Why did Stalin rather than Trotsky emerge as the leader of theUSSR in 1929?

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Why did Stalin rather than Trotsky emerge as the leader of the

USSR in 1929?

It is the intention of this essay to explore the reasons why Stalin became the leader of the USSR and not Trotsky. The main reasons for this are the importance of control of party organisation, the policies of both Stalin and Trotsky, Stalin’s personal characteristics and political skills and the weaknesses of his opponents, especially Trotsky.

Stalin had control over the party organisation through being the party secretary, this job was previously very insignificant, however its importance grew. By having this job, Stalin was able to control, to an extent what information party members received, this therefore meant that if Stalin did not want people to know something, he would be able to stop it. Stalin also had control of party membership, this meant that he could eliminate the more radical elements of the party. Through this position, Stalin supervised the Lenin Enrolment where the party’s membership was increased to over one million in 1924 and 1925. This meant that these people would be willing to vote with Stalin and for him when needed. Stalin also held positions in Orgburo and the Secretariat which gave him control over appointments into positions of responsibility. This helped in his rise to power as he was able to put members who would support him into these key positions.

In comparison with Stalin, Trotsky did have such key positions within party organisation. He did not try to build a power base due to his underestimation of Stalin. Trotsky had control over the red army which gave him support from younger members, but he did not have a wide appeal. Stalin’s positions allowed him to quietly build up power as those that he held did not appear to be very influential on the surface. Trotsky’s position with the red army however, made people see him as a threat from the outset and were very wary of him.

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Through his policies, Stalin was able to help in his rise to power. He adapted his policies regularly to make sure that people would agree with him around that time. He also made sure that the majority of the party agreed with the policies he adopted. This helped him because it reduced the amount of opposition that he had as he agreed with most peoples thoughts most of the time. There is a good example of how Stalin changed his policies in his position on the NEP during the 1920s. At the end of the 1920s he decided to go ...

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