking their thoughts, because they were in constant fear, that someone was listening to them and would report them to the government. Children were encouraged to tell policemen they saw, if they overheard their parents insulting Stalin, and were given incentives to do so.
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