Why did Stalin emerge as leader of Soviet Russia?

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Why did Stalin emerge as leader of Soviet Russia?

Observing his revolutionary background and other personal factors, Stalin was indeed a weak contender for the leader of Soviet Russia and lacked a strong, admirable past that perhaps people such as Trotsky did not. However, from 1924 to 1929, Stalin, with the use of manipulation, determination and tactical strategies, managed to emerge as leader of Soviet Russia. The reason as to why he created such an outcome is quite clearly an impressive doing, but what really worked in his favour and ultimately acquired him the position that eventually led to him becoming the totalitarian dictator he is infamously known for?

An important factor as to why Stalin was able to emerge as leader was due to the advantages that he had as a result of his position within the Communist Party. Stalin managed to obtain the position of Head of the Central Control Commission. His role presented him with the power to investigate and discipline members of the Party. He used this to the best of his manipulative ability by not only expelling corrupt officials, but by expelling those who disagreed and went against him ideologically. Not only would this be to his advantage due to the fact he could rid of those who wouldn’t like to see him as leader, but it also strengthened the support and loyalty of the people within the party, thus providing him with a support base that indeed admired and thought highly of him. It is clear the Stalin knew by gaining the trust of those who had the power to ‘elect’ him as leader; he would be more favourable than the likes of Trotsky and Bukharin. His role within the Government also had a similar effect. Within the Sovnarkom, he was responsible for communicating with senior officials throughout the USSR, meaning he could once again take advantage of his position in order to gain great loyalty from those he was held responsible for. He was also able to not only expel those within the Party once again, but also within the government, reflecting the idea that he could increase his patronage and ensure that government workers who wanted to keep their jobs would remain loyal and not go against him.

Fixated at the left wing of the Party lay Trotsky, and at the right wing of the Party lay Bukharin. Stalin, however, made the decision to position himself at the centre. This was not out of being undecided, but yet another method that he believed would enhance and greater his chance of becoming leader of Soviet Russia; quite clearly, it worked and can therefore contribute to the reason as to why he did. He avoided taking any extreme positions on many of the diverse and complex issues, meaning the other contenders would have no reason to oppose him; by remaining in the middle, he suggested the idea that he believed both wings of the Party were rational and that he supported neither more than the other. He ensured that he made as few enemies as possible to secure any chance of him rising as leader. However, Stalin did oppose one contender more than the others to begin with- Trotsky. He intelligently yet cunningly attacked Trotsky by comparing him to the dictator Napoleon Bonaparte. This led to members of the party fearing that Trotsky would manipulate his position as head of the Red Army to become a military dictator. Stalin clearly attacked Trotsky first as he knew that he was a strong contender for the position of leader of Soviet Russia, so by eradicating the support he may have once obtained, he strengthened his own chances of emerging as leader.

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Stalin was indeed a man who possessed great intelligence when it came to political knowledge; he knew that in order to have the ability to come out as Lenin's replacement, he had to gain support from not only the members of the Party and government, but also the people in whom he was up against. His first action was the formation of the Triumvirate, which aimed to keep Trotsky out of power. Stalin formed the alliance with Zinoviev and Kamenev with the objective of helping to take down Trotsky as well as gaining their support which he most needed and ...

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